tushanshu | 01

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01 | Video

Hello..?

[Have yourself a twelve year old girl testing the water on the shiny new thing and mumbling to herself a little as she does.]

...I hope I'm doing this right.

[Oh right. The people can hear her. Sarah takes a deep breath and gets to talking.]

I uh, gotta say, this is some real crazy stuff going on. I don't even know where to start makin' sense of any of it. The Kedan people, the ones that work here? I think they work here. Live here? I dunno. They explained a lot of stuff but I'm still trying to wrap my head around even being here.

[Sarah pauses. When she speaks again it's with a little less certainty.]

Do they ever make mistakes with who they bring here? I'm not sure I'm the monster fighting type.

[Not real ones anyway.]

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[With that comment, Sarah leaps to her feet.]

Really!? There's a chance they might come too? Dad and Uncle Tommy?

[That's the best news she's had all day.]

I - [Tommy? A Texan girl from a zombie outbreak with an uncle named Tommy?

That has to be a coincidence. Right?]

Maybe. What - what's your name? What's your dad's name? I know a few people, I can always ask around.

[She's got to pull it together and she knows it, but the possibility of them coming there, hell, being there is a really nice thought right now. Though she notices a change in Tess, Sarah doesn't pay it as much attention as she should.]

I'm Sarah. Sarah Miller. My dad's name is Joel.

[This is the part where Tess tells her Joel's right there and it's all good, right? Riiight?]

[Oh, shit. This is - Tess did not sign up for this. Dear god in heaven, what the fuck is she supposed to do now?

Something probably shows on her face - it goes pale, and her jaw slackens for a moment in utter shock and horror. But she has to keep it together, she doesn't want to upset this kid anymore than she already is.]

Uh. He's not here. I'm sorry, Tommy isn't either. I know him - back home, I mean, I - worked with your dad.

My name's Tess. [She should probably introduce herself, right?]

[Her smile fades a little as Tess' expression changes. That's not a good sign at all. She's about to ask if the woman is alright when Tess starts talking.

Sarah takes the news as best she can. Any hope is gone in an instant, but she keeps herself in check otherwise.]

Wait... what?

[Give her a moment to process that.]

[Yeah, it's a lot to take in for Tess, too, and she realizes she knows way more about this kid than Sarah knows about her.]

Yeah. Big guy, he's probably had that beard forever, huh.

[Tess has always liked Joel's beard. No matter how gray it's getting.]

[Slowly, she nods.]

Yeah... Since I can remember, anyway. Are you a new friend of his?

[Because that accent ain't Texan and Sarah's never met or even heard of Tess.]

I, uh. [No, Tess, explaining to this kid that she's been dead for twenty years is probably not the best way to go about it.]

It's complicated. I've known your dad for quite a while, but time... works funny here sometimes, I think. Like, we might be pulled from different times.

Different times? How is that even possible?

[The same way you're on a giant turtle, Sarah.]

What makes you think that?

[Here come the questions.]

Same way there are people here who can do magic, or are aliens from outer space.

[By which she means: beats the hell outta me, kid.]

It's just what I've heard, and it fits, doesn't it? You don't know me, but I've known Joel for a long time.

I guess so. It's just kinda hard to wrap my head around, you know?

[If she wakes up tomorrow and this is all some crazy dream, Sarah wouldn't be overly surprised.]

Everything's been so crazy.

[But another question comes to mind.]

Uh, what year is it? Where you know my dad, I mean.

Trust me, I get it.

[There's a long pause - not only is she considering how much to tell the girl, but also, yeah, she kind of has to think about it for a while. Years are kind of meaningless after a point.]

Uh, it was about 2033, I think.

[The look on her face is one of surprise. That was... a bigger jump in time than she'd first thought.]

Holy cow are you serious!? That's twenty years!

[Tess smiles almost wryly at that.]

Yeah, sometimes it surprises me, too.

[Sarah nods slowly, a mess of thoughts running through her head. One question comes to mind above the rest.]

Hey Tess? Do you know me? Future me, I mean.

[Or is she gone for real like she remembers.]

[Is it that obvious? Shit, this isn't Tess's place, it's not her information to give.

Then again, Joel isn't here, and maybe that's for the best. She can't even imagine how he would react to this. Not even a little bit.]

Uh. Not... really, no.

Right... okay.

[That's not the response she was hoping for, and only further cements what she already knows. Still, Sarah will hold out some hope for the time being. If back home is frozen, paused, then maybe there's still a chance.]

So... How's he doing? Like, where you're from. Is he okay?

He was fine, last time I saw him. [Well, fine is pretty relative, all things considered, but it's probably what he would say, himself.

It's Tess who was less than fine. About as not-fine as she could be, but that's neither here nor there.]

In fact, I bet he shows up, sooner or later. And when he does, we'll give him a lecture about takin' his sweet time.

Yeah! I hope so.

[Sarah really misses her old man. Hearing he's doing alright is a comfort but seeing it for herself would definitely help a lot more.]

The whole time thing is gonna confuse him real bad though. Dad's not too good with this kinda thing, even when it's just on tv. Actually living it will make him freak!

[It's a happy thought, and one she'll latch on to.]

[Oh, Sarah. You have no idea. None at all.

Tess just smiles, almost sadly.]

Yeah, I'm sure he will.

[She smiles a little but it's no where near as happy as a kid's smile should be. Sarah falls silent a moment, eyes down.

When she looks up again, it's with a question.]

Say Tess? You wouldn't know where I could get some clothes, would ya?

[Her voice is quiet, almost wary. It's time to slightly face that thing she's been avoiding.]

There are a lot of clothing stores in Earth sector. That's where I live. It's the place with all the stone sculptures.

[She'll just be digging out that pamphlet the Kedan gave her.]

Earth sector... Got it.

[That's good to know, but she's still wearing blood soaked pajamas.]

[Okay yeah, Tess only sort of vaguely noticed that at first, probably because she's pretty used to people wearing dirty, bloody clothes all the time, but the amount of blood on what Sarah's wearing might be a little off-putting to kedan shop owners.]

Uh. I might have something - it'd be pretty big - wait, have you talked to Ellie? She, uh. She also knows your dad, she's... close to your age, I think.

[Sarah nods.]

Yeah, she and I have talked a little, but not much.

I gotta say, it's... strange, meeting all these people that know him from so far away.

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