Ch. 1.20: Rawr

“Don’t go too far, Nova!” Solaris calls after his sister, “stay in eyesight!”


“Whaaaa---?! I can’t hear you!” Nova howls into the wind. It’s a total lie, but she ain’t gonna let no punk-ass brother get in the way of her fun. She stares ahead, her gaze fixed on a secluded beach on the horizon. Adventure awaits.

Ch. 1.19: We'll Meet Again

A warehouse—foreboding, reaching up towards the sky. Dried grass surrounds it, swaying slightly in the breeze, and stale water leaks from a rusty pipe. Dead bugs and clumps of brown leaves swirl in the resulting puddle. She swears she can smell rot and dust and maybe even death, but that can’t be possible, not in a dream. Unnerving.

Ch. 1.18: Stranger Danger

“You are so immature,” Elysia complains. Luna, Solaris, Zenith, and Nova have been traipsing around the playroom, generally causing a ruckus. It’s distracting her from her very important magazines—how was she going to find out which member of Sim Direction eats grilled cheese sandwiches for breakfast if her obnoxious siblings wouldn’t be quiet?!

"Seeking the Truth" Private Messages

He settles onto the cold floor of his bedroom and opens his laptop. It was a present, of course. A respectable man wouldn’t purchase a pink laptop, but he’s not going to look a gift-horse in the mouth.  The laptop whirrs to life, the bright screen illuminating the dim room. He mindlessly cycles through all of his usual websites—Simnation news, Simbook, Know Your Simeme—before opening up the Seeking the Truth Wiki: “Your Home for Conspiracies and Apocalypse Preparedness.” He becomes so engrossed in the article of the day (“The Zombie Apocalypse and You”) that he jumps when an IM window pops up on his screen.

naynay: hey...
cottoneyed: holy crap, where have you been, Naomi? I’ve been worried sick. It’s been forever!
naynay: I’ve been busy. ...
cottoneyed: Busy?
naynay has gone idle.
cottoneyed: Naomi, answer me? What do you mean, busy?
naynay is no longer idle.
cottoneyed: Naomi?
naynay has gone idle.
cottoneyed: This is bullshit. I f*cking love you. You can’t ignore me like this.
naynay is no longer idle.
naynay: they came to my house...
cottoneyed: who?? Who came you your house??
naynay: aliens...
cottoneyed: You’ve got to be kidding me. Are you okay?
naynay: i am now....
naynay has sent an attachment:

naynay: that was right after they came.
cottoneyed: Shit. I’ll track those bastards down, skin ‘em alive.
naynay: they’re long gone...
naynay: they came here months ago...i’ve just been too scared to contact anyone...
naynay: they said if I posted on the forums again, they’d lobotomize me...
cottoneyed: Are you okay?
naynay: hunter I’m really scared...
cottoneyed: Do you want me to go to LP?
cottoneyed: I can take care of them. Shit, I bet I can talk to some of the people from the forum. Some of the preppers,* and I keep in contact with them pretty regularly.
naynay: who have you been talking to?
cottoneyed: Well, scowl_face finally got f*cking banned for harassment, but like she’d be any help. Greys is just a kid, so he can’t help, either, though he wants to. But I’ve been in contact with Ptolemy and Skully. They seem smart. I think I can trust them. The rest are sheeple.
naynay: and you can come to LP?
cottoneyed: I’ll be there tomorrow if you need me to.
naynay: could you please? I’d feel so much better if you were here...
naynay: I love you...
cottoneyed: I love you, too. I’ll get my GO bag together. Stay where you are. Do you have a BOL planned?*
naynay: yeah, there’s a warehouse on the outskirts of town....we can go there and not be bothered...unless they already know about it....
naynay: they know everything hunter...i’m so worried...
cottoneyed: Do they know about me?
naynay: they didn’t mention you...
cottoneyed: Then they don’t know everything. I’ll be there by 0500.
naynay: you’re the best….stay safe!!!
cottoneyed: I always do.
cottoneyed has signed off.

***

Author’s Note: Surely you hadn’t forgotten about our dear friend naynay (aka Naomi Nita) from Chapter 12? And cottoneyed from the “Seeking the Truth” forum posts? Good. :D

*Preppers: a survivalist or prepared individual; GO Bag: a preparation bag, “go bag” or “bug out bag”; BOL, "bug out location."

Ch. 1.17: Bee Larvae

“Yeah, this’ll do nicely,” Lyra shields her eyes from the setting sun and scans the horizon, “I can see living here.”

“It certainly is lovely,” Crux agrees, “breathtaking, even.”

“I’ll get a house close to the beach, swim every day and hit up the casino every night—I’ll be living’ the high life. No more of this dry heat, endless sand bullshit.”

“I think the safety and remoteness of this town is more compelling,” Crux wants to hurry this along. Lyra and Crux have been visiting various towns around Simnation for months, investigating demographics and gauging political and social leanings. They’d run into some strange towns during their adventures, as well as some forgettable towns, but this one was different. It’s normal, but eerily so. Everyone had been kind to the duo thus far, and no one questioned their appearance. It seems they found a winner, but Crux is nervous, uneasy. Something feels off—it’s too perfect, too welcome, too accepting.

Ch. 1.16: A Thousand Times

“I’m going to kill him,” Polaris growls to herself, “I’m going to kill him and dump his body in the desert.”

Polaris had gone into labor a little prematurely. Crux had been meticulously planning for the delivery, but his schedule was apparently a couple of days off. He was temporarily out of town with Lyra; before he left, he had promised he would be back in time to help deliver the baby. Liar