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outlierdirector) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
synthneon2023-11-29 09:38 pm
outlierdirector) wrote in synthneon2023-11-29 09:38 pm
Entry tags:
oceanview (different path) || ❝ turn the page i need to see something new. ❞
You were there by my side on the frontline
When I thought that I fought without a cause
You gave me a reason to try
no subject
Jesse looks back and forth between the two men once more. Eyes dart from one to the other. Shoulders curl. The stack of manuscript pages hugs closer to her chest. Polaris "tells" her not to let go of them. Hold onto them. They're vital.
Hartman moves his head back slightly at the gun. ] She's hardly been in town long. No one knows who she is or where she comes from. Now, she's involved in this mess she had no part in being in. Almost like something told her to be.
[ Jesse's eyebrows raise slightly as that chill shoots down her spine. Eyes widen as they snap to Hartman. Polaris tugs at her mind and she can see it suddenly. The Darkness seemingly like tendrils coming off Hartman. Can Alan see it? Barry?
Hartman's eyes narrow once more. ] Like I said, girl. Give me the pages!
[ Polaris suddenly flares up in her mind, like the volume turned up to almost max. Jesse barely moves in time to avoid the shot from Hartman's gun. It's not just Hartman, it's...
Barry is shouting again, grabbing onto Harman's gun arm. Jesse is whirling on her feet to dodge back into the room she and Alan had just been in. Hartman--but not only Hartman, a voice over played on his of an older woman--snaps to Alan once again. ]
She has the pages to finish this story, boy! You have work to do, don't you? Get them back and we'll finish this story!
no subject
Shut up, Hartman. Maybe you've been in town too long. And where did you come from, anyway? Why does anyone trust you? Did something tell you to get involved?
[ Suddenly, as if something is driving Alan to act, he moves to try and stand between Hartman and Jesse. It's not that he thinks Jesse needs protecting, but he wants Hartman to back off. ]
Like I said, you don't get to make demands.
[ He stands there still glaring at Hartman when something strange seems to happen before their eyes. Hartman's gun goes off, and Alan visibly flinches but he's launching himself at Hartman almost at the same time that Barry grabs Hartman's gun arm.
But before Alan can do anything more, a voice that sounds like Hartman but layered with something else... someone else, draws his attention and he freezes. He doesn't answer right away, and then, abruptly, he bends over, hands clasping at his head even with the gun that he still holds.
Get to work, boy! I said GET TO WORK.
A second later, the gun drops from Alan's hand with a clatter as he appears to fight something he can't see. ]
I- I don't need to get the pages back! She'll give them to me, I don't have to take them from her. Get out of my head!
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That is the part that Polaris seems to agree with as well.
Jesse suddenly is behind Alan, throwing her arms around him from behind. Her face is pressed between his shoulder blades. Hands sprayed across his sides as she physically tries to pull him back. Her eyes are shut tightly, feeling as if she's suddenly in a tug-a-war with something she can't even see. Something that Polaris seems to know. Jesse can't really understand what is happening, but she feels almost like an energy in her palms. Energy--a resonance--leaving her and echoing throughout the writer. ]
Get off me! [ Hartman's voice dominates once more. The therapist whirls, punching Barry in the face. He shakes off the more sized man, raising his gun once more to Alan. ] I don't get to make demands? Maybe you can't see who is in control here, Alan, but it's certainly not you or the girl! Now, I'm not going to ask again. Let's just stop all this and work together! Take the pages that you've written and I'll help you write the rest.
[ Jesse's eyes widen, looking over her arm at Hartman. She presses herself closer to Alan as the energy in her hands seems to increase and decrease. Almost as if trying to find the right frequency to attune to. Jesse keeps trying to pull Alan back with her, eyes moving to Barry as he holds his face, then back up to Alan, then to Hartman again.
« Polaris, what do I do?! What can I do?! This isn't--this isn't like Ordinary! There's no slide projector to just TURN OFF. We can't even keep the power on to keep the lights going! What do we DO?! »
Despite the chaos around them? A gentle sound comes to Alan's ears. One that sounds like a gentle shift in momentum--if such a thing has a sound. Something around Jesse that finally makes the room seem to look a little brighter. It can be brighter still, if the Writer can remember the lessons the Diver gave him.
