nineteen ♢ video

[versusnurture]

[When the feed comes on, the first thing there is is a wall and half of a desk. Those people on board who've been inside will know it as Abigail's room. There's a small blood smear on the edge of the desk, another dark spot on the corner of the lens.]

[She doesn't turn it towards herself, but the camera does move towards the desk, is set down at the edge of it. Two hands appear in the frame, blood-caked, palm-up. There's blood under her nails, too, drier blood that's oxidized to a deep, almost black color.]

[She doesn't say anything. But after a moment, there's a strangled noise, and she knocks the camera off the desk. The briefest flash of dark hair and a pale face; then it hits the floor and shuts off.]

Comments

[ichoosefight]

[ ... ]

You've, uh. You got a little something.

text; private

[orderfromchaos]

once you made me promise to talk when I come back bloody

no rush

but im your friend too

spam

[mirrortouch]

[ He knows that room and immediately he's to his feet, he's following them willingly and quickly (like a lamb to slaughter) over to her room, because he knows that room. He knows that hair and and he could say he knows those hands but not so caked with red, he's never seen them so filthy.

It couldn't be. But it has to be.

He's at her room sooner than he can even count, and he knocks sharply before he tries the handle. ]

Abigail?

Video

[voluntaryapnea]

[He doesn't recognize the room. All he sees is the blood, and two hands covered in it. It sends a chill down his spine.]

Hello?

spam

[versusnurture]

[It was a lure. Of course it was.]

[She didn't know it would catch him, though. When she hears his voice, her eyes shutter. The last time she saw him . . .]

[That's why she has to open the door. Because of the last time she saw him: the way he pressed his hands to her neck like he was trying to strangle her, trying to hold her blood in against the impossible tide of her heart pumping against her body. The last time she saw him, he was dying, too.]

[She leaves bloody fingerprints on the doorknob and the frame when she opens up. Her hands fall limp to her side when she sees him. Him, whole and hale if not happy, his gut unrent. She frowns, a confused and tight expression. This is not how things were.]

You're not dead. [Impossible to tell if she's happy or not about this.]

private/text

[versusnurture]

[After a slight delay:]

who are you?

text; private

[versusnurture]

I don't remember your name

private/text

[voluntaryapnea]

Stiles Stilinski. Are you okay?

private/text

[versusnurture]

I don't have a washcloth.

[Which is a perfectly ordinary response.]

private/text

[versusnurture]

please define okay for me. it's a complicated word.

private/text

[voluntaryapnea]

Unhurt, breathing normally, not in immediate danger of dying?

private/text

[versusnurture]

yes. I'm okay.

[A moment later, an afterthought:]

it's not my blood.

video / private

[dinosize]

[ It's the blood that he notices. The blood that stands out. ]

Are you all right?

video / private

[versusnurture]

[These people, they're so vague. On the other end, she's wringing her hands together absently. Her voice is distant.]

Assuming 'all right' is the same as 'okay' [unhurt, breathing normally, not in immediate danger of dying], yes. I'm all right.

You look--

[Her brow furrows.]

Familiar.

video / private

[dinosize]

So I've been told. [ He doesn't particularly like Zane, who seemed entirely too interested in their physical resemblance. The scrutiny made Stephen uncomfortable. And Zane, at least, knew to back off.

At least he sounds different. His accent is a marked departure from Zane's. ]

Is the blood yours?

video / private

[versusnurture]

[This is not an answer, but then again, she didn't really ask the question. And she doesn't remember who he is supposed to look like, just that there is someone. So she lets it drop.]

No. It's Ben's. He's--he went to get help.

Are you a doctor?

video / private

[dinosize]

No, I just - there's a lot of blood in my line of work. You pick things up.

[ He doesn't plan on asking what happened, why is Ben injured. He doesn't want to step into something that is probably private, personal. ]

text; private

[orderfromchaos]

its dillon

and im still your friend no matter what you remember

[His parents didn't know his name either, at the end. Anybody who says things like that don't change love is clueless or lying; it changes everything. But it doesn't make love less. He wipes his eyes for a second, glad it's just text.]

text; private

[versusnurture]

I'm abigail.

did you know that already?

[halftheman]

Abigail?

[ He's not okay with this. He can't do a goddamn thing from his bed, but he not okay with this. ]

video / private

[versusnurture]

Are you a soldier, then?

text/private

[versusnurture]

I remember you too

you read Steinbeck

text; private

[orderfromchaos]

yeah

[Is there a way to say I know so much about you without sounding creepy? No. Not really. Fudge.]

private/text

[ichoosefight]

I find running water works pretty well by itself. [ And yet more ... ] Do you need to borrow a private bathroom?

video / private

[dinosize]

No.

No.

God, no.

I'm a - lab technician. Lately, more of a hunter and tracker.