[ it catches her off guard- because people don't call her. it just isn't something that happens- and she watches the ring for a moment before finally picking up. ]
Right? No shit. [ huff! good. replies are good. she doesn't usually call either, but she's getting tired of texting. ]
After day three I really thought I was gonna get stuck there. Whatever that was. Remind me to stop hoping I could go home just for a few days, yeah? Cause that wasn't even worth it. I mean I know it wasn't real but it felt real enough.
[ it isn't quite a laugh that comes out, under her breath. but it's something. not for the first time, Hayley's glad she didn't see anything of her own making- because fuck knows what that would've been. ]
Zombieland. Well, Pacific Playland. It's this crappy amusement park in SoCal. I haven't actually been there in years but it was the same as I remember it, minus the zombie crap. [ hrn not mentioning who she saw there ] Also ended up in this grody high school, which sucked, Gotham, like- Batman's home town Gotham, and this giant house which was like something straight out of a Hitchcock movie. Wish I was kidding. [ really, really, really wish ] You?
A bunch of messed up towns and equally messed up houses, whatever that counts for. A bunch of crazy shit trying to kill me. The usual, really. I guess that just means the passengers are more creative than smiley.
What, you think someone in the crew caused the fog? Or just.. judging by the kinds of places we ended up in? [ she's still a little fried, also paranoid as hell. ]
Our crew isn't exactly the Scooby gang. I don't see them getting something like this together, and I mean, even if they did? It's not like they'd get a whole hell of a lot outta it.
[ off screen, hayley's fingers drum thoughtfully against her mouth, and her gaze bores into the wall opposite. ]
Kinda reminded me of the fear gas. But that's just further proof, really.
Some assholes just like fucking with people without a reason, though. [ b i t t e r ] But you're right, I can't think of anybody that could cause mass hallucinations. Not that I know everybody on the ship anymore. [ sigh. she bunches her fingers in her hair, presses the heel of her hand to her forehead. it's weird trying to rationalize something that feels like a bad dream at the moment ] I dunno.
Yeah, I know. [ she sounds annoyed, and it's obvious that it's directed at herself ] The gas only made me feel crazy though, see things on the ship. I thought I got sent home with this crap, didn't even realize it wasn't real until people from here showed up. And I can't stop thinking about what I saw. Not just in my world either, it all felt too real.
[ she's silent for a minute. the truth is that it's easier for her to talk this way, since she didn't have to take a peek into her own head- have it laid out for the whole world to see. ]
[ now? she needs to make sure everyone she found in the fog got out ok. she needs to confront Tate about that house, why a manifestation of him killed her. she needs to ask Brendan if he's still in love with that girl back in San Clemente. ]
I dunno. I've been seriously considering a trip to medical, maybe freak out just enough for them to dose me with the same stuff they had us all sucking down during the smurf plague. That's just if I can't shake this. I'd say I wanna find out how this even happened, but considering the amount of other stuff that's gone unanswered? Not too set on that.
[ she nods, and while the video isn't on, somehow she's sure, it comes across in her voice. we're on a magic kidnapping spaceship. answers are never forthcoming. instead, Hayley slouches back in he seat, shoulders folding over her chest and staring down at the communicator. she doesn't do this comforting thing, and somehow it's the one thing she keeps having to do. ]
Maybe you're better off focusing on what you can control.
[ that pulls a frustrated sigh from her ] I feel like that's all I've been doing. Connecting with people I can't protect. It's driving me nuts. But I can't not have people, at this point. And I don't want to not have people. ... I don't even know what I'm saying.
I don't! Well, I didn't. Not before this place. [ she's rubbing at her eyes, trying not to get.. too freaked out that she's even talking about this, but she is. ] Back home I had my sister, right, and then I show up here and I figure hey, okay, if she's not here then the only person I need to look out for is myself. And then Neal just- gets it in my head that people can't work alone, even people like us, that we need someone and so I let myself get attached to [ you guys ] certain people on this stupid ship, let them in even if all they end up seeing is the hammy, crazy side of me. I let them in because I need somebody to watch out for, I need that reason to fight. Looking out for just me isn't enough.
I dunno. I dunno! [ she hasn't realllyyy thought about it, it's just something she realized when she was running from zombies with Percy and Simon and Kurt. how easy it was to just stop struggling when it was just her stuck in that house with the faceless gunman and nobody else. it's a weird sort of epiphany to have about yourself. she doesn't want to die, she doesn't not care about her own life, but- ] It's just easier to be brave for someone else than it is to be brave when it's just me. I fight harder when it's not just my life on the line. I guess.
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That was a real barrel of monkeys.
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After day three I really thought I was gonna get stuck there. Whatever that was. Remind me to stop hoping I could go home just for a few days, yeah? Cause that wasn't even worth it. I mean I know it wasn't real but it felt real enough.
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What'd you see?
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-Not sure if that's a point in our favor.
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[ off screen, hayley's fingers drum thoughtfully against her mouth, and her gaze bores into the wall opposite. ]
Kinda reminded me of the fear gas.
But that's just further proof, really.
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You lied.
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-Was it someone back home?
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I had to kill my sister. I mean, she was sick, but it was still her.
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Those things aren't real, they're just what we're afraid of.
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So what now?
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I dunno. I've been seriously considering a trip to medical, maybe freak out just enough for them to dose me with the same stuff they had us all sucking down during the smurf plague. That's just if I can't shake this. I'd say I wanna find out how this even happened, but considering the amount of other stuff that's gone unanswered? Not too set on that.
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Maybe you're better off focusing on what you can control.
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Maybe start by focusing on the people instead of the environment.
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You know this isn't going to have a happy ending, for anyone.
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Why isn't it enough?
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