InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Om nom nom!!"

Dan Dreiberg aka Night Owl II (niteowlish) wrote in vas_captio_rpg,
@ 2009-08-14 20:46:00

Entry tags:

!shelved, dan dreiberg, day 19, location: forest, ted logan

Day 19, Arrival Thread
Who: Dan Dreiberg and Ted Logan
What: Arrival Thread
Where: In the Forest, near the Church
When: Day 19, Early Morning
Rating: TBA
Status: Active

It took Dan Dreiberg a moment to surface from the darkness he found himself in. Though he was vaguely aware that he was on his back and the quietness of his garage had been replaced with a soft rustling sound, he hadn't yet registered these facts to be out of the ordinary. It was only after he heard the sound of a bird's call - one he automatically classified and filed away as Cyanocitta cristata - that he opened his eyes and looked at the world around him. The canopy of tree leaves overhead, moving softly in the breeze, shocked him. He sat up quickly, moving faster than might be expected of a man his size, and pushed himself to his feet.

He'd been in his garage what seemed only minutes ago, fine-turning Archie and getting him ready for patrolling later in the evening. He'd heard the sound of the front door signaling the arrival of Laurie's mother and had simply been finishing up on a few things to give them some time alone before making his way up the stairs. He had no idea how he'd gotten here or how much time had passed since then. A quick glance at the skyline confirmed the feeling in his gut that he wasn't in Central Park. Dan slipped off his glasses, retrieving a clean cloth from his pocket to clean them as he tried to piece together the missing time. He frowned in concentration as he tried to determine if Laurie and her mother were alright. He put back on his glasses and blinked, catching sight of a small box in front of him. He bent down to pick it up, mouthing the words engraved on it's top out loud. "Vas Captio?"

His mind reached back decades to forgotten Latin lessons and tried to piece together the meaning. Dan's frown deepened. Glass prison? That couldn't be right, could it? His feeling of unease increased as he looked around the forest floor for additional clues. His sight froze on a blue jean clad leg sticking out from behind a tree a few feet away. He took in his surroundings once more before moving cautiously forward. The rest of the body came into view and he stopped again at the sight of the young man lying face down on the ground. Not because he wasn't moving, Dan had seen his share of unmoving bodies - a lot of them gang members he'd made that way. He'd stopped because off the huge smiley face looking up at him from the back of the man's jacket. The only thing missing was the bit of human bean juice at the upper left corner.

The Comedian's death and everything that had followed suddenly on his mind, Dan forced himself forward. He didn't see any blood or injuries and there were no weapons within reach unless they were under the body. He nudged the body with his foot, ready to defend himself if this was a trap. "Hey," he said, his voice sounding slightly nervous. He cleared his throat, removing that sign of weakness from it. "Hey," he said a little louder. "You alive?"

(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)

niteowlish
2009-08-16 07:00 am UTC (link)

California. Well maybe that explained the surfer talk. Though when Ted indicated he was from the year 1989 Dan's eyes narrowed. Was the kid high?

"It was 1985 last I checked," Dan said, tucking his box underneath his arm. He straightened up, his fists clenching when Ted jumped back suddenly. This place was making him jumpy and the kid's nonsensical riddles weren't helping. Dan frowned as he looked down at his own clothing, a black t-shirt and brown pants. "Future dude?" Dan repeated looking back up at Ted as he started going through his own box.

"Okay," he said when Ted asked him if he was a dead dude, his expression turning serious. "What are you on?" If he had any left Dan was going to have to confiscate it. Considering they had no idea where they were or how they got there, the kid didn't need to be any more whacked than he already was.

Strange things indeed. Dan didn't know how to react at the weird use of the word afoot. He was suddenly reminded of reading Sherlock Holmes books under the covers as a kid. "Right," Dan said slowly. "Stick together." Deciding that getting a straight answer out of the young man was impossible, Dan started walking in the direction of the steeple he'd spotted.

He looked over at Ted when he spoke about their being dead as an actual possibility. "We're not dead," Dan said, quickly. He stopped to stare at Ted as he once again seemed to launch into a fit of convulsions involving some kind of invisible instrument. "Do you do that a lot?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

wyld_stallyn
2009-08-16 07:59 pm UTC (link)

Ted stared for a minute. "Whoa." That wasn't very historical at all! "Maybe someone dialed a couple of numbers too low." He looked worried about that and checked his watch. Still had his watch, thank goodness! "I totally wound it yesterday.." Right? He thought he did, anyway.

