itinere | Network + Action

Entry tags:

Network + Action | Open

Network:

It's come to my attention that not everyone is aware of the police station in Itinere. We're just off the main square, a couple of blocks down to the North. It's a big brick building brought over my home in Haven, Maine. I'm Audrey Parker and I'm the head of the station here. We offer all the traditional services of a police station as well as a service to walk you to your car, to your home or to whatever destination you desire if you feel you need more protection then you're capable of on your own. During emergency, such as the creatures that attacked us last month, we will meet you where ever you are and escort you to a safe place. If you feel the safest place in town is the police station, we're happy to provide sanctuary as well.

We're also always hiring. Currently, I'm the only regular police officer at the station. I've got an intern and a friend from home that helps out when necessary. If you've got any questions, you can contact me here through video, voice or text, whatever makes you most comfortable.

Action:

After her announcement to the network, Audrey will hang around the police station for several hours. Eventually, she ventures outside to grab a cup of coffee and something to eat. She's dressed in a pair of bermuda length shorts and a tee shirt, not looking particularly police like, but she's got her gun holstered at her side and her badge clipped to the pocket of her shorts. Catch her anywhere between the cafe and the station. She'll be happy to speak with any of the residents. She's been mourning Nathan's loss and adjusting to life here without him. Because of that, she hasn't gotten to know as many of the residents here as she should have. She knows some of the long time people and she's spoken to many people, but she hasn't gotten to really know much of anyone. In short, Audrey needs friends. Come say hi.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Carl tunes into her announcement earlier in the day but is distracted by his own bit of business and fun to consider a moment to respond. Later on though the message has left enough of an imprint on his mind that when he thinks of returning home he figures he should stop in to check it out. There's a good possibility of running into his dad there he thinks, but if not he could check it out at least. He's never actually been inside a police station before so he steps on through with some hesitation and uncertainty on what to expect.

The interior is reminiscent to the exterior but something about it still intrigues him, pulling him to walk further in. The woman sitting inside working eventually catches his attention.

"Hi. This is like a regular police station, right?" He decides to be the one to start a conversation with a stranger for once because with how most things function freely here he can't picture there being many problems needing the police. Beyond the disturbed individuals and monsters he is sort of used to, that is.

An imprint is good. In fact, leaving an imprint with her message is the best that Audrey can hope for. She wants people to recall that there are police officers ready and willing to help when needed. That her message stuck with Carl is proof that she's accomplished that at least with one person and hope that more people recall her message when necessary.

It's a bit old fashioned, but then many things in Haven are and since Audrey had pulled this building here from Haven, it's very reminiscent of a small, coastal Maine town. The desks are old, heavy wood, scarred from decades of use and the computers are ancient and few. Audrey looks up when the teenager steps inside, a smile slipping across her lips.

She nods at his question. "It is. It's actually from my hometown of Haven, Maine. We handle all sorts of things there so I figured we could help out with at least some of the things here." In some ways, she's lying; Haven Police Station is not a regular police station in the same way that Haven is not a regular town. They're beset with the troubles and often the things they deal with are related directly to those troubles.

The station from the walls to the furniture may be old, but it doesn't capture his awareness a whole lot. The place, in fact, has a certain shine he sees just by not being ransacked and pilfered to bare bones. It was the opposite of all that: a clean, a tidy, and even functional space to work in. That alone leaves a good impression on him already. Plus he couldn't remember much about technology to notice how ancient the computers were.

He nods back, really only because it's a social nicety that hasn't left him yet. "And you worked there too?" He looks around the rest of the place when he asks. He was curious what her answer was but perhaps more than than he wondering if this place looks the same the police station his dad used to work in. There could have been so many similarities to this place but he didn't know.

Maybe, in some ways, all police stations look alike. It is old, but Audrey does her best to keep it clean and tidy. She is able to function in a certain amount of clutter, but not a real mess. There's also coffee in the pot against one wall so the place smells like fresh coffee.

"I did. I am a detective. I used to work for the FBI, but Haven was...where I belong." It's still where she belongs, but she can't get back there right now, so she's going to do everything she can to help the people stuck here. She stands up and comes around the desk, holding her hand out to shake. "Audrey Parker. Can I get you anything? I've got coffee, water, sodas..."

FBI, now detective, she says; since this is more or less an average time and world for him again, a small part of him thinks it's maybe an impressive career list she has going, at the very least useful one. He assumes she knows the ins and outs of weapons mostly. Could probably teach people. That was always important.

