@cjk [ audio ]

[signifies]

Hello everyone. My name is Clark. I'll try and keep this brief.

Firstly, I've drawn up a blank list and placed one on the bulletin board on each housing floor. If those with medical expertise feel comfortable, they can put their name, residence here, and — if they have one — specialisation, in case of an emergency. We have several residents who aren't from the same point in time, so if you'd like to volunteer to update someone's medical knowledge, please mark your name with an asterisk.

Secondly, ah-- [ a bit of a laugh. ] I'm from Kansas, which some of you might recognise as being host to some pretty bad weather. Now, I'm not going to say I'm paranoid, but-- I like to think ahead. So, I've made up some kits with some of the usual survival paraphernalia back home and distributed them between floors. Feel free to help yourselves if you need them.

[ No one has to use them, but he’d rather everyone knows they're available. ]

Thank you for your time.

( all replies in audio unless otherwise stated )

Comments

{ voice }

[inthemoonlight]

Hello, sir. My name is Cecelia Wynn.

[ Because she seriously thinks it's weird to not have introductions up front. He at least knew to do it in his message, unlike others so far. ]

I am afraid I am not familiar with Kansas. What sort of weather are you expecting?

voice; (@ellie)

[pundemic]

Clark! Glad you didn't get eaten by monsters out there.

[Look at you, being civilized instead of a crazy mountain forest man she almost shot. She even sounds happy to hear him.]

I put my name down like you said. I think it's a really good idea. What's in the goodie bags? Flashlights, iodine tablets, that kind of thing?

{ voice }

[signifies]

Just Clark is fine, ma'am. It's nice to meet you.

We have tornadoes.

[inthemoonlight]

Oh.

[ That's something she isn't really sure she can do. It's his Christian name. ]

Might I not call you Mister...?

[ As in she needs a last name here, sir. ]

And what are tornadoes?

[ Not a lot of twisters in Lancashire, England. Or any. ]

[signifies]

[ She came back from the city with him, but he hasn't followed her after that. It's good to hear from her.

His voice is warm. ]

Something similar. Extra batteries for the flashlight, non-perishables. A small first aid kit, et cetera.

[pundemic]

Mind if I go through and see what you've got? Two heads are better than one, and all.

[And she has some... unique perspectives on what might be necessary for survival, anyway. He's a good guy, but he hasn't seen what she has.]

[signifies]

Mr. Kent, if you'd like, Miss Wynn.

[ It's not a bother. ]

I've sent you a picture of one.

[ Ding ding ]

[signifies]

I'd appreciate that. I'm on the second floor right now, do you want to start from top down or bottom up?

[pundemic]

Uhhh-- [she drags that out in a teenagerish long sort of way. He keeps surprising her by taking her seriously, and she's more used to the Joel school of childcare: yell, make demands, be a dick, give you a gun after you save their ass and prove you can fucking handle yourself. She didn't have to prove herself to Clark, he just... accepted her. Is this what people were like, before the Infection? This trusting? No wonder so many of them died.] -- Let's start from the bottom, work our way up.

[signifies]

All right. I'll be downstairs in a jiffy.

[pundemic]

[To herself as she shuts her phone off (though it happens to still be transmitting)]

-- The fuck's a jiffy?

to action.

[signifies]

[ It's still transmitting, and someone has super-hearing. ]

It's an expression. It means a short amount of time.

[ He smiles brightly down at her when she's come up to the kit. ]

Your phone was still on.

@c.d

[staystrong]

Is there a kit for each person?

[Because she might just, you know, gank one.]

[signifies]

No, but there's enough to make one just for you if you need one.

[pundemic]

[She's just coming back from work. Well, 'work', which basically means she gets to buy and test products and give reviews and it's all super fucking weird and she has no idea why this is a thing that people even pay money for, but there you go. Civilization is fucked up. But it means she's carrying a couple of bags.

