I have hidden since discovering that our town has been abandoned. I am unsure of what to do at this point. I suppose I should eventually go outside, maybe figure out what to do next even, but instead I continue to sit inside of my home. Is it even really *my* home? Or does it belong to then?

Okay everyone. The getting certain buildings ready thing. Who's in? The bowling alley was mentioned. The Rec Center. One of the bigger houses over on the rich-ass street. Somewhere on the farm, maybe. Anyone else have suggestions? And who's going to be helping? Does anyone want to be responsible for one of the checkpoint buildings and organize from there?

Ping here and we can figure it out.

Being here reminds me of the war. It's a strained feeling, tense like muscles drawn taut and held past their limits. Dark days and mistrust, that much is identical no matter how many differences there may be. I've never been an avid reader, though I like a good book now and then. Most don't stick with me, they didn't when I was younger and they sure don't as I get older each day. Still, some sections catch and take hold, and I'm grateful for it. In particular, 'Valley Forge', a book about one lost base of Marines, not so much about Vietnam as the people it touched, both soldiers and their families. I don't trust my memory for accuracy of this sort often, but here it's solid as bedrock.

Day three. The word is that you've taken over, that this was never ended. So, where does that leave me? I worked for you and I still will. Whatever you want me to do. I know if you're out there you can read this - I always read their's. So tell me - what do you want me to do? Just let me know.

Who: Everett and Indira
Where: right outside the bar
When: right after the meeting

Ev had tried to keep his hopes reasonable throughout the meeting; he knew the score here, after all. But there had been some hope he just couldn't crush. The idea that things could be different this time around died hard inside him, and he was still nursing it in private at the moment. The meeting was over, plenty of people had filed out of the bar, but Ev was still hanging around. Leaning against an outside wall, he flicked a match to life and brought it against his cigar, puffing it to life. He'd take his time here, make sure everyone cleared out, and walk a long circuit around town. Been a long time since I had a beat to walk, he mused silently, exhaling a cloud of dense smoke.

Holdering of the placingness

Who: Kales and Addison
When: About midday
Where: Streets

Who: Brett and Lina
Where: The garage
When: Early afternoon

Brett had a bad feeling about this as he wheeled himself into the garage in search of Lina. then again, he had a bad feeling about almost everything - especially that which meant that he had to actively seek out the advice of others. He'd much prefer to keep himself to himself, but he'd said that he'd go and even if things had changed somewhat with the news he'd gotten over night, he was still sticking with the plan until he could find that woman and actually talk to her about things. "Hey, anyone here?" he called, making his way forward, leaving the door to the outside open.

It seemed a little pointless to be here for Lina - people were still trying to figure out what was going on, but, fuck it. Volunteers had shown up, so she stayed for work. Not that she actually did a whole hell of a lot of it. She was letting her mind wander in the back room when she heard a call. She got up and walked out into the main room, eyeing the guy in the wheelchair. "Yep. What can I help you with?"

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Who: Dale and Trent
Where: Trent's salon
When: Afternoon

who: Jack and Open
where: The Bar
when: Evening

He hadn't opened the bar for a couple of days. It was strangely surreal, with most of the other businesses in the town closed down. Bethany's bright sign looked particularly lonely, and he wrinkled his nose as he unlocked the door.

I don't really know what to think. I read that some other people think that this is just a continuation of the old experiments.

I really really hope not, but... if it were true, then at least this time I'm outside with the sun. I guess it's stupid to be thankful for such a small thing, but I am. I feel a little stronger, and there are other people around.

So I'm sure you heard I was here by now. Hi. Enough smalltalk.

We both know what's coming. I knew when I woke up, so I hit the police station. Looks like someone else was there first, but I requisitioned every firearm and baton in the place. Now maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think people who know me'll be wild about me having every gun in town. So if you're okay with it, I think it'd be better if you had them. If you don't want them, I'll go dig a trench and bury them, no hard feelings. Let me know.

- Everett

'talked' to someone today; he said that the houses were only boarded up yesterday, as well as people left yesterday, and the power had gone out. i went to the hardware store and got flashlights, batteries, and some wooden broom handles to break for flipping switches - just in case. you want anything?

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who: eris and brody
where: the rec center
when: late afternoon

Eris hadn't slept after she'd got tossed out of Brett's house. She hadn't gone back home. Home was too close to Everett's house. It was too close to Lina's house. It was basically just walls that she hated, with nothing inside she even really wanted. She was seriously considering just...not staying there anymore. Either way she hadn't returned. She'd gone walking. She'd considered drinking, but hadn't, in the end not wanting to give herself more of a headache than she already had.

She'd wandered around town, then saw the rec center, and decided to go investigate inside. Where she found a pool. That was more perfect for her state of mind. The lights in the building were off, but she flicked on the ones inside the pool. Searching the locker rooms found her a swimsuit that of course, looked like it was from the 50's. She couldn't be bothered to give a shit about fashion, however, so she just...put one on, and dove in. She'd swam a while, doing laps, before she tired out, and then she grabbed an innertube and tossed it into the pool. She climbed into it, relaxed back, and contemplated the strange shadow and light dance on the walls and ceiling, from the main light source being underwater.

I wish to move today. Can you assist me?

Who: Owen and Addison
When: Morning
Where: Park Road

To say that Owen was terrified would be an understatement. He hadn't put Clarkson down the night before and hadn't slept much, sitting in his doorway with what equated to a baseball bat close at hand, cradling the bird against his chest and watching the street. He'd been freezing, and when he'd drifted off to sleep without realising it, he'd woken up with a start, abjectly horrified at the idea of being locked inside his house.

