every single night

what did i say to her? why did i say it to her? what does she think of me -- that i'm not what i ought to be?

[devin-ryder]

[Devin had been looking for Charlie since Jessica had been killed off or whatever she had been. He doesn't care, at this point, not with the way she had been talking about Charlie. "Cleansed" or something like it. He couldn't lose her, too. He couldn't handle having no one here. He didn't know how to go back to whatever he had.

It's when he makes it outside that he finally sees her hair.] Charlie?! [It's immediate because he would rather mistake someone else for her, but he knows her hair. He knows it. He knows her. And she doesn't remember him, he knows, but she knows him, too. As he steps closer to the picnic table, his heartbeat quickens and he can feel the shake in his fingers. Is he imagining this?]

[devin-ryder]

missjessicaclarke:

God has judged her soul. {Jessica tells the man softly, kindly, because she does not see what is so wrong with the woman’s redemption.} He hath cleansed her soul in the fires and brought her home. He will cleanse all of you.

[God, was she going to speak in codes the whole time? Was she going to just be calm and smiling while she talked about everyone dying? This was why he didn't like religion, even before the world ended. The voices in Devin's head dull when anger rises in his blood. This is Charlie she's talking about. He can't imagine her gone, but she has been for a while now and he's not sure she's coming back. He had faith until now. He's stepping closer to her, not above violence when it means Charlie.] You did it, then? You fucking kill her?!

[devin-ryder]

missjessicaclarke:

{Jessica quirks a brow, closing her eyes with all the slow patience of a tired woman. And there’s still a light smile upon her lips, the one that suggests she has a secret nobody else knows.} Do not fear for Charlotte. {Jessica suggests kindly, voice soft and serious, an odd balance upon being delicate and stern at the same time. Her eyes open slowly.} She is with God now.

[The words strike him like lightening. In his chest, it burns, charred and black. Now he can see why people don't like her. She's smiling about saying Charlie's... dead? That's what she means.] What? What do you mean? The fuck do you mean? Not dead.

[devin-ryder]

missjessicaclarke:

{The young man speaks of Charlotte, the quiet redhead who has accompanied them on the journey to locate the missing mother. She had taken orders well, Jessica had believed. And had known her place. She never spoke back like Josephine had. God would care for little Charlotte. He would sit her in Heaven. This man must not have been present when Gideon had returned, hell burning in his eyes as he stomped towards her. But Jessica is courageous with her God by her side, and withstood his assault. And Cian’s. She is stronger than these men, despite the handcuffs that bind her. They are not chains. She is a voluntary prisoner.} ‘But I, like a deaf man, do no hear; And I am like a mute man who does not open his mouth.’

[She doesn't give any helpful information and Devin wonders if that's why everyone's so angry at her. Maybe she's not actually awful, she just doesn't help. She speaks in quotes and doesn't give anyone anything to go off of. Maybe everyone just got sick of her. Or maybe she killed Charlie. But one of the others came back, so there's still hope.] Well, I hear. I hear loads these days.

[missjessicaclarke]

{Jessica had been placed in a back corner of the plant, away from the rest of the group. The ride here hadn’t been awful, despite the passing of the crucified corpses. But how blessed they had been to die the way Christ had, the way some apostles had. They are blessed. The scouting group might be strung up already, nailed to a post. Maybe. God would decide.

Footsteps alert Jessica to a new presence and she glances up from her kneeling position on the floor, light shining on her face and the small, round scab on her cheek.} You are not stealthy, young one. What do you need?

[devin-ryder]

[Devin's head had been swarming with far too much of everything for everyone else to be a problem. Toward the beginning, he would cower in corners and slip away into a new dimension where all of what could haunt him would. Now, he would remain here with everyone, but he would still cower away in the corner and there was enough talking back and forth in his mind that he no longer needed the company of other human beings. So Devin had become scarce. But he had managed to keep Charlie at the forefront of his head.] Er... I was wondering if you'd seen Charlie at all, when you lot went out. Redhead girl, stubborn. She hasn't come back yet.

