fandomhigh | Day After Doomsday, Thursday, Per 2

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Day After Doomsday, Thursday, Per 2

Class began with something unexpected. Rather than an introduction from Hardison, a voice was heard from Cecil's radio.

"Hello?" It was a man's voice. He sounded tense, maybe even scared. "Hello, I don't know if anyone is still out there, if anyone's listening, if anyone's alive still to listen. This is Jeremy, at First National Bank of Fandom Town, over on Unicorn Street. We've been hiding in the vault since those--those things arrived. There are six of us. We're--we're awful hungry. It's been a few days since we've had anything to eat. If you're out there...if you can hear us...please help? Again, we're at First National Bank of Fandom Town, on Unicorn. I hope you can hear us. My name is Jeremy and there are six people here in the vault. We're weak and we're hungry and we're scared. If anyone is still alive out there, please help. Hello, my name is Jeremy, we're in--"

There was a loud squelching noise and the broadcast stopped.

"Well," Hardison said, stepping into the sudden silence. "There's that. Your radio's still working fine, so the problem's likely on their end. But there you have it. The first definitive proof that there's intelligent life still on the island. The question is, what do you make of it? More important, what are you gonna do about it? You got plenty of options, but each options is gonna have an affect on the group as a whole. This seems like the kinda thing you might wanna discuss."

"Now, as for last week, some folks realized that the noises comin' from the bathrooms was the water pipes. They were able to learn that the water's shut off to the dorms. This could be somethin' as simple as a watermain broke or somethin' or it could mean that someone's turned off water here deliberately. You don't know. Elsa's keepin' you supplied with fresh water for drinkin', bathin', an' for the garden. No one's presented me with a plan to turn the water in the pool into somethin' drinkable, but it's enough to keep the toilets flushin' manually an' to keep the dorms clean if you're so inclined. Raven found some cleanin' supplies, but..." He looked around at the dorms which were definitely a bit worse for wear, so no one had mentioned doing any actual cleaning. "Y'all might wanna start puttin' 'em to use, just sayin'. Or not! Maybe you're looking to Oregon Trail it up in here an' see who dies of dysentery first."

In which case, keep on keepin' on.

"One thing. Food's gettin' tight. Most of the scouts are on food detail, but gardens can only grow so fast an' you got some pretty heavy competition in the top predator category. You got a greenhouse goin' an' that's cool, even some seeds an' things to plant in there, an' Hanna's been able to smoke an' salt a lot of what you do catch to make it last. Congrats, the food you have right now is gonna last till Week Six if you keep tight rationing, but huntin' is pretty much gonna take up most of your time if you wanna add enough to get to Week Seven, leavin' you no time for other scoutin' pursuits. Looks like y'all have got some choices to make."

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After it's over, no amount of hailing will get anyone back to talk to you. So, with just the information you were given, you have to make a decision.

What are you going to do about Jeremy and his five friends?

"I want to at least try to get to the bank, and those people, and help them," Hanna said quietly, looking around at the other students. "But I do not know if it is possible to do so. If we can come up with a plan, that would allow us to get there and back to the dorms, then yes."

"We don't even have enough food for ourselves, here," Raven pointed out. "Much less six extra people. Who are too weak to hunt and add to the food supply."

She didn't necessarily not want to help the people in the bank, but someone had to be practical about it.

Edited 2015-05-28 13:56 (UTC)

Hanna bit her lip, because Raven was completely right. "Then, if we rescued them, we'd need to find a new food source." She took a breath. "Or figure out a way to take out the monsters attacking us, quickly. Or a way off the island."

All of which were even more complicated, of course. And yet... "If there isn't enough food for us-- whether or not we try to get to Jeremy and his friends-- should we start thinking about how to do that? Leave?"

"Definitely. We're not going to be able to stay holed up here forever, and it's not like these things look like they're going to get bored and wander off. We either need to find a way off the island -- or we need to get rid of them."

An ugly thought occurred to Hanna then. "And yet. What if there are more of them, off the island?" She rubbed at her eyes. "Getting rid of them here, I think you are right. We may need to do that first, even if we decide to leave later. Just to have a .. a bolt-hole, to return to. If there are attackers on the other side of the Causeway."

It seemed overwhelming. But. One problem at a time. At least it wasn't winter yet.

Jasper found himself standing stiffly, arms crossed and lips thinned into a sharp line. He hadn't expected this kind of decision to be tossed into the mix.

Couple thousand go missing every year...

The words were out of context but they were still ringing loud in Jasper's head. "That's a lot of risk to take on that little of information," he finally said. "Not that I know a ton about bank vaults but I have to wonder where their water is coming from where that's not a concern. If there are people out there, who's to say they aren't being coerced into saying this to get everyone into one central area?"

