. (terryinthesky) wrote in downfallrpg, @ 2010-03-15 17:08:00 |
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Entry tags: | 2015-08-29, kj, kj and terry, terry |
Looks As Though The Past Is Here To Stay
Who: Terry & KJ
When: 11:00-11:45am
Where: Chatting in the halls/kitchen
It was weird, after eight days, to be able to say that she could hunker down in one place and not have to move in the morning. And to be able to be there in the middle of the day reading a textbook, no less! This was as close to perfection as KJ could hope for these days, and she didn't mind it one bit, even with the lack of power. The light filtering in through the windows was enough, and the textbook was soothing. Roman history. Something she knew well enough to get by, but reading more intrigued her. Plus, the world could use some of their ingenuity right now. She frowned, looking out the window.
The world was a very different place than the Romans knew it.
She had unpacked mostly everything, putting her collection away in different places in the dresser in her room. She'd have to find more space for things she found, KJ was sure, but for now it was good enough. Her door was propped open, she was comfortable... She sighed, satisfied, and turned the page, blissfully unaware of anything else in the world.
Terry rubbed a hand over his chin, considering the trip he was going to be taking with Tayne later on in the day. It was still early yet, but he was feeling antsy. Thus the wandering, taking him down hallway after hallway. There was nothing else to do for now. He'd taken down the sign on the roof, stored it away in the basement, and organized the shelves in the pantry. With very little else going on, and his new position of leader going through his head, Terry found himself wandering for what felt like hours. He had his hands in his pockets, teeth on his lower lip as he chewed at it, but when he saw the open door just down the hall, he stopped.
Moving toward the door, Terry peered in curiously, unable to help himself. He was surprised to find a woman he didn't know, and recalled briefly the conversation he'd had with Landon about the new girl he'd mentioned a few hours ago. "Hi there," he said, bringing a hand out of his pocket to wave.
The voice startled her, and KJ jumped a bit, dropping her book with a start. Somehow, she still hadn't expected to actually meet other people... But she lifted her hand and waved, letting a small smile touch her face. "Hello." Looking down, she noted her book was closed and frowned, flipping through the pages to find where she had been. Eventually she found a familiar passage and dogeared the page, closing the book and tucking some hair behind her ear. "Hi," she said again, standing and going over to the door. Huh, he seemed a little older. Not that it was a bad thing, but running into Landon had somehow made her expect that those who survived were generally younger. But whatever it was that had happened apparently had not discriminated by age. "I'm KJ."
Terry waited patiently for her to finish marking her place, knowing how important it was when one was involved in a good book. He hadn't seen anyone else actually reading during all of this... not that he blamed them any. He hadn't exactly had the time to do so either. That and a near constant high-stress level made it almost impossible to focus on words printed on paper. "Hi," he repeated, just because she had. "Nice to meet you, KJ. I'm Terry." Quickly, Terry held out a hand for her to shake, more out of habit than anything. "You're the woman Landon found today, right?" It was more to spark conversation than anything.
She shook his hand, smiling softly and tucking some hair behind her ear. "Yeah. Sort of. I found you guys and he found me in the lobby, so yeah he found me," KJ finally agreed, shrugging. No use in getting really particular over it. Not really sure what else to say, she put her thumbs in her pockets and rolled back on her heels. "So... uh... how long have you guys been here?"
"I've been here since the first day... you know, when everything went crazy." Terry shrugged as well, simply mimicking her movement. "We've just slowly been collecting more and more people. Probably won't be as quickly anymore, considering we had to take down our sign." He licked his lips, eyes narrowed as he considered she likely wasn't familiar with what had happened to them a few days ago... and why would she be? "There's apparently another group of hostile survivors in the area... we're not sure how many, but we had sort of a run-in with them. In consideration of our safety, we took down the sign we had hanging up. We don't want to attract unwanted attention."
"Ah, I must have seen it before you took it down then," she said, running a hand through her hair. But at his next piece of information she scowled slightly. Not good, but then again, considering the history of humans... not surprising. "Good move, though, if they haven't already seen it. If they have, you're screwed." KJ didn't meant that offensively, it was just a matter of fact; most people had a good enough memory where taking down a sign wouldn't really make them forget where this place was.
"I know," he said, nodding a few times. "And I've definitely thought about that already... I'm just not sure that leaving it up is the best option, either. And, maybe this way we won't have this problem in the future. If by some bizarre stroke of luck they haven't seen it yet, then... all the better." Terry knew better than to think they were that lucky. It would have been naive of him, to imagine that this other group never looked up. "Regardless, it's down now... and we're doing what we can to stay safe here."