[devin-ryder]

What's happening with your powers?

I don't think I've got them anymore. At all. Think I'm just going mad now.

[devin-ryder]

Do you think the group should be more or less inclusive to strangers?

Don't think it matters.

[devin-ryder]

What will you do if Charlie doesn't come back?

She'll come back.

[cian-oconnell]

[Cian was pacing by the front doors. Yesterday he had watched with increasing anticipation. Two weeks. Two weeks and they were supposed to have come back yesterday. All day he had waited for her, for the yellow of her jeep to appear from the fog, and for her to walk i so he could scoop her up in his arms, so he could kiss her and scream at her and hold her and hate her and love her. She didn’t show. He waited all night. He hadn’t slept for fear he would miss her. It was monday now, the day getting later and his worry worsening with every minute that passed. He wanted to go out now and hunt her down, he wanted her here. Turning around, his eyes land on someone walking by and he’s too angry to care if they don’t have the answers he’s looking for.] Where the fuck are they?!

[devin-ryder]

[Devin's been waiting, too. Charlie and Josie were the only things Devin had left. They were it. And they left him to go... find someone? He didn't pay attention. He didn't know what to do but nod when he heard the news. He wanted to say no, but Josie wouldn't listen to him and Charlie would fight with him. It'd be wasted efforts.

His head has been crawling. He'd spent time listening instead of ignoring and there were no words, just noise, but he had a better grasp on it now. He could feel it now and it stopped giving him so many headaches. However, it was like not remembering where he was all over again. The world didn't feel the same since the second end of it. But the yell from Cian pierces through his head and his face hardens. It's a voice all the same as the ones he's hearing, but this is words.] I don't know. [But his mind goes through all of the worst options.]

[devin-ryder]

thomas-archer:

{Thomas nods as the image of a redhead comes into mind. Aside from knowing her name and her powers, he knows nothing about the woman, so if she really is with this man, he wouldn’t know. Still, she’s young, so there must be something in here that she might like.} I recommend earrings. Necklaces are easy to grab if you’re trying to choke someone. {And that is the extent of his knowledge of jewelry.}

[Devin nods at him, once, and mutters a small "thanks." He doesn't bother with the way he should be, though. He knows it chases people away, not talking, not being social. Like, maybe the reason the only people he knows are leaving is him and nothing else. Maybe it's not circumstantial. But he tries not to dwell as his fingers grace over the fake silver of a pair of earrings. How could he give it to Charlie, anyway? She didn't know him. He stops, suddenly, however, and looks back at the man.] Oh. Congratulations.

[devin-ryder]

thomas-archer:

{Thomas is visibly more comfortable when the man clears up that his reason for being here is not for himself.} I got her something recently. It made her my wife. {He corrects, holding up his hand so the man could see the ring on his finger if he looked over.} Think I’ll wait ‘till the anniversary, thanks. Who’re you shopping for then?

[Devin looks over when his hand raises and looks at it, his eyes falling back to the man's shoes for some reason, as if it would be some tell of his marriage.] Oh. [And he thinks that, for a few moments, he might not want to include his man on things to do with Charlie, but he's not sure what it'd hurt, really. He's not sure why he shouldn't.] Charlie. For when she gets back.

[devin-ryder]

darcy-reynolds:

Tea cups? [Darcy lets a small smile tug at the corner of her lips, simply because that’s hardly what she was expecting to hear. She wants to ask why, if it’s for him or - more likely - for someone else, but he seems so out of it and he’d just told her he wasn’t okay, and Darcy doesn’t want to say anything that might make him feel worse. So she just nods.] Okay. Well I spent a good bit of time in these stores back in my day, so I’d say your best bet is to check out the earrings. Pretty sure they have something of everything there.

