http://the-backfiring.livejournal.com/ (
the-backfiring.livejournal.com) wrote in
shatterverse2009-02-23 11:26 pm
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This white-sanded beach on the sticky coast of Florida is quiet, except for the hollars of birds, and the gentle rushing of the surf--
FLASH! BANG!
--and the suddenly-appearing man, who stumbles in shock, his mouth open but no words reaching his tongue.
FLASH! BANG!
--and the suddenly-appearing man, who stumbles in shock, his mouth open but no words reaching his tongue.
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He does manage to keep his voice merely surprised when he says: "What?"
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Says Valerie Bell, reigning queen of all that is snarky.
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Unamused: "It's as refined as it really needs to be."
(Few of the aliens he's met really grasped the fundamentals of Earth humour.)
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Of course, now she's wondering what else he's lied to her about.
Congratulations, Adam Wea-aaah.
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"Sorry," he says, a little more civilly, "but I just appeared without warning on a beach on what may well be an alternate Earth. I'm not at my best."
(He's uncomfortably aware of Orlit's inward smirking.)
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She waves expansively down at the ruined landscape.
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Weakly: "...oh."
<What happened here?> Orlit wonders, more thinking to himself than posing an actual question. He knows his ex-host too well to expect an answer.
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She sighs faintly.
"Pretty much. It ain't always this bad, though. Kansas is doing pretty good. No flashbangs there, so it's kind of a safe haven, for some value of safe."
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"Was there a war?"
His voice is very flat. If there's any emotion detectable in it, then it's the bitter hatred that was remotely audible when he talked about his dietary requirements.
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"...And why not in Kansas?"
See, told you so!
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Hey, he isn't a terrible liar.
If he were, he'd be dead by now.
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She sounds genuinely unconcerned.
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From the basket, a cautious pause.
Then: "I'm sorry, I'd tell you if I could. But it would put me in danger with a group that doesn't like people like me, if they exist here."
All true, from a certain point of view.
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She chuckles.
"I get that."
See above re: mutie freak.
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Adam doesn't relish the idea of explaining what he is. To anyone. Especially since it disgusts even him.
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It could well be just an example that she's made up. It sounds outrageous and horrible. But Adam's seen a hell of a lot of outrageous and horrible things that he wishes he could forget.
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"That's..."
He pictures tearing out a heart, tries to multiply that image to a thousand times its size and grotesquery. With utter seriousness, he tells her, "I'm sorry you had to go through that."
Adam and harrowing know each other pretty well.
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Beat.
"Thanks, though."
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Not that his skills can really live up to tentacles of solid flying light, but they might still be useful.
"Well, someone like that should be brought down. For good."
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