You should go into the light. You're only safe there.
There's no light in the room. Maybe there is light somewhere else that he can use. Somewhere inside him... ]
no subject
But that drowning feeling intensifies when he registers Hartman turning the gun on him once more, and the force of it almost sends Alan dropping to his knees. He would have fallen if not for Jesse's arms around him, but as it is, his knees waver as if they want to give out.
Alan's desperation rises as darkness seems to cloud the edges of his vision, and in a moment of panic, he tries to lean himself more into Jesse's hold, as if her touch will counter the darkness that's threatening to smother him. That is, until he hears something over the splashing waves. It's hard to explain it, but it's just a sound... a calming one, gentler than the darkness pulling at him. Is the room turning brighter? He can't tell.
Brighter. Turn the lights on. You're only safe there.
He remembers something, something about lights. But what is it?
It's dark here. The darkness is coming, I can hear the waves. The water. I'm- No, I have to remember... remember what? I don't remember.
But then Alan stiffens in Jesse's hold, and he hears something, something that isn't the waves or Hartman or Barry or-
Help me. Please.
He hears the sound then, and it sounds far away because of the distance, but it's filling up all of Alan's senses. It's all he can hear, and brightness is all he can see. But he can make the brightness brighter. How? He just knows it somehow.
He doesn't believe it until he feels hands on his face and sees a glint of red hair and bright green eyes that, yes, he knows just as well as he knows the back of his own hand. He might not recognize where they are or what it means, but he knows the woman, and he knows she's trying to help.
It's time... I don't know what I'm doing, but you know what you're doing and what I need to be doing, so... Here goes?
He closes his eyes for a moment, feeling a little silly, but he chooses to focus on letting the sound resonate through him, focusing on the faint breathing from the diving suit, focusing on the light and making it grow brighter.
Wake up. We wake up when the sun comes up. When the light comes back. The light has to come back. Wake up!
Suddenly, Alan's eyes snap open and a kind of glow seems to come from his gray eyes. Is the room bright because of the sound or because of something else? Because of him? He doesn't know; he barely understands how this works or what he's doing, but he's doing something.
But is it enough? ]
no subject
Jesse looks to the side through the windows. The outdoor lights flicker. The lights within the room blink before turning back on. Barry rushes over to the pair, hands on Alan's shoulders, giving his friend a shake. ]
"Al? Al! Hello, earth to Al! Hey. Did you see that?! Hartman just got ... I don't know. Sucked up into a vacuum cleaner!"
[ Jesse slowly pulls her arms away from Alan and takes a step back. Then another. Her eyes drop to her shaking hands. She can feel Polaris hum loudly before she returns to the gentle presence Jesse always feels with her. Hands flex.
« What... what did you do? What did WE do? I don't understand. I don't... what is Alan going to think? »
She raises her gaze to the two men in the room. Her hands curl before reaching down and picking up the manuscripts she dropped. It keeps her busy, her mind busy. Everything is too close to what happened in Ordinary. All she can think is how they turned off the slide projector. How it all stopped.
« What is he going to think when he finds out about you? » ]
no subject
Alan smiles too when he sees the smile on the young woman's face. He stares, watching her, searching her face as if he's trying to figure something out. She looks like Jesse, both Jesses that Alan's seen, but there's something else about her. Something different. There's a knowledge in her eyes that the Jesse he knows doesn't have. She doesn't have it yet, but she will. In time, she will.
And then he feels her lips pressing against his and all thoughts seem to fly out of his mind. All he knows is her and the feel of her mouth on his, and then- then the moment ends. He hears the roar and he snaps to attention even though he immediately regrets it. The feeling is like having a bucket of cold water poured over him, and he shivers.
Barry shakes him, hands on his shoulders, and he freezes, eyes wide with fear. He didn't see what happened to Hartman, but he heard the roar and he felt a suffocating darkness and a terror he can't explain.
For a few seconds, even as Barry tries to get his attention, Alan's expression seems far away, as if he's not really there with them. He can't even put it into words, but it's like the darkness and the light are pulling at him, both wanting to claim him as theirs, and he's caught in the middle between them both.
