Lay me down on a bed of roses

[indirectcause]

Who: Ben and YOU!
What: Arriving in Paradisa
When: 28th
Where: Lobby
Rating: PG13 kid has a mouth. Here be your spoiler warning for the game.


[Ben had never really thought much about how fast it takes for a bullet to do its work. Not until he needed it to, anyway. He'd heard the shot, but after that, nothing. It went fast, really fast. There was a vague feeling of gratitude as Kenny pulled the trigger, giving him a mercy he knew he didn't deserve from the man. He'd surrendered to the blackness willingly, no longer a burden to the ever smaller mish-mash of humanity that was their group.

The blackness doesn't last, and that's when he appears on the floor of the lobby of Paradisa, his letterman jacket covered in blood. His blood. Walker's blood. It's a mix, really. He takes in a panicked gasp, scrabbling at the floor and looking around in sheer panic. The alleyway is gone. The walkers are gone. So are Kenny and Lee. ...The pain too.

He glances down at his stomach, the metal that had been sticking out there, a final, horrible promise that he wasn't getting out of that alley is missing. His hand automatically goes to his head, his hair matted with blood (definitely all his own this time) but no hole. Did Kenny miss? He couldn't have. He brings his hand back down to stare at the blood for a moment, before turning to glance around him again, looking for any signs of life.

He's definitely not in Georgia any more]

What the fuck is going on?

Comments

[indirectcause]

[He glances around, at the open door, the unboarded windows. This is all very wrong]

What do you mean? This- this isn't Georgia?

[xss]

[She feels you there on the unboarded windows and open door thing bro, just for an entirely different reason]

Georgia...? Oh! That's in the United States, right?

[she tries to take a few steps closer, much slower this time]

N-No, this isn't Georgia... To be honest I'm... Not even sure if it's on Earth...

[indirectcause]

...Yeah?

[Not Earth. How is that even possible. How is anything possible, really]

Is this- is this like some kind of afterlife? [Wow that bible he'd been reading had got it so fucking wrong]

[xss]

[That question causes Chihiro to pause and go quiet for a moment.

Wow that one sentence sort of just implied a lot to her, considering that was her very same thought process too. She won't bring it up though.

She hangs her head]

That... was my first thought when I came here too... But they keep telling me that isn't the case. I have... my doubts though...

[She looks back up.]

All that blood... are you still bleeding anywhere? Th-There's a clinic here...

[indirectcause]

[So it's not. He's still not sure what to make of this place, but at least his immediate danger has gone. He rubs his head, regretting it instantly as it just spreads more blood into his hair]

I'm not bleeding any more. I don't need a clinic.

[After Vernon, he's not going to be jumping at the chance to trust any doctors any time soon]

[xss]

[oh wtf castle. You left her to bleed all over the lobby but not this guy? No fair. :<]

R...Really? Oh, that's a relief... I'm glad. [and she does manage a smile] B-But you should still get cleaned up! Y-You don't have to go to a clinic for that...

[indirectcause]

[The castle is fickle and unfair]

I don't have time for that, I need to find my group.

[xss]

Group...? You mean like... your friends?

[indirectcause]

['Friends' is a horribly loose term when it comes to most of them]

Not exactly. [He'd been planning on saying 'yes' and he's not sure why it came out like that] We survive together.

[xss]

[Survive together...?]

I see...

I'm... separated from my group too, I guess you could say...

[Was that the best way to put it? Although she's pretty sure what he means isn't the same as what she does]

B-But... I'm afraid they probably won't be here... Some of them might but... from what I understand the chances of that are often very slim.

[indirectcause]

[That's not good, and his brow furrows. He's not GOOD by himself, he needs the others. They might not need him, but he knows full well without them his survival chances drop tragically]

Is there any way I can find out for sure?

[xss]

Hmm..

[She thinks and thinks]

If.... If the journal this place give you is nearby you might be able to call out for them or look through to see if you recognzie their voices... otherwise, everyone's doors has their names on it and I believe there's a Castle Internet service? And a page that lists where everyone lives...

[She doesn't know for sure about that last one, since she hasn't tried using a computer yet but that's what she's heard]

[indirectcause]

...Internet in a magical castle. Yeah sure. Okay. [What is this day even]

Thanks. I'll try those things.

[xss]

Y-You're welcome...

Do you need any other help? And what's your name? Mine's Chihiro...

[indirectcause]

I should be okay. [Still so very reluctant to allow strangers to help. It could backfire so easily]

I'm Ben.