The Devil I Know

Who: Hadley and Liam
Where: The bar
When: Evening

Hadley had spent some time wandering the town after withdrawing some money from the bank after walking away from her brief encounter with Brett. He had stoked her irritation, but that was nothing a cigarette hadn't been able to calm. She supposed it was her own fault for giving the guy another chance not to be a dick. But it didn't matter given she didn't really care much for him anyway.

Eventually once the sun set, Hadley found herself inside of the bar in town. Unsurprisingly it wasn't crowded at all. Hadley had a feeling most people were hidden away in their houses, or avoiding any kind of human contact. Which was fine with her. She could have some peace and quiet.

Hadley ordered a beer and went to sit in the corner of the bar, working up the courage to light another cigarette. She set the lighter and pack on the table and stared at them both, mentally preparing herself and working herself up to actually lighting one of the damn things.

Liam hadn't been near as social as he'd intended to be, wandering around town and poking through the deserted buildings. There was still a lot to be filled out, or maybe it'd all be left empty; he really couldn't tell which direction things were moving. He was just enjoying the large amount of space around him, the fresh air, the grass... Everything was different when there was a real sky above him and he just couldn't get over it. The sun, though, he could only tolerate in small increments.

He could watch the sun sink below the horizon from inside the bar and it didn't hurt his eyes. As it became fully dark, he began to take in his actual setting, which had previously only been recognized by the bottle of beer in his hand. Turning on his stool, he scanned the room, eyes stopping on a familiar face. Strolling across the room, he slid in next to Hadley, turning to face her. "How ya holdin' up?" he asked, his Irish accent thick as always.

Hadley tore her eyes away from her cigarettes to a familiar face. Liam. There were two now from D that she knew were in town. Only this guy wasn't a flat out dick the way Brett was, so she relaxed and rested her arms on the table, one hand wrapped around her beer bottle. "As well as can be expected, I guess? Trying to figure this whole thing out. Wondering if there are others that we were with that are here, so I have to admit, I'm relieved to see you. I ran into Brett already. The guy in the wheelchair? Still a major prick." She took a quick sip of her beer, eyes wandering over his face. "What about you?"

"Okay, I guess. Not all that thrilled about being held up here, but I'll buy it," he said. With all that they'd been through, the red tape had to be a significant mess. It was only made worse by there being several different experiments, each of which seemed to have their own special brand of crazy. "Never thought I'd see the sun again. Or the sky, for that matter. So at least we've got that. I'm a little thrown by the encouragement to get jobs, though. That bodes a stay longer than I'd like." It was something that had Liam thinking, and it bothered him more and more the more he thought about it.

She never thought she'd see the sun again either. But even now that she could, she wondered if she could ever go outside on a bright day without sunglasses. "I'll probably wait until my money supply runs dry before I try to find a job. I'm hoping by then we'll be getting out of here." Wishful thinking, she knew. Hadley was resigned to realize that any spark of hope in this place was probably pointless after the last nine months. But she didn't want to delve too deeply into the topic since there seemed to be a brick wall where her memories of the experiment were. She didn't want to talk about what had happened at all. "Where are you living?" she asked instead, reaching out to pull a cigarette from her pack, though she did nothing more than hold it.

"That's my hope, but who knows. Seems instead like they might be building a little civilization to play with instead," Liam said. He knew that was rather pessimistic and paranoid, but he wasn't all that sure he'd feel safe even if he'd been planted right back home. Too much had changed since he'd joined the experiment, his world view permanently skewed, or so it seemed. Maybe if the world seemed right long enough he'd get over it, but Liam wouldn't count on it. "I'm on the south end of town. Got my own little place," he smiled. "Small, but it's better than sharing. Where you at?"

Hadley wrinkled her nose before taking another long pull of her beer. She knew he had a point, about the scientists still fucking with them, but she didn't want to think about that. "If this is somehow another experiment? I don't know whether to say god help us or god help them." She wanted to believe they were going to be going home. Only, Hadley didn't really have anywhere she called home. So maybe that's why she wasn't as eager to get on a plane as everyone else. She had no clue where she would be going. "I'm right next to the cemetery in what I can only assume is the shit side of town. Pretty comforting to wake up and stretch and glance out the window to see a bunch of headstones. My house is a one bedroom and pretty small, but that's all right, I guess. It means I won't ever be stuck with a roommate, and I can come and go as I please. You want one?" she asked, motioning with the cigarette.