"Then you're not just playing around," he says in acknowledgement. Which is good. In his mind people shouldn't be playing at what they aren't. "Is that a town? Never heard of it before," he adds when he thinks he sort of remembers the American map. Haven definitely didn't ring any bells to any state or major cities he knew. Hm.

He shies away from her hand when she offers it up, but bobs his head instead. "Carl, um Grimes. I- I don't really drink coffee." Or anything open and easily altered by people he meets for that matter. Not that he's saying that to her face. Except there is one option she gives him that seems safe, too. "Maybe soda?" Cans weren't open and safe by his logic.

She really dead-ended her career by becoming a small town police detective, but she'd known from the first time she'd helped someone afflicted by a Trouble that that's what she had wanted to do, what she'd needed to do. It hadn't been hard to give up on the FBI. She does know the ins and outs of weapons and she's not opposed to teaching people. It's simply not in her usual job description.

"At being the police? No," she assures him with a smile. "It is. It's a very small town on the Maine coast. I'm not surprised you haven't heard of it." The teenager hasn't offered his name or any information about himself so Audrey doesn't push. She wonders briefly if this is Rick's son, only because there aren't many teenagers around the place.

The way he shies away from her hand shake confirms her suspicion that he's not much of a people person for whatever reason. Again she doesn't push it. She is glad that he accepts some sort of refreshment though. "Okay. I'll be right back with it. It's in the break room," she says as she gets up and walks toward a hallway, disappearing into a room just off it. She comes back with two unopened cans of Pepsi which she holds out to him. She sits down her chair, opening her own soda and taking a drink of it.

All Carl's ever known is a small town life and then an even smaller group of people barely making up a community. So her story sounds like most stories he knows, only with a lot more choice and certainty in where and what she wanted. It sounds nice from what he knows, for once.

He takes some assurance at her smile. "Just checking." He says. "I just wanted to see what this place was like. Who works here and stuff. Are you all that's it?" His mouth forms an o-shape and his bobs his head in acknowledgement with what she tells him about Maine. Small towns were sometimes they best remaining places on his earth, after all. He'll be keeping it in mind for if he ever learns where Maine is even.

He'd tell her he's sorry or say something, if it weren't for the fact he was still learning to socialize with people properly again. He's always been sort of awkward and shy though, so that works against him too. Audrey seems to pick up on that and let him off the hook. Her going to collect the sodas gives himself a moment to relax again. When she comes back, he reaches out to accept the soda, checking over it being unopened though.

"I guess, I should say thank you." He doesn't know her, but she was kind enough to get him it, after all. It's a strange thing to have to process. Kind people.

Haven is a nice place to live once you get used to the Troubles popping up randomly. Sometimes, it's a very tragic place to live.

"I've got an intern and a friend of mine, Duke, helps out when I need him. Most of the time, it's just me," she admits.

She doesn't mind that he's having a hard time socializing. She's simply glad he's here inquiring about the police station. In part, she knows that a police station is useless as it exists in her world, but she hopes the familiarity will make people feel better. She also hopes that she can help out when weird events happen. She notices the way that he checks that the soda is unopened and that's odd, but she lets it go. She doesn't yet know that he's Rick's son. They'd talked a little at the bonfire.

"You're welcome," Audrey assures him. "What other sorts of questions have you got about this place?"

Sounds like Haven is pretty close to what his world is like. Troubles pop up in all shapes and sizes all the time. Just maybe less in way Carl could understand. In fact a lot of things here are something he is trying to wrap his head around.

"That's not a lot of people," he thinks openly. "How do you deal when things like those monsters come here?" It feels like a legit question to ask. But then he's seen the community or what could pass as one here and thinks they should be organized better. The people needed some form of way to fight together and it started with the police station. The idea that this place could be like Alexandria when he came to it is stressful to him.

He looks a lot like his mother in most instances besides his attitude and tell-tale wolfish blue eye so it's not her fault she couldn't put it together yet. Finding that his drink is satisfactory and not been tampered with, he pops the pop open and fizzles for a few seconds. He sips off the top, planning to enjoy ever last sip. Not overload his taste buds with the first bit of sugar he's had in days here.

"Uhm, you ever think of making a plan for if the monsters come back? That's the job, right."

The Troubles are pretty particular to Haven, but every world does have its own troubles that pop up and throw things out of whack. His world happens to have walkers and the particular brand of troubles that those create. This place is unique, at least Audrey thinks it is. They're all having to wrap their heads around it.

