closed | an empty crisis lonely and last

[burying]

Who: Kieren Walker & Eddie Munson, Holland March, Cornelius Hickey.
What: Kieren finds himself a victim of Guilty Party along with Eddie Munson. Later, there's discussions, more confessions to both Holland and Hickey over Kieren's situation.
When: Over the month of October.
Where: Various, Milton.

Content Warnings: forced imprisonment; forced honesty; supernatural beings; confessional themes; threat of death; possible themes of suicide; themes of zombie-related horror; possible discussion of zombie-related cannibalism

Comments

[burying]

Oh? Didn't realise you were such a linguist. [ His voice is deadpan. Does zombie even sound like anything? Kieren doesn't know. He thought it was... y'know, an American thing. Comes from the movies and all that. ]

Definitely not Portuguese, for the record. Just... undead.

[friendsfordinner]

I'm a well-traveled man of the world, [ teases the man who never stepped foot off England before joining up with Her Majesty's Royal Navy. ]

And yeah, I know you're not Portugese now. But you gotta admit, it's a much more logical assumption than being undead. [ A pause before, ] At least in my time, it's a much more logical assumption. Fuck, when did this whole zombie thing get started? Am I gonna have to worry about it if I somehow go back home?

[burying]

[ Kieren raises an eyebrow. Cornelius you've been to the Arctic once. That's not all that well-traveled. He sighs and shrugs. Maybe it's more logical to think Portuguese over undead but... really? ]

I mean, the dead being brought to life as an idea was kind of invented by you guys. [ Sort of. Frankenstein. It was bits of dead people being put together and then brought to life, but it.... it's kind of the same thing. ]

They were always just in comics and movies and stuff, before. Like, over the last thirty years or so, or something. [ He is... not well versed on his fictional zombie history. ] But it being real? It's only been four years. The Rising was a one-off anyways. One time deal.

It brought back a lot of people who all died in the same year, but it's not like we're biting people and turning them into zombies. It doesn't work like that.

[friendsfordinner]

You keep forgetting I'm from the bloody 1840s. I've got no idea what a 'movie' is either.

[ just saying! ]

Still, good to know that it was a one-time deal. Again, I'm coming at this blind. I've got no idea if it's an event or a plague or a contagion or what. [ Hickey shrugs, not at all bothered by the fact that some of his questions are kind of invasive to begin with! ]

Can't blame a man for being curious.

[burying]

Right, yeah. Sorry. [ Kieren closes his eyes for a moment, gently scolding himself mentally for a minute. ] Uh, basically: moving pictures. Sort of like... watching a theatre performance in your living room?

[ Kind of? Trying to be helpful and explaining stuff, even in the midst of 'zombie secret getting out'. That's Kieren. But anyways—]

Yeah, it's... nothing like that. Just a... freak act of nature. You're not going to get sick or anything just because I'm here. I can't... turn anyone into something like me.

I'm just... here. [ He spreads his arms, palms open. ] The weirdo.

[friendsfordinner]

[ Hickey raises an eyebrow. The weirdo. Yeah, this whole zombie thing is weird. But Hickey knows how people work. He knows that Kieren might want to hear a word of wisdom, a little bit of commiseration, something to reassure him that he's not a complete weirdo, not a complete freak act of nature.

Or, at least, that there are others more weird than he is. ]

D'you know what I saw back home? There was this bear—something close to a god. Tuunbaq, they called it. It tore off the top of a man's head. You could see his brain—could even touch it if you wished. [ Hypothetically speaking, of course. Not like Hickey would poke the brain. Nnnnnnnope, not him. ] But he was still alive. Man with his insides showing the world, not talking, not moving, but still alive.

As far as I can see? A living dead boy's no weirder than what I've already seen. You're certainly more of a conversationalist than that Marine was.

[burying]

[ Kieren's face goes through... a journey. His brow furrowing in confusion, then shifting to disbelief, then concern and a strange kind of horror and almost-disgust. A fucking bear god. Jesus, that's the last thing he thinks of hearing coming out of his mouth.

A bear god that ripped a man's scalp off in the worst kind of way, and he was still alive. Absolutely brain dead, it sounds like. But alive. ... Yeah, that's gross.

But he... gets where he's coming from. He's oddly touched by it. ]

Weird way of going about giving a compliment, Cornelius. [ He admits wryly, but there's a touch of a smile at his lips. ] What the hell's up with the bear god, though? ... Tuunbaq?

[ He can barely even say it, stumbling over it a little. ]

I thought your world was like... normal.

cw: slight period appropriate racism

[friendsfordinner]

It is normal! [ he points out, a little defensively. But Hickey knows that tuunbaq is fucking weird, so he continues with an explanation. ]

The bear's just the exception. It can be controlled or worked with—there was this Eskie girl, the daughter of a shaman. I saw her talking with that thing. [ babygirl, they're called "Inuit" ] It's stronger, smarter, more durable than the average bear. And it can suck a man's soul right out of it's body.

I didn't know a god like that existed until I went up to the Arctic.

[ and he is enthralled ]