The teenager was still contemplating whether he had, in fact, wound his watch like Bill always reminded him to do when Dan asked what he was on. Head lifted straight up and he looked a little offended. "I am totally a role model for our most excellent future generations. What kind of role model would I be if I did drugs?" He had the world to worry about, after all!

"Besides, I am so not joining the 27 Club." Brian Smith, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin? No sirree! Not joining that club at all. After the initial offense wore off, which didn't take long at all, Ted was walking along again and then grinned. "Sha! It's air guitar, dude! Bodacious for expressing your emotions." Every once in a while, Ted spoke using big words or thoughts. And then? It was back to simple surfer speak. With that, he did a slower circle motion of the air guitar, like the one that the Future Dudes did. It was almost..soothing, in a way. "It is most tranquil if done in a certain way." He nodded sagely. "And it clears up air pollution!"

They weren't dead though. "Didn't start an 18 club either! That would have been bogus." Said thoughtfully. Things came full circle then, and Ted was curious about his not-so-historical friend. "Where are you from, my trepidatious time traveler from 1985?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

niteowlish
2009-08-17 02:58 am UTC (link)

Dan's brow furrowed as he tried to decipher whether or not Ted's comment about someone dialing too low was meant to be an insult or not. He watched the kid check his watch and talk about winding it. He looked down, surprised to see his own watch on his wrist. He'd taken it off to work on Archie. He glanced at the display and then shook his head slightly, deciding he was wasting time on something that wasn't important. What was important was finding out if Laurie and her mother were alright.

Dan's eyebrows raised in surprise and his mouth thinned out at Ted's answer to his inquiry on what sort of drugs he was on. He almost felt badly for a moment, but it wasn't exactly like the kid was talking normally. So far out of all the words that had come out of his mouth Dan had only been able to fully understand the context of a handful. Still, the kid looked offended and Dan let a small sigh through his nose. "Sorry," he said with a small shrug. At least he didn't have to worry about drugs. He forced himself to relax, realizing he still had his fists balled and releasing them to stretch out his fingers.

The moment of peace lasted a moment before Ted launched into his explanation of air guitar. This time Dan smiled and looked at his companion. He had to be kidding, right? Expressing your emotions? Air pollution? Still, the look on Ted's face was serious. Dan's smile faded.

"You're eighteen?" Dan asked, as they moved forward. Christ, he really was just a kid. "I'm from New York," Dan said, deciding to ignore the time traveler remark. "Or what's left of it." He paused before speaking again. "Ted, any idea on who would want to kidnap you and throw you in the woods with a stranger?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

wyld_stallyn
2009-08-18 12:46 am UTC (link)

"Sha. No problem. I get that a lot." He looked confused as to why people would think he was on drugs. Well sure, there was the very occasional toke-up at a party, but those were few and far in between. Mostly because he and Bill didn't get invited to a lot of parties. But even if they were, he wouldn't have done it! Future generations to worry about. Anyway. Ted was shrugging amicably and dropped his hands into his pockets.

"Just turned!" Though that wouldn't keep the military dudes at bay. Sadly. "New York! Excellent! When Wyld Stallyns takes off, we're totally going to New York and playing every big venue ever!" They were going to play the world, Wyld Stallyns. Ted smiled to himself about that. Then he was brought back down to earth with the questions. It was a bummer sort of a question.

"The Future Us's were being dickweeds. I totally think they meant to throw us off that cliff!" But why would the Future Bill and Ted want to kill themselves? "I wish Rufus was here." And Bill.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

niteowlish
2009-08-19 06:04 am UTC (link)

Dan thought he knew why the kid might be mistaken for a stoner pretty often, but he thought it would've been unkind to point it out. Especially since he seemed harmless enough, minus or especially because of all of the crazy talk.

Hell of a time to be coming of age. Or maybe it was a great time to be coming of age when the world was finally at peace and the threat of nuclear war was behind it, at least for a little while. Did it matter if it was a lie? As long as the world believed it and continued to be kind to one another. Was it still a utopia if it was imperfect? Dan shook himself out of his thoughts as Ted commented on New York. He looked over at the kid. "So Wild Stallions is our band?" He guessed, raising an eyebrow. "And when you're performing in your band, do you use actual instruments, or...you know, just air guitar?"

"Future us's?" Dan asked, wincing at the bad use of grammar. He was trying to dissect Ted's speak the best he could. "Is that another band?" Another band that tried to throw him off a cliff? Okay, there had to be some drugs involved somewhere, right? Attempted murder, invisible instruments, kidnapping, why not drugs to explain behavioral abnormalities. "Who is Rufus?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

wyld_stallyn
2009-08-19 05:46 pm UTC (link)

"Sha!" Agreed about Wyld Stallyns being their band. Ted's face just lit up like a kid at Christmas when he spoke about their band. He didn't even mind the hesistant question about whether they used real instruments or not. Just answered them like he hadn't a care in th world.

"Real instruments! Bill and me shred the guitars while the bodacious princesses play the drums and keyboard." Well, technically they didn't play just yet. "Once we learn how to play better, and have an awesome video, we're totally getting Eddie Van Halen!"

He had paused his thinking about the band, processing what Dan was asking. "No, but it would make a most excellent side project." Hey, it was never too early to think about different things that the Wyld Stallyns could do. "It's the Future Bill and Ted..though I think those Future Us's were totally robots." Still, why would even the robot them want to kill..them?

"Rufus!" Ted shook off the worry about being dead off, literally, and then grinned again. "Rufus is totally this dude from the future who helps us. He was the one who gave us the phone booth."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

niteowlish
2009-08-20 04:29 am UTC (link)

Dan looked slightly relieved to find that it wasn't a band made up entirely of air instruments, though it seemed to fade slightly at the mention of princesses. He looked at the path in front of him as a wrought iron gate and tombstones came into sight. He guessed a graveyard was better than nothing. At least they were approaching some sign of civilization. Ted had paused in his talking and somehow the silence seemed unnatural. "Van Halen," Dan said a little awkwardly. "Really. That's great." He wasn't exactly sure which one Van Halen was. He liked jazz mostly. Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Coltrane...those were his staples. He didn't know much about contemporary music.

As they approached the cemetery and a church became visible, Dan turned towards Ted. "Wait, so you're saying that future, robot versions of you tried to kill you?" He gave Ted a doubtful look, hoping he was just misunderstanding. Or the kid was trying to pull one over on him, still it was hard not to buy the sincerity of his expressions, as much as they changed from one moment to the next.

"A guy from the future named Rufus gave you a phone booth?" Dan said slowly, hoping if he repeated it back to Ted he'd see the leaps in logic in that statement. "Why a phone booth?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

wyld_stallyn
2009-08-20 05:37 am UTC (link)

"Most unsettling." He murmured to himself as they started up the path that brought even more tombstones into view. "Miss--My stepmom totally believes in ghosts." Missy was so hot. Why'd she have to marry his dad? Now it was Ted who had the oedipal complexes!

"Shah! Van Halen, or maybe Slash." He seemed like an excellent dude to shred with. Another moment of silence, mostly as Ted was looking around and taking in his surroundings, and then he looked up to Dan. "Yeah! They were complete jerks! I don't know why they wanted to, though. I mean, even if they were robots, they were totally Future Us's." Who would want to kill Ted Logan? Seriously.

More affirmation, in the form of vigourous head nodding. "See, me and Bill were going to fail our history class..and he let us meet history face to face!" He paused, wondering about why a telephone booth. "Because you can totally reach out and touch someone, dude."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

niteowlish
2009-08-20 07:04 am UTC (link)

Dan looked over the headstones, his mind momentarily wandering to the people he'd recently lost. And the thousands that had been unwillingly sacrificed in the name of peace. Was there a graveyard big enough for that many people? He sighed, pulling the piece of polishing fabric out of his pants and sliding off his glasses to clean them. "I don't," Dan said, his voice low. Once people were gone, they didn't come back.

Dan sighed, putting on his glasses and moving towards the church. After a moment he responded, not sure why he was playing along. "But if they were future versions of you, wouldn't killing the past version of you mean they never come to exist?"

"Ah," Dan said in response to Ted's explanation of why a telephone booth. "Okay." He stopped as they reached the end of the graveyard and came upon the front doors of the church. It looked deserted and run down. Dan would've thought that there hadn't been anyone around in years except for some tire marks in the mud next to the steps.

"We should probably check inside," Dan said, looking over at Ted, though he wasn't sure what he was looking for. A phone maybe? Was he supposed to call for help? He was usually the one doing the helping, not asking for it. He could call Laurie though, see if she was at the house. See if she was alright. "There might be a phone," he said, moving up the stairs. "Minus the booth and Rufus."

(Reply to this) (Parent)

(Read comments) -