"No," she admits. "It's not. So far, I've offered people escort to safe places and offered the police station as a shelter for anyone that wanted it. You're right; I don't have enough people to really help with what's going on, but we do what we can, and right now that's what I can do." It's a legit question and it doesn't offend her. He wants to know how she's helping. That's okay.

She might not realize who his father is, but she does notice the way that he savors the soda. It's odd for a teenager, she thinks. She files away as information for contemplating later.

She smiles at his question and nods. "That's the job. Of course, I wish we had more warning. Right now, my plan is to try and make the police more of a presence in the town. That's part of what the network transmission was about. I'm hoping that will help people remember that we have a station and I do offer escort service and shelter. Until I have more resources, that's all I know that I can do. If you've got ideas, I welcome them."

Oh. Okay. What she tells him about there not being enough people still distresses him, but he mentally backs off at the part where she says it is the best she can do right now. He understands what it's like when they is so few people to count on or just himself to get through things. He won't blame her for that. Just. He has an idea. "You could try asking more people to help or make a plan with them. Isn't there anyway you could gather them to do that?" Clearly there's not as much leadership here and he's not sure that sits well with him.

The way he savors things now is not something that he realizes anymore. He continues by taking another sip of the drink.

If he has more ideas, huh. He definitely does not. But he nods his head to her. "I'll let you know if you do." He may actually may be able to brain storm some with his father later, if the older Grimes doesn't come with them first and share them with her. He smiles just a small bit back. "Yeah." He thinks he is pretty much done checking out the place. He has his answers and sees no sign of his dad, so, "I think I should get home. Thanks for the soda?"

She'd like to have a whole fleet of trained officers. Of course, most of the time they'd be bored, but every few months she thinks it would help the people of Itinere out a great deal. However, she is dealing with what she's got: an intern and Duke, who works with her when necessary. She smiles at Carl's suggestion and nods. "I'm working on that. There seems to be a group of super powered people here that also help. A guy named Matt Murdock is heading it up. I'm not sure how many people he's got, but I'm grateful for the help, even if they aren't working directly with the police." No, there's not a lot of leadership, or rather the leadership is spread out: too many cooks and all that.

It says a lot about where he's been and what he's been through.

"Thank you." She means it sincerely. Obviously, Carl has been through something and she's not going to discount his advice or experience. "You're welcome and feel free to stop by any time you like. There's lots of soda here."

So let me get this straight. There's a jail here? A justice system? Does it work like any normal justice system? Cops, arrest warrants, lawyers, etc.

[ Oh god, his experience with a so-called normal justice system is legit horrible. He's not liking this at all. ]

We've only got a couple of cells in the basement.
I wouldn't call it a jail. It's just a police station. I don't think there's really any justice system in place here, but there doesn't seem to be a criminal element either. I'm more intrested in keeping people safe.

[ Well that's a relief. Luke gives himself a moment to feel that relief before he replies. ]

It's a good goal to have. Way I see it, all that other stuff just gets in the way of doing what's right most of the time. I'm about keeping people safe too.
Just not always a fan of cops, no offense.

No offense taken. The justice system in my world isn't perfect either. Here, it doesn't seem necessary. I guess we'd have to re-evaluate if we had someone hurting other residents, but for the moment I think keeping people safe is a good goal. I'm Audrey Parker.

[ There's a long moment here where there's no reply while Luke weighs giving his name in return. He finally decides to test Matt's assurance that it's okay. ]

Luke Cage. I guess that makes all of us aliens since we're all from other worlds, supposedly. Maybe it gives us all a clean slate, so you won't ever need the jails. Except human nature being what it is, that's probably not the case.

[ She almost thinks he's hung up.]

It's nice to meet you Luke. I hadn't thought of us as aliens, but I guess we are [If only he knew how true that was in her case] I certainly hope so. I'd rather use them for storage and in rare circumstances where they're needed for someone's safety rather than a punishment situation. I'm hoping that the beings who brought us here have gathered up a rare sampling of human nature, one that won't want to hurt each other. Maybe I'm too hopeful or too naive, but people can be good en masse.

Sounds a little bit too Stepford to me. I'd rather people be real about who and what they are. Imperfect. Make mistakes. Just be real. So far this looks like a paradise, but I can't let myself think that it is... not yet. But hey, somebody's gotta be hopeful while somebody else is skeptical. Cynical, at times. Right? Makes things more interesting.