[He wasn't sure he was ever going to find tea cup earrings, and though he didn't completely remember (because as he thought of it now, touching Charlie was a haze too far away) if she had her ears pierced. It'd be better to get a bracelet or a necklace. A small smile tugs at his lips when he thinks maybe he can make them into a necklace or bracelet.] Might work, yeah. Thanks.

[devin-ryder]

darcy-reynolds:

Oh. [The words leaves her lips softly, and Darcy doesn’t know what else to say. Of course he’s not okay, no one really is, but she’s not expecting the honest answer and she doesn’t know him well enough to know what to make of it. But still there’s a look of concern on her face, because of course she’s going to worry. She’s quiet for several moments, but finally she speaks up.] Um…you looking for anything special?

[Devin looks over at her in slight surprise. Did she still want to be around or was she feeling pity, feeling obligated to stay? He doesn’t know if he should say yes, tell her, but he thinks maybe everyone needs distractions. Maybe she was friends with Charlie.] No. Uh, yeah. Something with tea cups, maybe.

[devin-ryder]

thomas-archer:

{When the man fails to give a decent answer, Thomas thinks there might be a reason he hasn’t heard of him very much over the past months. He stares for a few more moments before directing his gaze around the store. He could never see the reason behind using so many rhinestones, but maybe this man had some kind of understanding about the subject Thomas did not.} Well, I’d tell you what your color was if I knew anything about the subject.

[Devin looks up and down at the jewelry again, just to check. Just to see if he knows anything more than the man that claims he doesn’t know anything. And he concludes that he doesn’t know much, just knows what Charlie might like. And he thinks it’d be nothing with a bunch of fake stones or glitter. Nothing too colourful, but nothing boring.] Not shopping for me, mate. Reckon you could get something for, er, your girlfriend, yeah? [He’s been coherent long enough to know.]

[devin-ryder]

thomas-archer:

{Once the man turns to face him, Thomas can see this man has been in this group for a while, though he’s not one of the more talkative ones.} What’re you doing in here? {Thomas asks, not being able to imagine a good reason as to why a grown man would be browsing through an abandoned Claire’s.}

I were, uh... [He glances back at the things in front of him and he now feels foolish. Charlie may not even come back. He had to prepare for that now, had to think about people he loved not making it, the only people who loved him, deciding not to worry about it. Devin had to prepare himself for real loss this time. It wasn't like in the den, where peopled were dropping dead everywhere, where if anyone he grew fond of died, he could steal their needles and their drugs and take a hit for them.]

[devin-ryder]

darcy-reynolds:

[It’s only when he turns to look at her that Darcy registers how out of it he seems to be, and her brows furrow in concern when he answers her. She certainly doesn’t expect everyone to be in a joking mood, but this seems like something different.] Um….yeah. [She continues to look at him for a few seconds before she tilts her head.] Are you okay?

[He doesn't know how to talk to her. He doesn't know how to talk to anyone but Charlie and Eli and Eli's gone. Gone, meaning not here, but it could mean dead, too, and there's nothing he can do about it. It could mean Samson's dead and Eli's off somewhere getting high, or he's fallen through another rift, been possessed. But Devin can't handle the thoughts, so he focuses on what's at hand, shakes out of the haze in his head, constant and obstructing his view, and looks at her. And he's honest.] No. I don't think so. But you don't have to worry.

[devin-ryder]

thomas-archer:

{Thomas has only been exploring the hallways of the mall, checking the emergency exits and making sure there’s enough space for the entire group. He’s also making sure there aren’t any dead bodies around, not really wanting one of the kids to find one. He walks into the Claire’s with his hand on his gun, looking around when he sees a head peeking out over the racks. Frowning, he thinks he recognizes the face, but isn’t sure.} Hey.

[Devin doesn't know the man. They've never spoken. But when he draws attention to himself, he knows that the man has been in this group for a long time. He knows he's been someone people are there for, someone who's there for people. He's done more than Devin has. But he'll always find a new reason to think he's useless, all up until he gets something to distract him. Low chance he'll find a hit in Claire's.] Hi.