Marshall & Sage
Sage knew that Jacob couldn’t babysit him all night, that there would come a time when he’d get pulled into a conversation and that he shouldn’t hover over his shoulder like a lost puppy. What he didn’t expect was how dark his thoughts would turn when left alone, nor the speed at which they took over his mind. He became aware of the windows that overlooked the golf course, large glass panels that put them on display to whatever might be creeping outside. Before the fog, there’d only been the tunnel to fear, but now there was a whole catalog of monsters for him to choose from, most of them creatures that he’d only seen bits and pieces of through the cracks in the walls or the broken windows. It would be so easy for them to get him there, like choosing a live lobster dinner from a fish tank.
He pressed himself to the opposite wall, putting the glass as far from him as possible, and focused on breathing. He was surrounded by people, not one of them on the verge of panic just because the sun had set. They were happy, oblivious to his perceived danger. Safe, at least in their mind, and Sage found himself jealous of them. How lucky they were to be ignorant. His breathing sped up and his hands began to shake. Sage licked his lips, took a deep breath, and forced himself to walk calmly towards the men’s room, somewhere he could freak out in seclusion. He sprinted the last ten feet, then slipped inside, relieved to find the urinals empty. Walking over to the sink, he braced himself against the porcelain edge and forced himself to talk deep breaths. He couldn’t do this here, but he couldn’t seem to stop the fear and loathing from taking hold.
Out by those menacing gigantic windows, Marsh was doing what everyone had told him to do tonight; schmooze. Networking was important for someone who was opening a new business, people were more likely to bring their pets in to someone they already knew and liked, especially those who'd had their business elsewhere for so long. Not having to drive to the next town over wasn't enough of a motivator for everyone to switch services so he had been busy chatting with people and getting reacquainted with people he hadn't met in years. People he - if he was honest - didn't have much interest in knowing but tonight wasn't about pleasure at all.
He'd given up on cocktails after having only one, it didn't mingle well with what was going on in his mouth. He didn't often feel overwhelmed by his strange affinity for picking up other people's emotions through taste but apparently some emotions were running high, even in this calm environment. It was mostly what he was starting to recognize as vanity or pride of some sort, jealousy possibly, he was still getting the hang of it. Overlook had a saccharine taste he didn't much care for; he hadn't really pinned down what it meant but he was guessing competition, ambition, or materialism - something in that vein. Every now and then he tasted something different, a fleeting touch of lust from more than one person in the room, it would have made for a fun game to try to spot who was lusting for whom in there but there were too many people and he wasn't good at this yet.
He was listening to two people talk about real estate when he tasted something else, something like rich red wine on his tongue, heady and borderline sweet. He liked that taste but it still made his heart pick up pace because the only time he'd felt that before had led to disaster. Thankfully he wasn't too involved in the conversation so it wasn't too hard to excuse himself and back away. He could spot the source almost immediately when he did, a young man with blue tainted tips in his hair rushing to the bathroom like death was on his heels. Marsh watched him go to the men's room and struggled with himself for a moment before he followed. It wasn't any of his business, this guy was probably not going to kill himself in a public bathroom at an Overlook cocktail party but it wasn't a chance Marsh wanted to take, not after last time.