She’d spent two years of her life in Aglæca, & never in Marisol’s wildest imagination did she ever think THIS would happen. It seemed like the state of the circus town & its inhabitants were getting worse & worse, with its remaining citizens creating search parties & the others KIDNAPPED. She had begun friendships with some of those who were taken, wondering the worst about them if the townspeople couldn’t find them.
She pulled out an old backpack that she had stuffed in the far reaches of her closet, blowing off dust & throwing away old scraps of paper inside. She ran around the house trying to find the things she’d actually need rather than the stuff she thought she needed; first aid kit, water, flashlights & extra batteries, snacks, her keys, & a switchblade somehow made it into her bag ( just in case, she thought ). Before she left, she said a quick goodbye to her Reptile Room, making sure they all had water & that their tank temperatures were ideal, then shut the door behind her.
Marisol made a quick jog towards the center of town, dressed in an old t-shirt, sport-shorts & running shoes, hair pulled up & out of her face. She figured at some point, Felix, Connor, & herself would have to start walking, as a car would only get them so far if they found any leads off-road.
When she arrived, she instantly knew Felix was not in the happiest of moods, if his ear stabbing comment was anything to go by, but for good reason. She’d be upset in his situation, too.
— ❝ We have to hope for the best in this situation, ❞ she said to him, going around Connor’s car to open a door to the back seats before turning towards the scientist, ❝ We have the southern part of town, yeah ? I’m ready, but what’s the plan from here on out ? ❞
They were so calm..Why did they appear so calm?! Was it because they pitied him? The hungry hands of his power reaching out to pick their brain, already in waves telling him what was OBVIOUS. Understanding was what his brain would usually tell, but with paranoia crawling over his skin, and with fingertips going numb from invisible electricity, he saw pity. The man had to shake himself up, take a good few breaths in just to try and calm his nerves. Alcohol would have helped, a lot, but he knew they needed him sober. His mind had to be sharp and clear, lest this journey would end in a bad way.
NONE of them were fighters. In this group they had a person who was younger with each passing day, a snake charmer and a LUNATIC who heard voices, basically. Who even sorted people like this? It didn’t make much sense, to be thrown together in a completely random way. But it was already done, and he knew he’d—they’d have to work with all that they had on the spot.
“Southern,” he repeated, shifting in his seat next to Connor, head turning to Marisol for a glance, trying to CONCENTRATE enough to get something valuable out of this, but so far? Nothing. How infuriating it was to be useless. “OKAY, okay. Let’s think what kind of location would make sense for them to take. It’s either extremely obvious—” pause, and, “—no, no that’s not it. Secluded. We need to go as far away from here as we can, somewhere cornerish..” He must looked like a crazy person or someone trying to pretend and be a psychic, but weren’t they just in luck! Real psychic readings five dollars each sat in the same vehicle. Albeit a little crazy at the moment, he HOPED to be a somewhat useful tool, and hoped his brain wouldn’t fail him now. “I could tell you how I know but it would only take precious time from us, so unless you have a better idea—” he shrugged.
once the other two got into the car, connor followed suit. he started the ignition whilst felix was still deliberating the best location to search, taking the group on the southern route out of town. silently, connor wondered how the other groups were getting on in their search; whether they’d already started, whether they had their own suspicions about where the missing people had been taken, how prepared they were for what they might find. connor didn’t feel very prepared himself, despite the number of things he’d packed ( it occurred to him only then that it might have been a good idea to pack a weapon or two ). who knew what they might find at the end of this search.
connor didn’t have much to contribute to felix’s tense speculation. personally speaking, he had only lived on the island for two years, rarely ventured far from his laboratory and thus had very limited knowledge of aglæca’s geography. there could be any number of good places for the kidnappers’ hideout - connor didn’t have a clue.
in any case, felix seemed to have worked it out just fine on his own. the scientist raised an eyebrow at the other man’s sudden assurance that the hideout had to be as far away from the town as possible, but decided it was best not to challenge him when he was already in so volatile a mood. ❛ as far away as we can, got it. ❜ he pushed down on the accelerator, taking them further and further south.
the more distance put between them and the town, the less civilised their surroundings appeared, till there was nothing man-made in sight apart from the road. the road itself had gradually decreased in quality, to the point where it was now no better than a dirt track. he couldn’t help but notice a change in the flora too - connor was no botanist, but the trees and plants here seemed stranger, far more feral compared to those closer to town.
then, abruptly, the road ended.
connor slowed the car to a halt, wondering if perhaps he’d missed a turn somewhere. as far as he could tell, however, there had only been this one straight track, and it had led them here. up ahead, trees. only trees. he cut the engine and turned in his seat to address both felix and marisol. ❛ uh, it looks like we might have to continue the search on foot. ❜