Who: Brett and Indira
When: Mid-morning
Where: Grocery store

To say Indira hadn't expected the situation she'd found herself in upon waking would be an understatement. She'd been led to believe her arrival in this oversized halfway house would be by car or other motorized transport, not that she'd be drugged and moved in the night. Not to mention, no one from her experiment save Addison was here - or if they were, they weren't answering.

If anyone wants to meet at the bar tonight, the doors'll be open. There'll be beer and ideas. Anyone want to come talk about what happened yesterday?

I can't imagine what must be going on with you guys right now. But yesterday scared the shit out of me, and I wasn't even in those fucking experiments.

Who: Brett and Eris
Where: Brett's house
When: Middle of the damn night

Eris waited until after midnight to go see Brett. Well after, if one was counting, though she didn't look at the clock before she went over. It was probably past two in the morning. She had the duffle bag full of books she'd gathered from the library. The shotgun shells happened to be in there too. And, over her shoulder, she had the shotgun. She had planned on breaking into his place...which was a lot easier than initially planned. What with him having ever fucking window in his house wide open. So, being as stealthy as she could, she did break in, climbing in a window as quietly as possible. The place was dark, though with the houses as they were it wasn't hard to find the bedroom in the samey type of layout. She walked in, and looked down at him for a long moment. Then she dropped her load on the side of the bed he wasn't occupying, down by the foot of it.

Brett stirred in his sleep as she entered the bedroom - he wasn't a particularly deep sleeper and was disturbed by any sounds - but he didn't properly wake until she dropped the bag, at which point he came fully and instantly awake, bolted up out of the remains of his sleep and blinking in the darkness. "Wha..." he exclaimed, looking round.

I can't do this shit. Not again and not alone. My hands fucking ache, the exercises aren't working and I can't do this alone.

[the recording begins with the sound of things falling, being thrown around—mostly items that sound as if they're made of metal. when her voice comes in, it's obviously angry; the clattering stops for a few moments as she speaks.]

I don't like being messed with. I don't like thinking that I've been abandoned, that I'm going to be stuck in this godforsaken city for the rest of my life without any contact with the outside world.

is anyone else from experiment b here? hello?

Who: Gavin and Janie
When: afternoon
Where: their house

Gavin had woken up to Janie's note, which had of course worried him. But he tried not to freak out completely, like she told him to. Instead he'd gone for a quick exploratory jaunt. And then raided the hardware store. He hauled home boards of all kinds of sizes, nails, tools, candles, anything he could hoof back to the house. Then the sporting goods store for knives and bats. Then it was to the grocery store. If looting was going to go on -- and he felt sure it was -- he was going to get their fair share out of the way. All the while, he kept his eyes peeled for his short dark-haired woman, but didn't see her. If she wasn't back by almost dark, he was going out looking.

By noon he was busy rearranging the furniture in the living room so that it would serve as a blockade easier, if they needed it to. He didn't know what the fuck was going on, only that it wasn't good, and they were probably back on their now-familiar Fend For Your Goddamn Fucking Selves footing.

Who: Diata and Everett
Where: Diata's house
When: Late evening

What a day, Everett mused as he trudged along the sidewalk, hopefully towards his last stop before going home and drinking himself to sleep. He'd covered the police station, secured the weapons, dropped most of them at home, and was in the middle of a final check on the streets. Ev had eventually discarded the table leg he'd started with, and now felt just a little better with a police baton slung through his belt. It wasn't much comfort in light of his encounter with Eris, but every bit helped with a mood like this. He should've felt better for helping restore power to the town, but it didn't feel like it was helping much. Just get it done, he told himself, moving up on the address the directory had listed as Diata's and knocking firmly on the door.

Most of the day had seen Diata in something like a very controlled panic. The power was off, most of the people were gone. She'd gone and checked her shop, locked things up tight, and prayed that no one would break in the big glass windows. Though she wasn't sure what they could possibly want to loot from the place, people were strange creatures when it came to tense situations. She'd walked into the grocery store and taken bags to dump canned goods into, as many as she thought she might need for a week or so, not wanting to fully loot everything. And then it had been some scared wandering before she'd gone back home and surrounded herself with candles as her mind spun over what could've possibly happened and how she could deal with it. She had her pills -- of which she'd already taken more than normal -- but God only knew how long those would last.

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Who: Eris and Everett
Where: The police station
When: Evening

Everett had a problem; what was one man supposed to do with so many guns? He'd done what he could around town, helping Kales and Dale, rounding people up, and checking the local businesses. But before long his mind had drifted to the matter of the now-empty police station, and more importantly what was in it. What was in it, exactly, was several shotguns and even more revolvers, handcuffs, batons, and ammunition. Everett had pried open the weapons lockers with a crowbar from the hardware store, piling weapon after weapon on a desk nearby. FInally he'd found a duffel, and though he'd already unloaded the guns and started packing some away to transport, he wasn't sure where he was even taking them.

His house could work, but it wouldn't look good at all for the only black man in town to start stockpiling weapons on the day the overseers all vanished. Still, taking some blame was better than leaving the guns here for someone less scrupulous to find and use, and Ev didn't mind people having a problem with him. Tucking a shotgun away, he raised the last from the deck, racking it once to make sure no shells came free and dry-firing it at a wall.

Well, she'd thought she'd have to break in. She didn't. And that left her thinking that she might not have anything left to choose from, in which case, that was going to be tricky. When she walked in, she was quiet, her drunk left a few hours ago, and she was left with a dull headache, but that was to be expected. Her medication didn't really mix well with it.

Following sounds, she ghosted up, then saw Everett. Her chest tightened, a weighted, sharp feeling settling in it, though she didn't say anything right away. She saw the guns piled on the table, and grabbed one up. The first sound she made was checking the chamber to see if it was loaded. "Evening, Captain."