SOTF Archive/SOTF Classic

It had been a stupid thing to ask.

Why in the world he would want to know the whereabouts of the girl who had killed Joshua and threatened to kill him he didn't know. It was probably something that was best moved past.

Try and find Scout? He wasn't sure. They had tried to find people important to Ty, and that hadn't worked out. They had tried to find Lizzie when she ran off and they were too late. Alice and Sandra had wanted to find their friends and he'd acted like a jerk and said that finding a way out was more important.

He hadn't found a way out either, was the shitty thing.

But he didn't have a better plan than to look for Scout, so well, he supposed he didn't have any objections.

"Fine with me."

Ty wasn't the sharpest tool when it came to emotional shit. That'd been a problem for awhile. Not here, though. He felt every bit of the hesitation Clarice was laying down. She didn't hate him anymore, at least not near as bad...but she was afraid of him. She might not admit it, but it was there.

Why shouldn't she be, after what she'd seen him do?

Couldn't dwell on it. Just forced a smile and gave her a nod. His chest felt so damn tight all the sudden, made it real hard to talk. "Sure thing." Hard to look at her too. "Be right back."

At first he was just walking away nice and slow, but it was picking up. All he needed was some air and then he'd be back, it was fine. He could clamp down on himself and they could talk again. That kept him moving through the wards to try and find his way out, that's why he had to run so damn far, it was just to get some fresh air out of this goddamn place. Everybody was gonna be okay. Just couldn't face them right now, that was all.

He'd be back though. Of course he'd be back.

((Ty Yazzie Continued I Imagine Death So Much It Feels Just Like A Memory))

Keith had said looking out for Scout was fine, and Clarice gave him a small smile and hoped it was legitimate, rather than a fake promise or some kind of trick, but she couldn't just be distrusting everyone. Ty said he was fine, so he was fine. Even if Ty was a little questionable on that end, but only a little. He hadn't killed yet, and--

And Ty was just leaving. He said he'd be back. That... was probably fine. Yeah? Maybe? He hadn't looked happy, and fuck she'd just basically told him 'I don't trust you enough to travel with you.' But that was a fuckin' multi-layered issue and... shit, everything's all jumbled.

"Oh, uh... cool, I'll just... be here?"

Clarice awkwardly waved and then sat down, although it'd be more accurate to say that she just slid down the wall. She still was hesitant about Ty going with her, but running off when he just needed a moment? Fucking rude. Although maybe she should go after him, but maybe she'd only get in the way and maybe... maybe...

She was nodding off before she even finished the thought.

"Alright."

Clarice stopped him from having to engage in small talk by falling asleep. That was something of a relief. Getting to know her in these circumstances would have been awkward. Although when Ty got back he'd probably have to deal with that more, or whenever Clarice woke up.

Keith spent the next couple hours switching off between sitting and pacing. He had to eventually accept the truth of things. Ty probably wasn't coming back. Why, Keith didn't really know. He could have been attacked, or he could have decided that Keith and Clarice weren't worth his time.

Like Alice and Sandra had.

Keith sighed. He had to go look. Better than waiting for Clarice to wake up and wonder the same things he was.

He left, letting the door slam behind him. Maybe it would wake her up. Better to have her alert if some psycho came across her.

(Keith Bauer continued in The Waste)

Clarice didn't quite wake up when Keith slammed the door. Enough to jerk her head slightly up, to open her eyes briefly, but not to really register or remember what was happening before she nodded off again.

She didn't wake up until the next morning. Even then, the announcements only woke her up briefly. Not a lot of names that were important anymore. The killers and the dead, same as every other day. She heard Jeremy's name on there. Was that everyone that she'd met the first day, apart from herself and Ty? Had there been others?

...Ty. Right, Ty.

Clarice looked around her. Somehow, her own bag remained undisturbed. But not only was Ty still gone, but Keith had left as well. It only now properly hit her that it was the next morning.

"...Son of a bitch," she mumbled under her breath.

Where'd they gone? Had they just left her on purpose, or had they meant to come back? Both were worrying. But if she sat here wondering, she'd never find them. Or Scout. Or anyone.

Getting to her feet was a struggle. Picking up her bag was a struggle. This whole fucking island was just a pointless struggle from beginning to end, and she didn't know how much longer she could just... drift like this.

The alternative wasn't good, though. Better to... to... whatever she was doing.

((Clarice Halwood continued elsewhere.))