KJ nodded, tucking some hair behind her ear. "So how many people do you have running around here? This is the first sign of human life I've seen since... you know..." She shrugged, leaning her head against the doorway and crossing her arms, looking very much relaxed. She had a feeling she was going to delegate herself as Group Historian, and if so she'd need to come up with a catchy name for what happened. Right now, however, it wasn't coming to mind.
Thinking about it a moment, Terry finally answered her question with, "Thirty-two, including the children. And it's been interesting, with this many people. We were lucky to end up in a place like this, where we can all spread out... for now. Until we find others." He didn't think the people would stop being found, not in a city this size. "You don't have to be alone anymore. That's for sure."
"Wow..." She paused, thinking about it. Detroit had been a large metropolis, and that there were thirty-two people who had survived shouldn't have been so surprising... but it was. Hey, there were thirty-two survivors! More things to add to her collection! "Do you know if they've brought anything they may not find useful anymore?"
Terry turned his head slightly, giving the woman a sort of sidelong look. "Anything they may not find useful...?" He made a face as though considering it. "I don't know, KJ. I guess you'd want to ask them yourself, probably. I have a few books, but nothing I want to really give up. Are you... looking for something in particular?"
She shook her head, looking back over her shoulder and into her room briefly. "I'm starting a collection of sorts. Just bits and pieces of life today, so that future generations would know how we lived before..." KJ paused, tilting her head. "The Fall." That sounded nice, catchy. Maybe it'd work.
"Ah," he answered, nodding vaguely. The movement was subtle as he considered what she was trying to do, curious about it and a little fascinated that she would think of such a thing. "I'm glad someone has the presence of mind to do it, then. It's probably not a bad idea, preserving the things that were important to us before all this... before The Fall." He smirked, liking the title as well, despite the terrible things that had happened to all of them. "Just don't get too caught up in all of it. We're not quite in the clear just yet, as far as survival goes."
KJ shrugged, smiling softly as he seemed to approve. "I'm only getting things no one's really going to use at the moment. Textbooks, DVD's, cell phones, things that we can't really use anymore. Nothing of sentimental value or that could help us survive. Although, the book I'm reading now might..." Looking over her shoulder, she withdrew into the room and picked her book up off the bed, bringing it back to show him. "Roman history. We could use their ingenuity right now, especially when the water no longer works and we're forced to find alternative means of plumbing. Plus, they were pretty good at that whole war thing," she reminded him, bequeathing the book to him momentarily. "Perhaps you can use it for defense, albeit adapted."
"Good idea, about the books... drawing from the past to help us with the difficult future we have laid out in front of us." Terry smiled softly, though it was a little tired. He was sure he had a long day ahead of him, and this conversation with KJ would likely be the last pleasant thing he could enjoy. "I still have my phone in my room, but I don't know that it doesn't have sentimental value. It's one of the last things I have... you know, that are connected to how things used to be." He remembered running in the streets, the panic that swept over him as he attempted to find any form of safety. "It doesn't work anymore, but... I called people with it. You know?"
She shrugged. "Sure, that's fine. Whatever people wanna give is cool." KJ looked him over, how tired her seemed. She, in comparison, seemed rejuvenated- perhaps more tired than usual, but it were as if she had stayed up too late the night before, not as if she were in the middle of Armaggedon. Perhaps, in her own way, KJ was even reveling in this. She was a historian during arguably the most important time in human history. Why shouldn't she?
"Alright, then. Maybe you could post up a note outside the kitchen, for people to see it as they pass by throughout the day. You could have them just bring stuff to your room." Terry shrugged, not sure what else to say on the matter. If people wanted to donate, they would. "While I'm out with Tayne today, I'll keep you in mind if I find anything interesting. Books or CDs or something." He had no idea how far out he and Tayne were going, or how long it would take them to get back. They may not have the time to scrounge around in search of valuable items, but he supposed he'd find out soon enough.
KJ smiled. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. I'm sure people have some great stuff!" She disappeared back into her room and went into her purse (which she had of course kept, and added to her collection), grabbing a pen and a small notebook she kept in there, scribbling a quick note about her collection and her room number on it. "Perhaps I'll find a bigger piece of paper, right now this'll do," she nodded, ripping it out. Then she paused for a second, stared at it, and then looked back up at him. "Where's the kitchen?"
