[OPEN!] checking out an AC reward clue in the message board room :B

[shuckit]

▶ WHO: Thomas and YOOOOUUUUUUU
▶ DATE: July 18th
▶ WARNINGS: none
▶ SUMMARY: Thomas view the dvd he was given for AC reward :B come watch with him



[ after getting beamed by a parcel from the sky while out on one of his runs through possibly zombie infested areas surrounding the compound, thomas is quick to hunt down the main person he knows with a functioning laptop - peter parker. borrowing it for the time, thomas can be found in the community message board lab, laptop set up on a work station table, before he pops in the dvd. anyone in the room at the time would be welcome to watch over his shoulder. the following is displayed: ]

A man dressed in a lab coat, face smeared with blood. He seems frantic, and the video is twisting as if something is interfering with it. Behind the man is a large red... light? Is it a light? That's to be debated. It looks like black shapes are running into it. They might possibly look human at times, but the quality of the video makes it hard.

The man speaks once before looking terrified and hurriedly throwing himself into the light.

"Thomas, the six aren't people—they won't be clear about it, I'm sorry—but you're a smart guy so you'll figure it out, just ask around, you can find the right p—"

That's when the video ends.

[ for a moment, thomas is still, and silent. it's quiet, when the words do finally coming, but his mind is still reeling from it all. ]

What... What the hell? [ he mutters, shaking his head as he straightens up and leans back. ] What the shuck was that supposed to be?

[ the message itself is important, he knows, but what the hell was that light? why were they running into it, and what were they so terrified of? ]

Comments

[untodawn]

Movie night?

[ Small wonder that in full armor, John could make him way across the lab and cast a long shadow over Thomas as he peered over him. Catching the last snatches of the video before it cuts off. ]

[shuckit]

[ you'd think you'd hear someone as huge as master chief is coming. however, thomas is a bit preoccupied, and the only hint he gets is the shadow that crosses over him. he doesn't jump but does glance back, seeming a bit off guard. ]

Something like that...

[ he sets the dvd to play again, frowning deeply. ]

He knows my name.

[untodawn]

[ Hand flat on the table on Thomas's right side, Chief bent down to get a better view of the screen. ]

Can you play it again?

[ He asked for a couple reasons: First being that he only only caught the video near the end when he came in. Secondly, whoever made this knew Thomas and it was not a mutual understanding so it of course had the kid spooked. ]

[shuckit]

[ he'd been hoping, after going out to Hollows with Chief, that WICKED had nothing to do with this. that it wasn't another elaborate set up. but then there's this. there's someone who knows him, and knows he's smart.

he's not a fan of people who know he's smart. ]

Yeah. Hang on.

[ quiet, and he swallows dryly, before replaying the video, watching it more closely, trying to focus on figuring it out rather than jumping to conclusions in his head. ]

[controlledvariable]

[Steph only catches the end of the video, having come in looking for Thomas because she has, well, her own present. But the voices speaking from the laptop seem more important, and she steps up behind Thomas to watch as much as she can.

She probably didn't make a sound during that approach, sorry Thomas.]

Play it again.

[shuckit]

[ well that's enough to have thomas start some, especially when he'd been so intently focused on the screen a second ago. but once he registers her voice, thomas breathes out a sigh. ]

For the love, Batgirl. [ you're going to give him a heart attack before he hits 18.

regardless, he sets the video to play again, squinting and trying to take in all the details as he watches. ]

[controlledvariable]

Sorry.

[It's almost a reflex response, though, since all her attention is on the video, trying to pick up what she missed the first time and notice any details that might answer some questions.

Once it's done:]

They know who we are. That can't be a coincidence, your name.

[It's not the only thing she's taken away from this, but it's something that she finds incredibly unsettling.]

[intelligently]

( She'd been going in there to place a note, it already written on the post it pad that Lydia held in her hand. It's about half way through the DVD when Lydia walks in, catching the name Thomas and the rest of his words but missing everything before it - everything possibly more frightening )

Where did you get that?

( The DVD, not the laptop - that she's already seen. But was it addressed to him or was the name just a coincidence? And where had he found it? )

[shuckit]

[ it's not a coincidence. there's no way. he's still reeling from it some, but slowly shakes his head as he answers. ]

Dropped on my head.

[ brows furrowed deeply, his eyes raise to lydia, pausing a moment. ]

I was in the middle of nowhere. Nothing above me.

[intelligently]

( There's a frown at his words that it could have just dropped on his head, and Lydia isn't certain whether he's being sarcastic or honest about it )

Was there anyone else around? Any roofs for someone to drop it off?

[shuckit]

I was on a run. Out there.

[ he points to the general "out in the mostly desert area outside the walls" direction. so, no. no rooftops, no people. just him. ]

[intelligently]

Then you're lucky.

( Lucky that it hadn't badly hurt him, that he'd been able to make it back. Lucky at what was on it if it was helpful - she'd only caught the end of it )

Can you play it again? I missed the beginning.

[bronzini]

[ gwen seems to wind up where thomas is a lot lately, in part because she thinks of him as an honorary lab partner and therefore something close to a friend. so she's right over his shoulder to watch when the video's going, watching intently even if she wasn't strictly invited here. she bends over, hands braced on her knees as the tape goes on. ]

It's personalized. He knew your name - and that you'd find this?

[ doesn't that freak him out? because it sure as hell freaks her out. whoever made this, they knew about thomas. it's not just an anonymous call for help. ]

[shuckit]

[ gwen is good people. she's bright, she's good natured, she wants to help. and apparently familiar enough with peter, so yeah, he likes having her around, and doesn't at all mind that she's watching the video as well. he'd have likely shown it to her soon anyway.

thomas let out a slow breath, and while it is weird, it's not exactly more freaky than seeing his name plastered all over the scorch. ]

It did drop directly onto my head.

[ so, yeah, pretty sure someone knew it'd be him finding this. ]

[bronzini]

Yeah, which begs another question: who's out there playing Santa Claus?

[ it was either that, or drop a stork metaphor, and she went with the one that seemed a little more appropriate. ]

I dunno. I mean - [ she waves a hand toward the laptop, gesturing aimlessly. ] Obviously, yeah, we watch that a bunch more times and analyze the shuck out of it.

[ see what she did there? do you see? pause to give him a little grin. ]

But I'm getting a little freaked out by the whole goldfish bowl aspect here, like... Are they out there watching us right now? And if they can drop presents, why can't they come here and be more direct? You know?

[cleave]

Did they say your name?

[ scott wasn't exactly invited in, but he could hear the noise on the tape from the hallway. it plays like a horror movie, except scott knows it isn't. it can't be. ]

Can I see?

[ polite, even if scott's transparently unsettled. ]