Of course, Alan knows which of the two he wants to follow, and although the darkness doesn't like it and tries to pull him back, he reaches for the light. He reaches for Polaris. He reaches for Jesse's friend.
Will anyone be there reaching back? ]
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[ Jesse holds the manuscripts to her. She looks back up at Alan and Barry. Whatever happened, Alan hasn't quite returned to them. She glances to the side, frowning not sure what she should do. What if he thinks she and Polaris are just like the Dark Presence and Hartman? What if he wants nothing to do with her now that she did... whatever it was.
Polaris gently tugs at her mind. Her gaze turns to where her friend directs her and sees Alan's outstretched hand. She only hesitates for a brief moment before her hand reaches out and wraps around his. ]
no subject
Fingers stretch out as desperation rises, but finally... finally he feels his fingers latch onto Jesse's hand as she reaches out for him in return. His fingers curl and he holds on as tightly as he can without hurting her.
When he speaks, there's a hint of shakiness in his voice as if the brush with darkness rocked him. ]
It- It's still dark; it's always going to be dark, as long as that thing is around. That thing that's not a thing; it's not something you can fight or hit or-
[ Alan's gaze shifts, eyes looking around as if searching for more light sources. They need more light. The lights in the room aren't enough. Maybe a floodlight would do it, but where are they going to find that? ]
I think- I think we need to get out of here, get somewhere safer. And keep the lights on.
no subject
[ Barry puts his hands on Alan's shoulder and gives another good shake. Something to try and focus Alan on the present. They need to be able to move forward and get the next steps done to save Alice. ]
Alan. [ Jesse hates how small her voice sounds. She curls her hand around his and gives a squeeze. An anchor just like Barry is trying to make. ] The lights are on in the whole building.
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It takes another second for him to be able to look Barry in the eye, followed by yet another as he shifts his gaze to look at Jesse. There's tension in his face that has yet to fade, as well as a scared, wary look in his eyes. ]
It's gone for now, but it'll come back. [ He shifts his weight to lean against Barry just a little, and he squeezes Jesse's hand in return. ]
I don't know if we're safe here, even with all the lights on. [ But are we safe anywhere? ]
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Almost too close.
She presses her lips together and looks down. ]
"So, then let's get the hell out of here before it comes back! Where do we need to get to? Back to town? Unless there's a huge ass battery here somewhere."
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Yeah. We need to get going; I'm not sure where to go, but we have to go. Maybe something in the pages will tell us where. We can't keep hiding; I mean, you two can, but I have to figure out what I need to do next. Maybe... maybe if I split off from you, the darkness will leave you alone. Or- maybe it'll come after you to make you chase me. No, I can't leave you behind.
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She hands the manuscript pile to Barry. He begins to shuffle through it. He settles on one page, looking it over a few times. Then, his eyes raise to Alan with a questioning look on his face. ]
"You, uh, know a place called the Anderson farm?"
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He's still torn, because part of him wonders if maybe Jesse and Barry will be safe if he makes sure they get to a safe room or a safe building and he leaves them there, each of them going their separate ways. The darkness wants him, not them. If he leaves, they'll be fine.
It's just getting the two of them to go along with it, and he's already sure they won't. But then Barry suggests a location and Alan snaps to attention. ]
I thought I heard some of the locals mentioning it. If it's a farm, maybe it's far enough out of the way that we can go there and regroup. I think- wait, it wasn't the locals. Anderson... I know that name. I think- There were a couple of old guys caught up in Hartman's hellhole named Anderson. Maybe it's their farm.
no subject
"Couple of old guys here? Huh. What a dirtbag." [ Barry sighs and waves his hand. ] "Alright, I'll get looking around and find directions. Think you can drive, Al? I dunno if I trust the kid."
I can legally drive.
"Yeah, when you're like sixteen. Come on, lets get out of here."
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Yeah. He's a tool. No, that's insulting to tools. He's a grade A asshole. [ Alan looks uncertain for half a second but he forces himself to look less rattled and more put together. ] Yeah, I think I can handle driving. If I can't, well, I'll trade off with one of you.
[ He spares a glance for Jesse, one that says he actually does trust her. He gives her hand a light tug, not wanting to let go even as they start getting ready to leave. ]