Trying to say that it's good that you're hopeful. Somebody has to be.

Maybe. People make mistakes. It's human nature and i'm sure the people here will and do make mistakes. I'm just hoping that no one wants to hurt each other. We'll deal with whatever we have to though.

Thanks. I guess it's good you're the cynic then. Someone has to be?

Takes all kinds. You ever deal with any crime here at all? Theft. Arson? Violence? You know, misdemeanors.

I think the closest thing I've dealt with to crime here is vandalizing in the form of graffiti and it was good graffiti. People defend themselves when they have to and we've had a few bar brawls, but nothing the police had to break up or intervene in. It's uncanny when you think about it.

Yeah. Uncanny is a good word. Not that I'm advocating crime. It just feels like we're missing something without it. Like maybe something's wrong that we're not seeing.

Neither am I. I'd rather be bored than busy as far as police work goes. It does feel like there's something lurking under the surface, but I haven't been able to figure out what.

I'll help you keep a look out. And while I'm not a cop, if you ever need backup, I know me and a few others who will answer the call. We can help out if and when you need it.

Thanks. I appreciate the help and I know residents will as well. What was your name?

Oh. Yeah. I'm Luke Cage.

[ He'd forgotten that he'd never given his name. And he really hopes his suspicions are right that he has no criminal record here. ]

It's nice to meet you, Luke. Don't be surprised if I contact you next time the city goes crazy to help out.

It's a few days later and a couple of conversations with his son when Rick makes himself step foot into the police station. It's been some time since he's been in an actual police station. They all smell the same, kind of the same way schools and libraries and shopping malls smell the same. They all have the same characteristics and this one is no different. It feels nostalgic, from a time long past that Rick has no right to exist in anymore. But he's here with an agenda. He's going to try to work here with that agenda in mind.

He sees Audrey, the woman he met at the bonfire, sitting at a desk and watches her for a moment before moving over to her desk, boots clicking on the floor as they would in any old western film. Rick is a walking, talking, breathing old western film, really. He knows it. "Ms. Parker. Remember me? Rick Grimes."

Audrey is lost in her paperwork. She's got books spread across her desk and her PDA up, scrolling through network archives as she makes notes. She doesn't look up until she hears boots clicking, managing not to startle at the unexpected visit.

She smiles when she sees that it's Rick. "Rick, of course, I remember you. Please, call me Audrey." She puts her notes aside, pushing everything away. "Can I get you some coffee or a soda?"

He's glad not to startle her since that hadn't been his intent. Thanks to his training from before and some guidance from Daryl and Michonne, he's learned to move around unheard and unseen if and when he needs or wants to. This isn't one of those times. He thinks Audrey is alright, maybe even trustworthy - time will tell. But Rick is usually fairly accurate in reading who he can trust and who he can't. Audrey had been helpful to him at the bonfire. Now he's here. She's the first person, outside of his son, that he's collecting, whether he or she realizes it or not.

His lips pull into a small smile when she smiles at him. The smile doesn't quite reach his icy blue eyes, but that's ordinary for him. His eyes are almost always stuck between assessing and haunted.

"Audrey, then. Just Rick for me." He says with a nod. That nod turns into a shake of his head. He isn't sure he wants to get hooked on coffee again just yet, not like he once was. He isn't entirely sure that all of this won't be taken away. "Nah, thanks. I just wanted to talk to you about workin' here, with you. If that offer's still on the table."

Audrey isn't quite as untrusting as Rick, she hasn't had reason to be, but she is careful about trusting people. From what she does know of him, she likes him. She thinks he could be worth trusting and worth befriending.

She can't help but notice how the smile doesn't reach his eyes. Really, Rick's eyes are arresting; they're the first thing she imagines most people notice about him when they look beyond the beard.

She's a little surprised at his comment simply because he doesn't beat around the bush about it, but she likes that. She's just not used to it. "Of course, the offer is still on the table. I can't promise to keep you busy all the time, but you can make your own hours for the most part." She takes something out of the top desk drawer then stands up and comes around the desk. "Welcome to the Itinere Police. We don't have official uniforms so you can wear what you want but I do have a badge." She holds it out to Rick. It's a sheriff's star, but it says Itinere Police on it.

In Rick's mind there isn't time to beat around the bush. It's going to take some time for him to realize that he can slow down, that he can breathe, that he can step outside of what he thinks needs to be done and do things that have no real purpose, things that are unneeded, things that are on any spectrum of want, from very to only a little. It's something to hope for and look forward to... eventually.

