056 - Pretending Truth or Dare never happened...

[major_west]

I thought that hangover would never go away...

I feel as though I've exhausted the possibilities for recreation here. I almost wish there were another port, flood, anything to break the tedium. I can't believe I'm asking this... Does anybody have a board game?

Nevermind that. I'm not that desperate yet.

I just need... to get away something to do here before I go completely mad. Something more to strive for than 'don't try to kill anybody for X amount of days'.



What's the point of this?

Comments

[major-west.livejournal.com]

Nothing. I just don't want to teach people. I'm not an educator. I don't teach.

[gimmethemap]

You just lead.

[major-west.livejournal.com]

And leading soldiers is quite a lot different than teaching the idiots here about history.

[gimmethemap]

Never said it had to be history. Survival, maybe? Self defense?

Action!

[my-freeze-ray.livejournal.com]

Ahh, juice would be nice.

[Billy comes in, and this... is actually kind of awkward. The room seems so clean, so much more normal than anything else on the barge. He gives a slightly awkward smile and glances at West.]

So we won't be cooking for each other here then? Due to long absent groceries?

[He turns and folds his arms a little awkwardly, still looking around the room.]

I didn't expect it to be so clean. I mean, I didn't think you'd be a slob or anything, but this place barely looks lived in.

[major-west.livejournal.com]

...

No.

[gimmethemap]

Did they teach you that beggars could be choosers, too? What would you like to do then?

[major-west.livejournal.com]

There's no point here!

[gimmethemap]

When no progress is being made? Yes. I agree. So what would you like to do about it?

[major-west.livejournal.com]

...

[major-west.livejournal.com]

What, do you want to have yet another 'talk'?

[gimmethemap]

I figure we'll get to that when you're ready. And ready shouldn't just mean "when you're feeling impatient".

Look at this place as a vehicle for your personal changes. Anything you've always wanted to learn to do? Do it. If you can't, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Books you've always wanted to read? We probably have them.

You only have to ask.

Action!

[major-west.livejournal.com]

[He goes into the adjoining kitchen to pour Billy and himself a glass of... orange juice from 2001. Mmm, vintage. Luckily, there's no real time here. He takes both glasses into the living room, then looks around]

Oh. I just... cleaned it.

[Better to say that than 'I was a workaholic who wanted to avoid having a personal life at all costs'.

...no wonder all of his relationships failed.]

Have a seat?

Action!

[my-freeze-ray.livejournal.com]

[Billy accepts the glass and sits down on the sofa, getting the distinct feeling that his very presence was making a mess. He motions for West to join him before tucking his legs up underneath him. Feet on the sofa is actually a deliberate decision on his part because damn it the room needs a bit of mess!]

So this was where you lived? In England?

[He pauses, glancing at West curiously.]

How come the Admiral didn't start you off here?

[major-west.livejournal.com]

...

What if I wanted to climb a mountain. Go on holiday to Brazil. Hell, go to a bloody amusement park.

Don't tell me I can do anything.

[gimmethemap]

I will tell you that I will see what I can do.

[major-west.livejournal.com]

...of course.

[gimmethemap]

So ask.

Action!

[major-west.livejournal.com]

[His hackles rise, briefly, when he notices the feet-- feet-- on his sofa, but he quickly gets over it. Who does he have to impress, anyway? And now that he's trapped on the Barge, he's pretty much forced to spend time in his flat. So, he joins Billy on the sofa]

Well.

[His fingers fiddle with the glass in his hands, then he takes a sip]

I spent my last days elsewhere. Perhaps he decided I needed a reminder.

[major-west.livejournal.com]

I want to see my home. Before the Infection.

Action!

[my-freeze-ray.livejournal.com]

[Billy is totally breaking some sofa based status quo here, but he gets over his small victory and takes a sip of his juice, glancing across at West. He doesn't want to be overly intrusive for this, but... at the same time, he's here to talk about this isn't he?]

A reminder of what?

[gimmethemap]

...Are you sure?

I don't know if it's something the Admiral can manage or not, but I'll try if you really want that.

Action!

[major-west.livejournal.com]

[He doesn't look directly at Billy, and instead adopts that dry, clinical tone he uses when discussing the last month of his life] Of... Infection. Of everything that went wrong in those last days.

[major-west.livejournal.com]

Well, I certainly don't want to see it after, so that leaves options limited.

How would he even do it?

[gimmethemap]

Probably the same way he gives the Wardens a way of going home for emergencies. It's not impossible.

But you should think about what that would mean, Major. You would step out into a world that, for you, doesn't exist anymore. You'll see people that have died -- people who you have seen die, people you may have had to kill -- walking around, living their lives, with no idea what will happen to them in the future. This includes waiters at your favorite restaurant, your neighbors, your mother or father.

These are all people you know may wind up dying, horribly, and you will not be able to bring yourself to tell them what is coming. When they ask you what's wrong, you won't be able to say. And there is no way they will believe you even if you could tell them.

At the very end you will have to walk away from them, return here, and leave them to their fate.