They are absolutely, 100 percent filled with survival gear and the like. Warm clothes. Shit like that. Someone tried to get her to buy make-up and she skirted around them like they'd sprouted the cordyceps infection right out of their face.]

Was it? I have no fucking idea how these things work. I still use a walkman from like, the 90s.

[inthemoonlight]

Mrs Wynn, actually, though I am a widow.

[ She's sure people will wonder why she suddenly turned up here and start casting aspersions on her late husband, so she wants to nip that in the bud. ]

Oh? If you will excuse me -- I am not used to these machines. I just need a moment...

[ It's not that hard; she just needs to touch the link, but she's afraid she'll lose her connection or something. Her eyes widen at the image, and when she closes it, she tries to collect herself. ]

Goodness! And you think such a thing could happen here?

[signifies]

I'm sorry [ about her husband, too. She didn't invite pity. ]. Mrs. Wynn.

[ Clark waits for her to finish looking at the photograph. ]

It's possible. We don't know much about the weather here.

[signifies]

I use a walkman.

[ You're going to make him feel so old, Ellie. He reaches out to help her with some of the bigger bags. ]

It's the red button on the other side from the green call one.

[pundemic]

[She just gives him the world's most skeptical Look as he tries to take the bags. Did you know that taking bags from someone who survives in a post apocalyptic wasteland is Never a Good Idea, Clark? She tenses a little as he comes in close and her hands tighten on the straps of the bags but she fights it down. Breathes in, exhales. After a moment, she surrenders one of them. It's the one that's mostly clothing. She keeps the one with the edible shit. You can replace clothing a lot easier.]

Well, then. I guess some things never go out of style.

[She pulls the phone back out of her pocket, though, and swipes it off. There, all better.]

Okay, crisis averted. Now, let's look at those boxes.

[signifies]

[ Her fingers crinkle the strap with their grip, and Clark makes a note not to try this again unless under specific circumstances. He sets the bag down in her clear line of sight, bringing out the kit. ]

Here.

[ He slides off the lid. ]

[pundemic]

[She should probably set hers down too, huh. She hesitates, and then puts the second bag down beside the first. It's stupid to carry them around. No one's going to take them here. Again: survival instincts don't even seem to exist among people who've never had to fight for anything in their lives.

So she crouches down beside the bin of stuff and starts sorting through it. Items she likes she sets off to one side, items that she considers extraneous go to the other. This whole process only takes her around two minutes, she's a practiced scavenger.]

Okay, so... flashlights are good, but I'd try to get some that don't need the batteries. The ones you charge by shaking. Decent mix of nonperishables, that'll work. I'd probably add-- you know, some rope or paracord or something? About thirty feet. And a tarp. It takes up space, but you can use it for a lot of different things. Shelter, catching water, you can drag somebody on it for transportation if they're hurt. And... um, dental floss. In the first aid kit. It makes really good stitches.

[A thoughtful hmm.]

Oh, and a can opener. Bitch doing it with a knife if you don't have to. [And it dulls the blade. She shrugs.] Other than that-- not bad, farm boy.

[signifies]

[ He'd been going by the kits he was familiar with: Clark's own belongings on the road didn't include can-openers or flashlights. Ellie is quick about dividing up the items, and Clark pushes them aside on the table. ]

We can go out and get some for the other kits. They're all the same as this one.

[pundemic]

[She makes a face.]

Great, more shopping. Sounds fun.

[Sounds exhausting, but she'll do it.]

Just let me run my bags up to my room and I'll be ready to go, okay?

[signifies]

[ Her mother henning is adorable. Clark shakes his head. ]

Ellie, I can manage.

[pundemic]

No, no, it's fine. It's fine. You can... buy me ice cream or something later. You know, in exchange for my help which I am so graciously bestowing upon you.

[She grins, and bows with a flourish that's really just a cover for picking up her bags. She has had ice cream like three times in her life, this is a fair prospective trade in her mind.]