When she opens the drawer, the only sign that Rick is momentarily wary is a shift of his weight from one foot to another. His gaze follows her hand and he's glad to see he had no reason to be concerned. He takes a deep breath before taking the badge from her. There are a lot of mixed feelings about it, but that is both expected and can't be helped given his history.

Rick looks back up to her and nods. "Thanks. No real call for the uniform anyway." He's almost relieved that there isn't one. The uniform is a weighty thing to him now. So is the badge, but less so than a whole uniform. He pockets the badge for now in his jeans pocket. "Is it just you and me or...?"

There's nothing wrong with being wary and taking your time to get accustomed to a place like this. It's a whole other world in more ways than one. Audrey certainly took her time adjusting, and even now she's not entirely sure she's adjusted. Audrey only hopes that eventually he'll settle in so that he can enjoy the things and opportunities that this place can provide.

She notices that shift in weight, but doesn't realize that it's a wariness. Rick is good at hiding that in general. She's got a gun in the drawer, but no reason to have it out right now. Really, the badge is simply so that people have something to recognize, some sort of verification that they're the 'good guys'.

"That's sort of what I thought," Audrey agrees. She does have a uniform, but she doesn't often wear it. "Just you and I for the moment. If things get serious I've got a friend from home, Duke, that'll help us out but this isn't really his sort of thing. I'm hoping to expand the police force a little. We've got an office intern here, Blue, but other then that...we're pretty sparse," she admits with a bit of a grimace.

"I know there's a force of people with powers that help headed by a guy named Matt Murdock. I've spoken to him a little and he'll work with us in times of crisis."

On one hand, Rick is glad to have fewer people that he has to learn to work with and maybe even trust if they're put in a tight spot. On the other hand, it's hard to imagine said tight spot if there's only two of them. He's been in worse odds, of course. But it's been a long, hard road for him to learn that he can lead, but he can't do every damn thing on his own, by himself. He should only be an army of one if there's no other option.

"I'll meet Duke eventually." He says. But he wonders what there is for an office intern to do here. Rick's never been the paperwork sort so if that's what she's doing, more power to her. "And I figure between the two of us and a few others if things get bad, we'll be alright. Just gotta stick together."

Only this feels like starting over in the vein of sticking together, which is tougher for Rick than he would ever let on. "My son isn't bad in a tough situation either... if we ever need reinforcements." But that isn't a favor he would call in unless it was absolutely necessary. Carl is still his son. Rick is still his dad. That protectiveness is inherent and never going away.

Audrey has never been in a situation where she had to be a one woman army, but she's had to make hard decisions for everyone's own good. It's not fun and she's glad to have someone help with the burden of leadership.

"I'm sure you will. He's a good guy." He's her best friend and she's so glad that he's here. He doesn't like coming to the police station often though and she's not entirely sure why. Honestly, there isn't a lot for Blue to do, but she wants something to occupy her time and Audrey is glad to teach her a little about investigative police work and let her do paperwork and such. "That's all I'm really hoping for. I'm glad to have someone else to work with though."

Starting over is hard. Audrey understands that. She nods at Rick's offer. "Hopefully, it won't come to that." She doesn't want to put his son in that situation either. She smiles a little. "I met him earlier this week. He came in to talk about the broadcast I'd made and have a soda. He's a nice kid."

It both surprises him and not to know that Carl had come into the police station after he'd mentioned that he might try to work here so he could be in a position to make decisions around here, after Rick had mentioned Audrey Parker to him. His son wasn't just in here to talk about the broadcast and have a coke. He was in here to scope the place and Ms. Parker, out. Like father like son.

The knowledge makes Rick smirk and dip his head with a nod. "He is a nice kid. He's a good kid. In spite of everything." And really, that's all he could ever ask for - that his kid maintains some kind of morality while still knowing when to be cautious. Lori would be proud.

"He's been through more than any kid should ever have to go through. Somehow he's kept a good head on his shoulders." He adds. "You didn't mind him comin' in?" Because he expects that with his working here now, Carl will probably be making the occasional appearance. And he guesses he's really asking if she's okay with kids being in the mix of things. When they get Judith here, his daughter will probably occasionally be here with Carl.

Carl had been polite enough, but he'd definitely been checking the place out. Audrey had given him plenty of time to do that. She had nothing to hide here and the secrets about herself are a lot harder to figure out.