Terry blinked when KJ turned and left him in the hallway, staring after her with obvious confusion on his face. For a moment there, he thought that the conversation had been ended, but when she came back a moment later he took in a breath and shook his head at himself -- mentally, to save face. "This way," he said, gesturing down the hallway and toward the staircase. "Downstairs... come on. I'll show you." He smiled faintly and started to lead the way, imagining she would follow without too much convincing required.
She followed him obediently enough, looking around. "What kind of facilities do you have in the hotel? Is the water still working? I already know the power's gone out... Where are you storing the food? Do you have a back up plan for when the freezer warms up?" KJ had plenty of questions, unable to help herself as she studied her surroundings. Keeping herself in her historian state of mind, she found this all wildly fascinating; but considering she knew she was in the situation, she wanted to know where she stood. It was confusing state to be in.
"Yeah, the water is still working for now. I'm not thinking it's going to last a hell of a lot longer, though... which is why I've started bottling it, and I've asked others to do so as well. We need to stock up for when it's no longer moving." Terry took her down to the ground floor, glancing back over his shoulder once or twice. "Currently the food is still in the kitchen and pantry, but when the freezer isn't frozen anymore...? I don't really know that there's a lot we can do about it. Possibly learning how to prepare and salt meats would come in handy, but... I have no idea how to do that, or if I'm even talking about the right thing." He laughed softly.
"Salting meats is a good idea, it'll help preserve them. I'm sure there's a book on that somewhere, perhaps in a book store or in the library under the culinary arts," KJ shrugged, pushing her brain power towards the idea now. That would be very helpful. "As for when the freezer gives out... I'm unsure. I know that indigenous peoples used to bury holes in the ground, cover the food, and then put them in there to help keep them cold, however that is a bit impossibly in a cityscape like this. Perhaps if we had safe access to a park or something, but I highly doubt that's possible."
Terry thought about it as they walked through the halls, his mind working with the ideas. "Learning how to keep meat... and getting vegetables at all... living in a cityscape absolutely has its pitfalls." He thought about Tayne's truck, though, and how that would likely help them out a lot, so long as they were successful in retrieving it. "Maybe at some point, we'll start crops outside of the city, and we can take a vehicle back and forth to care for them. It might be our only option. Other than... maybe literally building a dirt box on the roof, and attempting to grow food there."
"How far away are we from the edge of the city?" KJ asked, intrigued. She had no idea how far she had walked over the past eight days, and certainly had no concept of where geographically she was in the city. "Actually, how far away are we from the lake? If some of the humans could survive whatever killed and turned everyone else, than perhaps some fish survived. If we're careful to conserve it that could be a precious food source." Coming upon the kitchen, KJ looked around a bit and scowled. "Is there any tape?"
Terry laughed a tiny bit, unable to reign it in entirely. "Fish being left over would be a fucking blessing, but honestly...? If there are any fish, they've got to be all incredibly different by now. We'd be catching the most frightening fish we've ever seen... not that they wouldn't be edible, exactly." He shrugged. It was still a good idea. The monsters... they were still meat and bone. They could potentially be a very harvest-able food source. "Tape? Uh... there was a roll over here, I think. We should set up a post-it board in the hallway, probably. For things like this... or for meetings, suggestions, etcetera."
KJ shrugged. "Exactly, who says you can't eat them? Some of them looked weird in the first place," she grinned, heading over to where he suggested and digging out a roll of tape. Going over to the kitchen door, she ripped a piece off and attached it to the door, stepping away to study her handiwork and frowning. "I need to find a bigger piece of paper. Where are you going to get a post-it board?"
"I'll get a post-it board from a supply store, I'd imagine." Terry made a very smart-ass sort of face, lips pressed together in a silly smile. "Next time I go out shopping, I suppose. I'll be sure to bring my credit card, too, just in case." He let the expression fade into a normal smile, clearly just teasing her. "And when I bring it home, I'll be sure to let you know before anyone else."
"I heard those were expensive, be sure you have enough to get other supplies after." She didn't even smile, however, turning around to look at him. But clearly she was joking. "Do you mean that? Thanks, I appreciate it. Although I'm sure you have a lot of messages you should be putting up there as well. Where are you going to put it, here?"
