0 Days Remain

[lightmischief]

After the vision, and realizing that they still have an hour before the curfew, a message shows up on their program...

Luci: Finally! Human minds can be so fragile...

Luci: You saw it, right? What do you think?

Luci: Does it make you angry or terrified?

Luci: I don't really care but if you answered yes to either of those, good!

Luci: I've got presents for you, lambs.

Luci: Once an apple falls from the tree, it's hard to stop gravity.

Luci: They will try.

Luci: Already a few of you didn't make it.

Luci: But you are all stronger than you look! Amazing, I know.

Luci: SO LISTEN UP! See that dot on the map?



Luci: No? Maybe arrows will help?



That's where you saw that vision.

Luci: It's just about twenty minutes away from the central part of Green Valley's fancy-ass school. You know the 'World Famous' apple orchards out in the back? The very first subway station?

Luci: If you want to know more about what you saw and any other questions that might be burning in your mind, I suggest you hop into the underground city subway and wait until midnight strikes then sneak out to it. Don't think the city will care for less than fifty people going there anyway. Staying after darkness is normal anyway, right?

Luci: When we get there, you'll get a brand new message.

Comments

[action]

[lovelledup]

[Asher doesn't find it selfish. Actually, for a minute, he barely even registers that Ciro went and locked himself in the bathroom, too preoccupied with everything that just happened. Similarly, he looks at his phone on impulse, and reads what's there, though for the moment at least, he can't think of anything to say. It's a few more minutes before he realises that Ciro hasn't come back and goes to knock lightly on the door.]

You okay?

[Not that any of them really are, probably, but he can't think of a better way to ask.]

[kokuyoyo]

....I'm honestly not sure.

[And he's not sure how to explain it, either. He as he was- Ciro Bonavita- is horrified. Should be horrified. What happened to those people, the screams, the people in masks....]

[Yet there's a part of him- the person he tentatively thinks might be Chikusa Kakimoto- who hadn't been bothered at all. In fact, as much as he'd like to think that he's a calmheaded person in an emergency.... He almost feels that it's "Chikusa" who had decided on the practical concerns.]

[A shaky breath that's probably audible through the door.]

Do- you have a first aid kit in here? I'm not hurt, but-

[Well. It's on the app.]

[lovelledup]

There's some things in the cabinets.

[Not exactly a first aid kit, but at least some things like bandaids and disinfectant.]

There's a real first aid kit, too, but it's not in there, and I think my brother already got it.

[kokuyoyo]

Ah. Does... he need it immediately?

[Is the implication what he thinks it is?]

[lovelledup]

[Thankfully not.]

No, just gathering stuff in case we need it.

[It occurs to him then that they seems to have all decided to follow along with this, without ever talking about it. Why is that? But at the same time, as much as "Asher" would be just as happy to stay home and avoid the whole thing... some other part of him is sure he needs to understand what's going on here. Still, when he says it out loud, it's hesitant.]

I guess... we're all going to go. To the place. Once we're ready.

[kokuyoyo]

[Phew.]

[Still, as Asher says it, Ciro goes quiet for a moment. He's choosing his words carefully.]

I'm not sure how much of a choice we really have. And not for the usual reasons. At this point.... It's all just self defense.

[lovelledup]

[He nods, though Ciro can't see it. Under different circumstances, that response might be baffling, but right now, it makes too much sense.]

I know what you mean.

[kokuyoyo]

[After long last, Ciro finally opens the door a few inches. While he should be looking rattled, exhausted.... Well. He still looks exhausted. But it's as if he's found a peculiar reservoir of calm within him.]

[Is he just too tired to be afraid anymore or is this something else? He has no idea.]

Do you want help packing some things?

[lovelledup]

[He's simultaneously relieved and a little unsettled when Ciro emerges seeming quite so calm. But he's not going to question it, not when he's just barely managing to keep it together himself. He nods to the question.]

Yeah. [With that, he glances back toward his room.] I'm going to go empty out my backpack so we can put things in it.

[kokuyoyo]

Alright.

[Stepping out from the bathroom, he takes another breath. This is it. There was never really a chance to do anything else, but this is all of them taking an active step forward.]

[The adrenaline might kill him before anything else.]

[Still, wordlessly, he sets off through the rest of the house to see what they can get.]