khajidont | MoM IC Contact

[She let out a tiny, somewhat bitter, chuckle.] Yeah, he really did. I'm not sure if it makes it better or worse. At least there's a deeper meaning than just evil for the sake of being evil. But...it definitely makes things complicated. [It's a lot easier to be really pissed off and stay pissed off if it's just evil to be evil or crazy...or both.]

The only thing that he didn't make more complicated is the fact that we still have to figure out how to catch him. I'd be forgiving him a lot more easily if he didn't make that poor girl think she was a murderer for all that time. [His heart aches for her, and it shows in his tone. He can still see her in his mind's eye, shoulders hunched in the vast prison cafeteria, voice thick from crying.]

Could be that that's why he ended up confessing. It's one thing to get us locked up for a few weeks, but murder would have gotten her years.

The only idea I have for that is stasis of some kind. [And that seemed almost cruel, then again it wouldn't be too different than what he did to them.] I heard a bit about that. Do you know who the girl was? [She hadn't paid enough attention to all of that and she's realizing pretty quickly that she should have.]

Maybe. It's possible he wanted to get her off the hook, or get us all off. It's equally possible he figured he might as well since he really doesn't think he can be caught or stopped.

Her name's Ruka. I don't really know her - I just caught her in the caf after she was arrested. [He reflects on the idea of stasis for a moment, but eventually decides it doesn't sit well with him. Jail's one thing, but to be kept from moving eternally... it sounds too cruel for a long term solution.]

Maybe he's hoping that someone can actually help him. That might be the best way of taking care of him, actually.

[Once he's moved onto Heaven or Hell or whatever it is waiting for him on the other side, he'll have had his wish, and he won't be their problem anymore. Win-win, right?]

Ruka? I know her, we've spoken a few times. [Her voice held a lot of sympathy there. That kid didn't need anything else terrible in her life.]

I think that might be it. Or at least he hoped he could find a way to do it. I tried to see if I could convince him to look for other solutions, but he seemed more interested in wallowing in things than thinking about that too much.

Then hopefully someone who can do something about it sees it sometimes. I don't know how sorry I feel for him, but he doesn't deserve to live - unlive? - like that. Nobody does.

I wonder if there even is someone that can do anything. [She sighs.] No, nobody does. I wish he'd recognize that he hasn't lost everything though.

He'll be tough to convince as long as he keeps up that whole evil manipulator slash woe-is-me routine. But you're right - so long as you can talk to other people, there'll be something out there that's worth it.

It looks like he's pretty intent on keeping that up too. [A sigh] I've dealt with someone like him before, that refused to drop the woe-is-me routine and see that he hadn't lost everything. It's not worth continuing to try to change his mind.

Anyway... are you really alright with it all?

[To Ellie's credit, Jaime doesn't respond with the quick yes that he's been feeding everyone else. He pauses for a moment instead, actually weighing it over.]

Yeah, actually. I'd be resting easier if he couldn't do it again, but... I don't think he'll be coming after us again. I'm just not big on the idea of losing control again, is all. How about you? You had it a bit worse than I did.

Maybe we'll still be able to find a way to make sure he can't do it again. [There has to be something, right?] I know what you mean though, I'm not big on the idea of losing control again either. [And now she hesitates for just a second.] I'm okay. Brings back a few bad memories from my home, but I'll be fine.

Really? What kinds of bad memories?

[She doesn't say anything for a second as she mulls over just how much she wants to say.] The last few years of my life have been a series of being trapped in places that were being overrun by creatures called necromorphs. Then there was one very unpleasant time where I was held as a bargaining chip by an insane cultist. [Because worrying about space zombies wasn't bad enough.]

[That... is a lot of unexpected, very unpleasant information.]

Oh, holy crap. No wonder you don't mind it so much here.

[What to even ask about first...?]

I'm sorry, that sounds awful. What did these guys have to do with you, anyway? Or was it just wrong-place, wrong-time?

[She hesitates again for just a second.]

It's a long story. And not a very happy one. [It always ends up feeling like it's really almost too much to tell other people.] Do you really wan to know?

Only if you're willing to tell it.

I think it's more awkward for other people to hear. [A pause and she takes a breath.] I worked and lived on a Titan Station, a civilian space station with a population over one million. The Outbreak happened while I was at work with a team of around thirty people. It started with reports of regular people attacking each other. Then the dead started to get back up, they were different though. Most of them had mutated beyond recognition. My team and I tried to clear a path for the rest of the shifts to follow behind, but there were too many of them and quarters were too close. I was the only one that made it off the Station.

[If Jaime hadn't already offered his condolences, he'd be offering them again, because wow. This isn't what he'd expected from Ellie, the woman he'd met joking around about visits to Sea World and the beach.

Zombies, he thinks, but that's a little disrespectful to the people that must have been Ellie's family and friends, right...?

When he does find words, his voice is quiet, sympathetic. It's a good thing she can't see his horrified expression over the phone.]

For the record, I'm glad that you did. Did they manage to figure out a way to cure the, um... outbreak?

[She pauses for a second and when she responds she sounds pretty sad.] No. The only thing we could do was destroy Titan. Only me and Isaac made it off alive. After that I eventually went back to trying to find a way to stop the outbreak from spreading any further, or reaching Earth.

I'm sorry. I can't imagine how hard that must have been.

[If that happened to him, if all that he had ever known had been torn away from him, would he still be able to go on? He doesn't know.]

You and Isaac are amazing.

I'm glad you can't imagine it. [She'd never wish anything like that on anyone.]

I dunno if we're amazing or if I'm just too stubborn to give up. [She pauses awkwardly.] Anyway, that's part one in the long list of reasons I don't really like being trapped anywhere.

Hey, you can be both.

[Most amazing people are, frankly; he's starting to learn that most superheroes seem to get through it simply by being more stubborn than everyone else.

That story still doesn't explain the evil cultist bit, but he's not going to press on that one, not after that story.]

I can see why you wouldn't like it much. [He pauses himself, then says,] And hey, thanks for telling me.

[It can't be a fun thing to relive.]

Maybe so. [Though she'd lean a lot more towards her just being too stubborn, rather than actually amazing. After all, in the end they didn't really save anything. Which doesn't make any of them very amazing, it just makes them failures.]

You're ...welcome. [There's a bit of confusion in her voice there.] Thanks for listening. I ...don't really talk about it much really. [Back home, every time she'd tried Isaac had shot her down, and then she hadn't had time to think or talk about much of anything. Here, it always seemed so strange. So many people she talked to here came from pretty nice places, almost normal. Ellie was pretty sure she'd forgotten what normal was.]

Yeah, no problem. I just figure it must be hard to talk about, is all. Which makes it all the more important to get out there.

[The harder something is to talk about, his parents had always taught him, the more important it is to get it out there. They're always trying to remind him of that, even if it's just by inquiring after a bad dream, or one of those nights where he just couldn't do enough.]

It's definitely hard and the longer I've gone without talking about it, the harder it's gotten. Besides, I don't think it's a story most people want to hear about.

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