"Yeah, probably out in the hallway, just outside of the kitchen." Terry was enjoying himself for the moment, even despite the fact that his socializing time was running low for the day. "And yeah, I'll let you know the moment I get one going. Your cause is important, too, even if not everyone sees it right away. Someday we'll wish someone had done something like that, you know? We don't want to lose everything, just because of some scary creatures roaming around." Terry waved one hand dismissively.
"One of the most foolish things men do constantly in history is destroy valuable artifacts, for their own greed, or short sightedness. We've lost a lot of information due to human stupidity. I refuse to let what I can save fall through my fingers." KJ blushed slightly, having let her passion for the subject show through, and ran a hand through her hair. "I was a history major. I guess I would've gone on into archaeology. I know what it would mean for future generations of scholars to hoard things, even if it ends up being buried somewhere."
Terry listened to her curiously, not put off by her short speech. "It's good to see you're so passionate about it, despite all the chaos around us. It's tough... not being overwhelmed by how the world has turned out. Nothing is easy anymore." He shrugged and moved to head toward a small basket on the middle counter where there was a basket of the rest of the fruit they'd been able to find. He picked up an apple, inspected it and began to eat it. These luxuries were not going to last long, but he was hungry and it was about to go bad. It was a win-win situation.
"Gives me something to focus on, I guess," KJ shrugged, tucking some hair behind her ear as she followed him into the kitchen, looking around. It seemed well stocked. She wasn't actually hungry, as she had brought some food with her and had eaten already, but it was nice to know this was here. "What did you do before The Fall?" she asked, walking around a bit and then going over to the freezer, opening it and scowling a bit. Hm... "Is there anything underneath here? Any basement levels?" Of course there would be. KJ scowled again, thinking about it and biting her lip. "How far down does this place go?"
"There are a few basement levels, but the lowest one is literally filled with cobwebs and mice droppings. It's really bad. I haven't bothered venturing too far into it just yet, but there doesn't appear to be much more than blankets and towels and things like that." He shrugged and took another bite. "I was an English professor at Wayne State." He didn't go into anymore detail for now, not seeing the need to... and particularly not with his mouth full of food.
KJ nodded and studied the floor again, before closing the door. "I'm assuming you guys have all acquired powers as well, yes? If I'm not the only humanoid survivor than I surely can't be the only one with powers," she reasoned, turning around to face him. "I can do stuff with... rocks. Pavement and such. With my mind, it's weird. But I could probably dig a hole into the floor with them and be able to make our makeshift freezer. I'm just not sure how deep I should make it that would fit all of our food." She paused, considering the question and tilting her head. "I suppose I could always dig out the floor of the freezer almost to it's exact size and still get a pretty good depth... the question would remain of whether or not a hole so large would keep everything cool enough. However, I'll need a lot of practice before I could get that far, anyway," she shrugged.
Terry raised his eyebrows at that, his interest piqued. "You can do that?" he asked, genuinely surprised. "That will be incredibly useful, if you can get a handle on it. And yes, in case you haven't picked up by my reaction... most of us seem to have developed more abilities. There are a few of us here with physical mutations as well... and some of us without anything at all yet." He tapped his chest with one finger, careful not to press the apple to his shirt. "Like me."
"I'm sure it'll come," KJ shrugged, although she paused again and thought about it. "Maybe. It is possible that some of us were left without powers, but then I don't know why whatever happened wouldn't happen to us all. Then again, I don't know why some people died and some were mutated. Perhaps it's something to do with genetics." But she wasn't really a scientist, she wouldn't know how to deal with that.
"Yeah," Terry agreed, shrugging loosely. "I'm not really all that worried about it. I mean, if it happens, it happens. But if it doesn't, I can live with that. At least I don't have to get used to anything that way, right?" He glanced around to find the hanging clock in the room, blinking as he read the time. "Shoot, I should probably get going. Tayne, another of the people here... he and I are making a trip to get his truck just outside of town. I'll probably be gone most of the day, but we can talk again later. If you need something, Joyce and Landon will be around the hotel. It was really nice meeting you, KJ."
KJ followed his eyes up to the clock and was surprised to find how much time had gone. "Oh. Well I hope it works out well for you, then. I'm going to go see if I can get a bigger sheet of paper," she nodded, smiling at him before leaving the kitchen to begin her exploring. Perhaps at the front desk, or maybe there would be a supply closet somewhere...
Terry left soon after KJ, hurrying to gather his things (his gun and jacket) and to meet Tayne at the front door. He wasn't looking forward to the journey at all, but he had agreed to it -- and he wasn't sure he could deal with himself if he let Tayne go by himself anyway.