"I think that's all parents can really ask for, isn't it?" Audrey is well aware that Carl and Rick had been in a less than ideal world. She and Rick had talked a little about it. "i'm not an expert, but if that's the only thing parents wanted for their kids, the world would be a better place."

"Of course not," Audrey assures him. "I'll make sure the fridge stays full of soda and snacks." Audrey likes kids in general. She won't mind either one of them being up here and she might just fawn all over Judith.

"Sounds like an expert opinion to me." He says with a nod, glad to know that Audrey seems to understand. Their world, the state it's in, has warped so many people into poor excuses for human beings, both young and old. The fact that Carl has escaped that for the most part, the fact that his son still has morals and values and is a generally good person, he likes to think that means he's done something right regarding Carl. He hopes so anyway.

He thinks back to how he and Carl had confronted Lori's ghost a few weeks ago, how they'd inevitably had to kill her when she'd turned into one of those things. That had been rough. The wrapped healing scar on his arm feels like it pulses with the memory. "His mom would be proud."

He studies Audrey for a few moments. "You have people here from your world? Is your world safe?" He wants to know more about her.

Audrey smiles at that. "I don't have as much personal experience as most, but I feel like I've seen a lot of kids grow up. I've definitely seen a lot of less than stellar citizens, and Carl is a good kid." Rick has obviously done well with him, and not everyone can say that coming from the sort of world that Rick had. Hell, not everyone can say that in a world that's not apocalyptic.

"I'm sure she would," her voice softens a little as does her smile. She's gathered from her previous talk and from Rick's words right now that his mom isn't in the picture, probably for a tragic reason.

"I have one: Duke. He's my best friend. I live on a boat in the harbor with him." She takes a shallow breath, considering Rick's question. "My town is...different. We're often besieged by troubles: weird phenomena like weather being affected by a woman's emotions or a particular person's touch being deadly. My town is not very safe, but the world at large is as safe as any world, I guess. I'm working on a way to make my town more safe."

If Rick were someone who beamed in general, he'd be beaming with pride right now. Because yes, Carl is a good kid in spite of everything that he's been forced into. Rick is proud of Carl, so damn proud. As it is, his chin lifts a bit to convey that pride and he nods in agreement. No beaming, just agreement.

His wife is dead. There's probably no reason to voice those words aloud. He's hinted at it and Audrey is smart and perceptive from what he can tell. It's been a long while ago that she died, and while distance has made the day-to-day of it easier, Rick can still get lost in her memory, the memory of the life they'd once shared together, and the memory of her betrayals, if he lets himself. He doesn't let himself.

"I'm glad you're not alone." Not that Rick would let her be alone even if Duke wasn't here. He does have a habit of collecting people as his, after all, especially when they have no one else. "That sounds... almost as strange as the dead gettin' up and walking." He smirks, a hint of a grin on his lips probably for the first time around Audrey. "So it's magic, like... like this place?"

He ought ot be proud, just from what Audrey has seen. Sometimes she wonders if Sarah was that proud of James. She wonders if she ever got the chance. It's odd because Audrey knows so much about James, but she never really got to meet her son, not in this incarnation. She has a few memories of him from Sarah and from Lucy, but not nearly enough. She's envious of Rick (of most parents) but it's also nice that Carl has Rick around.

She understands that. She's got her own sort of grief over Nathan despite the fact that Nathan is very much alive, just not here. She tries not to think too much about him either. It's not the same, but they're both grieving in some way.

Audrey nods at that. "I am too. " She can't help but smile. "We had that once. Sort of. A woman with a trouble that raised the dead. For a few days they were themselves and then...they were...they became vicious, mindless. They went for those that they were closest to in life." She shrugs a little at Rick's question. "Something like that. The Troubles were curses, I guess."

"Gotta get 'em in the brain." He says helpfully, and in what he thinks is mutual understanding, after hearing her story about the dead becoming mindless in her world too. Of course he has no way of really understanding that the Troubles make it different without further explanation. He's just assuming. He's also assuming that she knew about the brain thing since she said it in past tense and she's still alive.

Rick thinks about the word curse. He's often thought that he and his people were cursed to never find peace. He gets the idea that Audrey' means the word in a much more literal sense rather than figurative. It's something else.

"You're talkin' a real curse, like in a movie or somethin'... like a gypsy curse come true. Magic." Maybe. He's trying very hard to understand, obviously.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Network + Action | Open

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

text;

text;

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject