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Tweak says, "this man's got eyebrows!"

Kimberly Corman hearts nerds (cheatingdeath) wrote in vas_captio_rpg,
@ 2009-09-20 23:10:00

Entry tags:

!active, connor temple, day 24, kimberly corman, location: clock tower

Day Twenty-Four, Morning
Who: Kimberly Corman and Connor Temple
What: Trying to find a payphone or, at the very least, civilization void of dangerous people
Where: The clock tower
When: Day 24, 8:30am
Rating: PG
Status: Complete

Kimberly had at least managed to escape the woods unscathed and without the intimidatingly-sized man, King, or the angry woman whose name she had failed to learn. There had to be a payphone somewhere. She'd call Thomas, or her dad, and someone would come pick her up and take her home. When she got there, she'd make her next move - the Stonybrook Institute. It was safer there. The padded room would be boring, but she'd be alive...and safe.

She'd come upon a building, however ramshackle it was and as much as the very idea of going inside made her nervous - bad idea, Kimberly, roof could cave in; could cut yourself on broken glass; break your neck trying to climb the stairs to find a phone... she thought to herself - but she moved carefully and slowly toward the door and into the main room. It was empty and looked uninhabited. There didn't seem to be anywhere a phone would be hooked up, even. "Hello?" she called out tentatively. Maybe if there was someone there, they'd know where she could go to find a phone.

Padding around the room in the socks from King's box, with her eyes on the floor to watch for any rusty nails, Kimberly shifted her own box underneath her arm and squinted in the darkness. King had said there were matches in the box and she could use light, she thought, but he'd also said the matches were wet, which was useless. Besides, Kimberly was terrified to light any of them, anyway. Fire hazard was bad enough, but with Kimberly's luck? She didn't really want to take the chance. "Anyone here?" she tried, pausing in her movement so that she could look up toward the stairs.

Taking a deep breath, Kimberly set her box on the floor and toed it open. She bent down and very carefully extracted the book inside and flipped through it. There seemed to be writing from all different hands. "Huh..." she thought aloud, picking up the pen gingerly and writing a small note. "Like anyone will see this," she muttered to herself, rolling her eyes and dropping both the book and the pen gently back into the box and toeing it shut again. She'd look at the other stuff later.

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leconnortemple
2009-09-27 12:52 am UTC (link)

"No, no," Conner countered, shaking his head. "Not a physical being, necessarily, though I do hear there's a real Angel of Death." One of those weird facts that came to you when being friends with a half-angel. "I think I get what you mean, though. More of an existence of Death. The fact that its a reality. It does make sense, sort of." In a completely morbid way, but he at least knew where she was coming from with it. Then again, you didn't exist in this hellhole and not at least grasp death in some form or fashion. He'd seen Chris' dead mother, he'd seen Andy and Tonks' friend Luna, both in death and...post death, so to speak. But how to make her see that?

"The time thing..." Connor shrugged, nearly as confused as she was. And he'd been working with time for going on two years. "It's confusing, I know. It's what I do for a living and I don't know all the logistics, though I'm working on it." He took off his hat and twirled it between his hands, a nervous habit he'd had for years. "Time...isn't a straight line, see. There are gaps, all over the world. Openings where one time can lap over another. That's what I deal with. We call them anomalies. So no, I don't work in a museum. I work with an organization meant to research those anomalies and prevent anyone from being hurt by whatever comes through them. Past or future." And they weren't always successful. Just another way death affected his life on an almost daily basis.

He sighed and paused in his twirling, looking up at her sincerely. What he had to say would sound utterly nutters, but it was the truth. At least, his theory, anyway. "I think time can be manipulated. The gaps, the rips, I think they can be bent and twisted. Really, it's all a matter of moving the particles in the right way, and it's possible if you know how." After all, he'd figured out how to detect anomalies, and then how to close them. The odds were in his favor that, given enough time, he could learn to create them, too. That artifact Cutter had handed him in those last few moments together... Maybe. Just maybe. "If they did that, they could stop a timeline in a particular place. People here are from different times, or didn't you notice that yet?"

That might've sounded pompous from most people, but Connor's words were followed with a beaming smile. He was teasing her, whether she'd notice or not. After all, he was used to being the comic relief when things went downhill fast. And this? Was definitely going downhill. "So see, if they stopped time in general everywhere except here? Your friend would still be safe. If not... I'm sorry, Kimberly. I really am."

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cheatingdeath
2009-09-27 10:09 pm UTC (link)

Kimberly nodded. "Yes. That's it. That there's an existence of Death, thank you. I had no idea how to word that but I knew what I meant. Apparently, you did, too," she said gratefully. The time explanation, though, she still wasn't so sure on. He tried to explain that he worked with time and that he still didn't fully understand it - that much Kimberly understood; how could anyone really and truly understand time? - but that it was non-linear and had gaps in it. Without outwardly agreeing with him, Kimberly wondered if a gap in time was what had allowed her to see the pile up before it happened, among other things. "Like dinosaurs," she said more than asked, raising her eyebrows again. "How do you manage that?"

Her eyes narrowed as she tried to take in what Connor was saying. His theory was that people here were from different times and it was because their own personal timelines had been, what? Put on pause? "Uh...seeing as how I've only met three people and didn't really have it in my head to ask, 'by the way, hey, what year is it?' no, I hadn't noticed," she replied, a slight challenge in her voice. That was a lot to swallow if it was true, and if it wasn't, then this guy really was fucking crazy and she should book it.

But then he smiled and spoke again and, crazy or not, she stiffened, raising her eyebrows. Thomas could be safe as long as she was away? The hope in her incredulous eyes quickly fell away again at the last sentiment. Jaw tight, Kimberly nodded and looked away. "So what now?"

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leconnortemple
2009-09-27 10:31 pm UTC (link)

"Yeah, like dinosaurs," he added with a wry little grin. Busted, Temple. Story of his life. At least it wasn't like the time he'd bragged and broken the Secrecy Code with Duncan and Tom. In fact, he was pretty sure it didn't matter here. "We've seen the future, too. It's a little crazy, trust me, I know that, but it's real. We're learning to control them, the gaps, trying to keep people safe. And the dinosaurs. They're not intentionally stomping on us and eating us and all. It's just their nature." He shrugged, then folded his arms in front of him. As he'd told Tonks, this was what he'd dreamed of since he was a kid. Who was he to complain when finding out things like the Loch Ness monster and Bigfoot could be very, very real?

Sadly, he was about to sound even more insane. "Every person here is from somewhere else. Some other time, some other place. I'm from the year two-thousand and nine, one of my mates is from two-thousand and fourish, and another is from the nineties. They go further back and further forward and it's the craziest thing I've ever seen. But it's there. So no, I can't guarantee my theory. But it's something to hold hope to. I'm afraid hope is all most of us have here."

He was talking a lot, and he knew it. But rambling was how Connor got by. It was how he understood things, how he put ideas and thoughts together. And it was how he comforted himself. Plus, there was a lot to explain to catch this poor girl up with her new surroundings. And then she asked her question and he paused and thought. What now indeed. He wished he knew. "You'll need a place to stay at night. The weather changes all the time here. And you'll need shoes. And food. There's a thrift store where we've been picking up some extra clothes and goods, and a drug store for supplies and food and medicines and things. There's a map in the front of your book, actually. Someone made it when the first people got here. Pioneers, sort of." There was a laugh, but it was short lived.

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cheatingdeath
2009-09-30 11:11 pm UTC (link)

Connor seemed to really and truly believe what he was saying and he was talking in a plural form, so either he was really crazy, or he was telling the truth. Maybe, even if it seemed completely impossible, he really did work with the things he said he did and that he wasn't making up co-workers just to look normal. As nuts as working with dinosaurs seemed, it wasn't like Kimberly hadn't had her fair share of time sounding like a freakshow. She decided to give him the benefit of the doubt on this one. "Huh," she said wryly. "So, you're kind of a hero." With that, she gave him a small smile.

At first, when Connor said that everyone was from different times, Kimberly had opened her mouth to tell him that believing he worked with dinosaurs was one thing and believing that they had traveled through time to get wherever they were was another. But he'd mentioned the year 2009 before she'd said anything about the year she was from. Blinking, Kimberly's eyebrows arched. They rose higher still when he went on to say that other people were from 2004 (still in her future) and then also the nineties, which was her past. "I'm 2003," she replied a little breathlessly. She understood his sentiment about hope and she knew the feeling. Isabelle having that baby had held so much hope for she, Clear, Eugene, and Thomas before she'd realized that Isabelle and the unborn child hadn't been meant to die in the wreck at all. To that which Connor said about hope, Kimberly just nodded somberly.

"Is that why it's so damn dark at..." she paused then and lifted her wrist to look at the watch there, "quarter to nine in the morning?" With a sigh, Kimberly nodded, resigned for now - but not forever; she would not stop looking for a phone until she'd exhausted every possible place for a working one to be located - and picked through the book again. "Where?" she asked in reference to the map. She ignored his laugh because she was focused on flipping through what seemed like hundreds of pages of different handwriting in search of a map. "I thought you were gonna be my guide, anyway," she pointed out distractedly. Then, she looked up. "So I dunno why I'm looking for the map," she added with a wink.

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leconnortemple
2009-10-01 03:29 am UTC (link)

"Hardly," he replied, a bashful smile on his face. Him? A hero? The ARC, maybe, but the real hero was Cutter. Stephen had been, during his time, and Jenny could be considered one for the way she'd stepped up. But him? He was just the tag-along. "Not me, at least. The rest of them, maybe."

Hmm. Not that far behind a lot of the others. "2003? Well, without spoiling you too much, Britney goes nutters and shaves her head, Jessica and Nick split up, Tom Cruise has a kid and it's not an alien baby... Really, that's about all that's happened." He was sort of teasing. Sort of. It all really had happened, after all, but clearly there was quite a bit more to life after her time than all of this. "So see? You've got to keep screwing Death over. You'd miss the last of the new Star Wars movies. You'd never forgive yourself, really."

He tilted his head, watching her carefully. She was teasing him, wasn't she? And then she added that wink and he couldn't help shaking his head and smiling. "There hasn't been any sun here in a few days. Weird, we know. And sometimes it's hot and sometimes it's cold. It's just...whatever makes the illustrious 'them' happy, is all." Biting his lip, Connor gave her a look. The sort of look that said, 'don't try me'. But it was marred by the barest hint of a smile. "I'm no guardian angel." No, that was Chris' job. But...well, surely he'd been the first native to meet this girl for a reason. "Come on, then, if you're willing to put up with me. First step is to get you shoes. Never know what's coming around here, don't need you barefoot."

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cheatingdeath
2009-10-02 12:36 am UTC (link)

As Connor replied, Kimberly couldn't help but think that he clearly had a self-esteem issue. She hadn't ever understood that. Some people were so self-conscious and worried about what other people thought that they spent their whole lives putting themselves down or not giving themselves enough credit. It looked to Kimberly like Connor was one of those people and she felt a twinge of pity for him for that. "Why not you? What makes you so much less important?" she wondered aloud, raising her eyebrows slightly with curiosity.

Kimberly laughed when he went through a run down of things that happened in 2003. Most of it she'd already seen in the celebrity magazines. "It's September where I came from," she revealed with a smirk. "And why am I not surprised that you're bringing up, of all things, the Star Wars movies?" she asked, making it perfectly clear that she was teasing him, now, even if before, she'd been trying to be a little more coy about it.

"Guardian angel? I dunno, you did save me from a heinously embarrassing and potentially dangerous accident when I first came face to face with you," Kimberly pointed out. "And if you're willing to find me shoes, I'm willing to spend plenty more time in your company. I'm freezing because my toes are cold. You know that feeling? I hate that..." she muttered.

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leconnortemple
2009-10-02 04:33 am UTC (link)

Why not him? It was a fair question. And he supposed he had done his share of good for the team. "I don't know. I'm just the brain. The fix-it guy. I'm not the one out there running around shooting up the bad guys and saving the good ones and so on." That much was true, at least, though he was at least being allowed to hold a gun these days. Even if he didn't get to do much with it unless his life was at stake.

"And I'll have you know," Connor began with a sly grin, "that not all of that was 2003. See, now that's going to be your inspiration to live. You have to see Britney's crazy days." She wasn't the only one who could be coy, even if he had no true intention to be. On anyone else, the look he gave her would've been considered forward, maybe even flirtatious. On Connor, it just came off sweet and pretty friendly. "Besides, I'll have you know, Revenge of the Sith happened to be the best of the six! Return of the Jedi was close, don't get me wrong, but really!" Yeah. She'd caught on quickly to his proud geekdom. No worries, Kim, at least he hadn't started World of Warcraft talking. Yet.

Dangerous accident? She'd only fallen over, and not even completely! But then, he hadn't been stalked by Death. Falling over could be grounds for concussions, scrapes that got infected, all sorts of injuries, really. "You're fine," he protested, shaking his head. "Come on, then, and watch your step. Some of the branches and rocks will be sharp on bare feet." Well, socked feet, but it still didn't look pleasant. "Once your feet are cold, you can't get comfortable for anything, really."

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cheatingdeath
2009-10-05 12:32 am UTC (link)

Kimberly's eyes narrowed just slightly as she focused on Connor's response. He really seemed to think that what he did was less important just because he didn't use brute force or fire a gun? "So you think that they'd be able to function without you?" she asked, raising her eyebrows again. "Because it sounds to me like you keep the cogs turning. Without you, they'd be kinda up shit creek, don't you think? Stop cutting yourself down. You're just as important as the rest of your team, I'm sure, or they wouldn't have you, right?" she asked, trying to make a point.

Grinning, Kimberly let out a huff. "Ah, well I suppose my life would be incomplete without that..." she teased. And then when he went on about the Star Wars movies, Kimberly laughed out loud in spite of herself. "I'm a girl, in case you haven't noticed. I've never seen any of those movies," she replied.

"Yeah, I'm fine now..." she reminded him, her voice going back to its serious tone. "But you could have missed or maybe not been there at all. I could've cracked my head open or worse. You don't give yourself enough credit." With that, she gave a succinct nod as if to close the subject. "Yeah, great...that'll be fantastic. I love the smell of tetnus in the morning; judging by the looks of this town so far, I imagine there's also rusty nails in the mix," she muttered, taking a few more steps toward him and, as it were, the door.

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leconnortemple
2009-10-05 03:55 am UTC (link)

Connor's expression was downright sheepish. Here was a girl he'd just met, pretty and mostly together despite being stalked by Death, and she wasn't acting like he was a complete loser. Even knowing his Star Wars love the way she did. Huh. Definitely new.

Then there was what she'd actually said. Could the team function without him? Well, maybe. Sarah wasn't exactly stupid. And Abby had learned a lot from him over the last couple of years. But without him, who'd have come up with the anomaly detector? And who could close them? Even the simple database had been his work. "Maybe you've got a point," he said brightly, shooting her a grin. "You're pretty damn smart, you ever get told that?" Or did people just notice her because she was pretty? That'd be a tragedy if that were the case. She was intuitive, bright, and definitely more than a cute face. A bit like Abby that way.

He moved towards the door to the tower, grateful that this time, at least, he wasn't carrying a dead body. Not that he had any intentions of telling Kimberly that. She was freaked out enough as it was. "Come on, then. You're safe for now but I'd like to keep it that way if you don't mind. Just be careful and stay close, okay?"

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cheatingdeath
2009-10-09 01:41 am UTC (link)

Kimberly smiled brightly and tipped her head just slightly, cheerful for the first time in weeks. "I've always got a point, smart guy. You'll learn," she teased. She winked when he asked whether anyone ever told her that she was smart. "I don't hear it from anyone other than my dad, but I know it's there. There's a way people look at you when you talk, sometimes, and you can just sort of tell that they know you know what the hell you're talking about. You're giving me that look right now, so I wouldn't have had to hear the words to know you thought so," she said honestly, shrugging. Then, she smiled again. "But thanks," she added.

When Connor moved toward the door, Kimberly very carefully followed in slow, deliberate steps. She was conscious of keeping her distance but not so much distance that he wouldn't be able to be a stand should she need to grab his shoulder or something to break a fall. "Thanks, I'd like to keep it that way, myself, to be honest," she replied sincerely, raising her eyebrows just slightly. She couldn't help the amused smirk that crossed her lips when he told her to stay close. It sounded like something Rory might've said if he'd ever gotten the chance. "Aye aye," she replied, following more closely, as instructed. "Onward ho."

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