"Sure," he answered, taking an offered cigarette and tapping it out of the box. "It might be a sucky view, but at least it's a view, right?" Liam asked, one of the few optimistic looks he could take on the situation. Much as he thought they were still doomed, they were doomed to hell in a better place than before. He didn't feel as trapped as he had underground, where the walls were closing in on him, the rooms slowly shrinking, tightening, suffocating-- Liam took a drag off the cigarette as he lit it, now hoping for the calming effect that was to come. "I don't know what they can do to us now. There's more of us, right? All in one place, ready to tear them a new asshole if they try something else. I'd like to think this is a goverment run rehabilitation program, or whatever they're selling it as, it just... doesn't feel right. Not sure what would, ya know?"

"Mmm." Was all she said in response at first. She'd shifted her eyes away when he lit the cigarette, trying to keep her chest from tightening up. When she looked back at his face, the cigarette was lit and he was taking a drag off of it. Reaching over, she plucked it from him and replaced it with the unlit one still between her fingers. "You can have that one," she stated before leaning back in her chair and taking a drag. She could taste him faintly, but that was okay. It wasn't a bad taste. The tension inside of her relaxed and after exhaling the smoke, she felt ready to talk. "I'm going to claim ignorance and believe that we won't have to worry about those bastards anymore. If that's not the case, I'll deal with it when it comes. But bracing yourself and preparing for the worst is no way to live after what we've been through. Fuck if I don't want to eat a decent meal, have a few beers, get laid and watch some fucking television without looking over my shoulder for the hammer to drop, you know?" Hadley paused and smirked a bit at Liam. "Pardon my French."

Liam stared at the fresh cigarette, confusion mixed with annoyance. It was a silly thing, but it bothered him, the fact that she couldn't even ask before stealing it away. It might have been hers to begin with, but once she offered, she lost control of the cigarette that was technically now his. "Why'd ya do that?" he asked, rather than just letting it go. Maybe if he could understand what was up with her, it would help. Or maybe he'd just have to keep himself from stealing it back. "I don't think I can forget it all that easily. Have a few pints maybe, make myself dinner, but until I'm completely rid of this place, until I'm home, I can't just let it go. Good for you, though. It's probably healthier your way. Is it working?" he asked. She might be trying to forget, but Liam doubted she had a switch that turned the memories off that easily. He knew he sure didn't.

"No, it's not working," Hadley replied simply. "But I'm trying to block as much of it from my memory as I can. I don't like how I feel when I have to remember it, or talk about it." Like she might throw up, or start to cry. And she preferred to at least give the illusion that she was tough enough to handle this stuff. She had done it for nine months, she wasn't about to fall apart now. She motioned with the cigarette. "I can't... I've been having trouble with fire lately." She had to force that through her teeth. It made her sound weak. "Takes me too long to light my own cigarettes. Sorry, should have asked you to do it." Hadley leaned forward to grab her beer, more to occupy her free hand now that she was starting to feel uneasy.

Liam could understand not wanting to talk about it, but at the same time, it was all he had to talk about. The experiment had been his life for the past nine months and referring to time before that seemed so damn distant, especially with someone who'd already heard the story. "Any idea why?" he asked, lighting up the new cigarette. "I mean, why fire? Is this a new thing since we got out?" He understood his own newfound phobia, even if understanding it didn't help in the least. But fire... Liam tried to remember if Hadley had gone too far down the tunnels, if she'd gotten burned in the heat.

Hadley was having a hard time explaining it. Her mouth didn't even want to move to form the words. She smoked her cigarette and then began to peel the label off of her beer with her free hand. She felt like explaining her nightmares and phobia meant talking about it. Admitting fear. She couldn't do that. "The tunnels," she finally said. Though it was more than that. Incineration. Bodies. It made her skin crawl, made her want to take her cigarette and burn every part of her brain that carried those memories. "I guess we all left that place with some new hang up. Or a multitude of them. I'm sorry," Hadley added, glancing at him briefly. "It's just hard for me to talk about. I'm not trying to be anti-social, or make it difficult on you. Are you going to do that? The job thing?" It was an abrupt change of topic, she knew, but it was the only way she could make herself continue.