He shook his head. "I wouldn't send anyone. Too many question marks, not enough information. We'd be better served routing our scouting resources to food so we can survive. Maybe they can hold out till later. A bank vault's pretty secure."

"I think it could be worth checking out," Raven said. "They might have more information than we do, and if it is a trap, we can learn from that, too. We'll learn these things are smart enough to lay traps like this, or that there's some other threat out there we need to worry about, too."

"You want to send out people into a situation where the information we have is 'help help, we're hungry?"

He shook his head. Maybe it was cold and maybe that was Billy's influence but it felt right. Smart.

"If it is a trap, what are we going to learn if we're caught in it and people end up hurt or dead or whatever? It's hanging a lot of resources and energy on 'if'."

"Nothing I've seen of the creatures out there shows them having the sort of intelligence and group behavior to make a trap like this," Raven said. "Which means if it's a trap, and we approach it carefully, we find out more about the threats we're facing when we go out hunting and getting the food we need. And what we'll face when we eventually try to leave."

"Doesn't seem practical," Jasper answered, shaking his head. "You said yourself we don't have enough food for ourselves. So, what's your reason for wanting to go? Information gathering? You just gonna go and then leave those six people there when you have what you need?"

"If I have to." What, did Jasper think he had the market cornered on callousness? "More likely, we explain our position and figure out another way to solve things other than bringing them back here and putting further burden on ourselves."

Jasper could be pretty egocentric at times. So, maybe he did think he had the market cornered on callousness.

"I don't know if six hungry people are really going to want to hear other plans that don't involve going with someone that has food," he remarked. "If they're scared and starving and a group shows up, most of them are going to want to tag along and might get pissed if they're rebuffed. Now, you have a whole other situation."

He shrugged. "I get what you're saying but the lack of information makes me itch and not knowing what you're going to do with these people is an issue for me."

"So I'll sneak in," Raven said. "It's not like I'm not able to be stealthy. I can figure out what's going on without them knowing I'm there."

"And you're going to do this all by your lonesome?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Some other people might wanna help, you know. Pretty sure you don't have to do it all on your own."

"It'd be better, though, for information gathering. I can blend in pretty much anywhere. Not a whole lot of other people where who can do that."

"Do we know if the broadcast is real?" Tali asked immediately. "Or is someone faking it somehow? I'd try to trace the signal, but we don't really have the equipment."

It was kind of sad that she was immediately suspicious, but SOMEONE, AND WE'RE NOT NAMING NAMES, SHEPARD, HAD A HABIT OF RESPONDING TO FAKED DISTRESS SIGNALS.

"My first thought was faked," Jasper admitted, "but I don't know how to figure that out. A radio signal happens out of the blue and then dies very dramatically. Just seems a little too perfect for me."

But, he had no bleeding heart and he had a lot of paranoia.

"And it isn't clear enough to get a really good read on the voice," Tali added. It wasn't that she didn't want to help in the event that it was a real distress call, but with the state of their supplies she wasn't willing to gamble on that just yet. "It could be an act. If he's trying to play on people's sympathy, he's certainly made a point of checking off everything on the list."

Jasper nodded his agreement. "Said all the right words, make people hopeful that there's life out there, and lure them right in. These things might not be intelligent to set a trap like this but fear for your life will make people do extreme things."

"They could very well be hoping to take what little we've got for themselves," Tali added. "And I don't think the added stress of worrying about stretching our supplies even further will do anyone any good."

"If they've got water, which it seems like they do since no one mentioned it, they might be able to go a little longer without someone coming out to get them," Jasper agreed. "It's such a big risk."

Cosima had gotten quieter as everyone else spoke.

"Okay, I think I'm the only one here who'd still at least try to go help them," she admitted. "Maybe don't put a ton of resources into it, but go out and see if we can meet face-to-face. I admit we don't have the resources to cover six more people, but that seems like something we could worry about after we make sure they won't suffocate in a vault."

She paused there, shifting her braids around. "Also, just saying, the things we know about out there aren't nearly smart enough to fake something like this. If it is a fake, that means there's something worse than monsters that has it in for us. We should know that right away, you know?"

Edited 2015-05-28 20:33 (UTC)

Raven nodded. "Right. Hanna and I are talking about going out to check it out, maybe talk to them if they're really there. I can sneak in without being seen, and she can back me up if it is a trap."

"Awesome," Cosima nodded. "Let me know if there's anything I can do, but that sounds like a really good plan."

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Day After Doomsday, Thursday, Per 2

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