Buffy Meissonier | The Newsflesh Trilogy (bythesoundngsea) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2013-11-09 20:06:00 |
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Entry tags: | !log, !open, ~2013 november, ~40 points, ~~buffy meissonier (bythesoundingsea) |
WHO: Buffy Meisonnier and OPEN
WHERE: Outside Radio Shack
WHEN: Saturday afternoon
WHAT: Upgrading...or trying to.
WARNINGS: Talk of Zombies, talk of death
STATUS: Open/Ongoing
Upon receiving her tablet, computer, and phone, the first thing Buffy had done was to take them apart and examine the inner workings. She'd read of such primitive electronics such as these while she was studying the modern thing, but she'd never thought to see them in a place like this. Where they were actually considered state of the art. The encryption on the devices was disturbingly lax, the connections were slow, the graphics were horrendous, and the memory was ridiculously small. They were cute as historical relics, but as actual useful electronic devices, there wasn't much worth to them.
After Georgia had left, convinced that she wasn't going to amplify, she'd sat down, taken them apart, and dissected the devices on a white sheet on the floor of the living room. It was something she needed to do, to be sure, but it also distracted from the painful feelings of that...reunion. Honestly, whenever she let her mind wander back to it, she wanted to cry. And it wasn't that she thought Shaun and Georgia were being unfair, because she didn't. They had every right to be mad. It was more that she was mad at herself, ashamed of herself, disappointed in herself for what she'd done. She'd let herself be swayed by people she shouldn't have, she'd trusted people she never should have. And really, it didn't matter that she'd never intended people to get hurt, because what it came down to was that they had, and they wouldn't have if she hadn't given them the backdoor.
Innocent people had died because she'd just...wanted to do the right thing. She'd just...wanted to get God back into a world that seemed to have forgotten him. But as tears streaked down her cheeks, she realized absolutely that God had nothing to do with the people who had killed Rebecca Ryman. She'd been used and betrayed as much as she'd used and betrayed After the End Times, but it didn't make any difference. Shaun and Georgia would never forgive her, and worse than that, she'd never forgive herself. Back home, at least, she'd died. Here she had to live with her mistakes, and with the knowledge that she'd killed people. Including her best friend.
She shook her head, trying to force her thoughts away, and turned back to the disassembled electronics spread out on the floor. She knew what all of the pieces were, and it didn't surprise her so much what was there as what wasn't. It was like...someone had set out to make an apple pie, and forgotten the apples. She shook her head and stood, running her hand through her blonde hair. She'd have to get some pieces. Some wires. Some upgraded memory cards, and tools to allow her to do the most with this she could. She wouldn't be able to make them as good as they were at home - she didn't have a clean room or anything like that in order to really upgrade the microchips - but she could certainly make them better than they were. And certainly more secure. Anyone could eavesdrop on these things. She certainly could.
It took nearly all of her courage to walk into the store, even though there were only two or three other people in there. She nearly screamed when the salesman came up behind her, and it was a damn good thing she didn't have a gun. Still trembling, she forced a smile and waved him away. How did they deal with all this...face-to-face contact? They died when the rising came, that was how.
Finding the bits and pieces she needed, she loaded them all up into a basket and took them to the counter, pulling out the debit card they'd given her. She really couldn't believe how inexpensive all this equipment was - that, at least, was a huge benefit of living in a pre-rising world.
Paying, and taking the bag from the clerk carefully, and without touching him, she left the store as quickly as she could, taking a deep - but still nervous - breath once she was outside. The half-second she closed her eyes was enough to let someone brush by her, and she shrieked without thought and warning at the contact, jumping away.
"Jesus!" she cried, trembling, and white as a sheet as she opened her eyes to see a human, not a zombie there. "You don't just touch people!"