As he watched her peel the label off her bottle of beer, Liam took another drag on the cigarette. It wasn't polite to slap a woman's hand, and he couldn't say why the action bothered him so much, but wouldn't she just leave it on? It was such a silly thing, but it bothered him intensely. He nodded as she admitted the tunnels were the source of her problems, understanding that. It had bothered him, but in a different way-- not the heat, but the lack of space. "I don't know about the job thing. I've gotta think on it. I worked in a shipyard, but ships we've not got. Maybe I'll open another pub, if this little town can handle two. Should, seeing as how so many of us want a drink," he answered, setting his cigarette aside to take a swig of his beer.

"More like we need a drink," Hadley corrected with a small grin. She peeled the label until half of it pulled off of the bottle. And then she dropped the torn label to the table before picking up the bottle to take another drink. "I'm wondering though, if people don't start working. What if they run out of money in the bank? Will it be replenished? Or are you on your own? I feel like there's so many questions that haven't been answered yet. That's what pisses me off. I want a daily fucking newspaper full of answers." Hadley shook her head, her cigarette back between her lips. "Have you seen anyone else from the house?"

"I think that's their MO. Leave us wondering. Guessing. We never know what'll come next. Or maybe that's my paranoia kicking in, since we're not living under the scientist's watch anymore. The authorities have gotta have real reasons, right?" There went his optimism again, popping up when he least expected it. Then again, he didn't really believe what he was saying, so he wasn't truly optimistic. "I haven't seen anyone yet, but I'm sure they're around. I've kinda been keeping to myself. Met a man yesterday, from the house experiment. He had a dog."

"A dog?" Hadley considered that. "Huh. So is the dog his? If not, I'd have the thing checked for cameras." Hey Hadley, paranoid much? "What's his name? What was he like?" Because so far she hadn't been impressed with anyone here. Okay, so she hadn't really met many people. Brett had put a sour taste in her mouth - even though she already knew him.

"The dog is his," Liam confirmed, rather than get into the story as Dave had told it. If Dave didn't want to consider the dog as a plant, then Liam wouldn't encourage Hadley's paranoia on the subject. Liam hadn't even considered it, too pleased to see a dog to think of things like cameras. "The dog was Prophet; The owner was Dave-- tall, white male, blond hair, seemed nice enough. Said their group got separated from the rest of the house and left in the woods to fend for themselves."

"Sounds like an exciting time," Hadley said dryly. She was of the mind to think anything and everything could be a plant by the scientists. Though she knew she ought to get out of that particular mind frame. It was too difficult given the last nine months. Who was to be trusted? What was to be trusted? "Prophet and Dave. Nice. I guess eventually I'll meet him. This town isn't terribly big, which tells me there won't be that many people showing up. Depending on how long we're here, everyone is bound to run into each other at some point." Hadley reached up to rub her eyebrow with her thumb. "I'm glad to see you though. A familiar face is better than a stranger." Even if they hadn't been the best of friends. But hell, Hadley hadn't been that close with anyone in the house for various reasons.

"In most cases, that's true. Though I guess I'll always prefer the devil I know versus the devil I don't. This places brings out a whole new kind of paranoia that I hadn't even considered," Liam said. He knew that some of the people he'd been shut in with hadn't been quite right in the head. At least they were familiar. They could be avoided. All these new people, well, they were a mystery, and therefore dangerous until they could be trusted. And who could be trusted? Trust was a commodity that was hard to come by, the price too high and not often worth the risk.

"You're telling me," she mumbled. At least Liam was normal - from what she did know of him. She'd much prefer him sitting there than some of the others she had been around. Hadley supposed all she could do was take everything with a grain of salt. Trust was something that needed to be earned now, if that were even possible. "Guess we have to just sit back and see what happens. And be prepared for when and if the shit hits the fan." It was going to happen eventually. And Hadley was fairly certain she would be ready for it.