Casey Sullivan

 “According to the vcr it’s a little past three, but that thing’s too outdated to be trustworthy.” The undead brushed off some of the left over kernels- why had she even popped this? she must look silly with it - and offered the seat beside her. “Still it’s pretty late. What’re you doing up? I can’t imagine you were doing any security stuff since we’re all stuck indoors.”

“Nah, security detail ‘n shit’s on the back burner. Can’t really do anything good when it’s like this. Went to the gym instead.” she explained as she made her way over once Jennie offered them a seat. “What are you doing up?” she asked as she sat lazily plopped down on the other end of the couch. 

With some serious effort, Mei forced herself to reappear in her human form, for a split second disappearing and then popping back into existence. It hurt, but she felt like it was more respectable for this conversation to be able to look Casey in the eyes without having to crane her neck up.

“I’m healing mostly fine…” She replied, subconsciously rubbing her arm where the worst and most determined gash was. “I don’t think I’m gonna fly for a looooong time. But I could be dead, so..” From the sounds of the letter she’d received, there was more to come, but it wasn’t like Mr. Mammon was going to kill her, right? It wasn’t like he wasn’t capable of it, but she thought she deserved at least one second chance.

Casey didn't move, but she saw Mei transform into the human form she had grown accustomed to seeing. Part of her wondered if it hurt her to do that after her poorly conceived escape attempt, but she didn't bother to ask. Mei said she was healing up mostly fine and unless Casey saw evidence to prove the contrary, she didn't feel like saying anything. However, that was mostly due to the fact that she was still bitter about the whole incident.

Bitter about the hole in her car window, bitter and pissed that Mei went ahead and did the stupidest thing you could try to do even after Casey said not to do anything stupid, and maybe even a little bitter that the faerie's plan didn't work since all it did was cement just how trapped they all were in here.

When Mei proposed that she'd pay for her car she chuckled weakly. "What? You actually have money?" The thought of having her pay for the damage definitely crossed her mind, but she didn't think Mei bothered with the human finacial system.

He wasn’t sure how big of a deal being named in such a thing was, but he smiled as he watched her type it in. “Well, I’m honoured. Although I can’t say he looks anything like me.”

The rain still coming down hard, he stared out into it, thinking idly about the differences between a modern childhood, full of electronics and everything that came with a connect world, and his childhood, safe in the cocoon of Egypt with an abacus and hours of just exploring. Was one better than the other? Obviously, he was inclined to say his was, but that would be intellectually dishonest.

Once the name was typed in, Casey carefully placed her phone back inside the one place on her person that wasn't completely soaked with rain water. Once that was done she leaned her back against the wall and continued to do what she could to wring out her jacket of water. She didn't want to go in dripping wet and she sure as hell didn't want to have something to clean up when she got back to her place.

The question that Abasi asked was an innocent enough question, but for Casey it was something that she needed to think of for a fraction of a second extra. Mostly because she had to lie because the real answer probably wasn't something anyone in this park wanted to hear. The real answer being 'Not really, I trained to kill the shit that we let live in this park instead.' But she had gotten used to lying mostly because that’s how she lived her entire life. 

"Eh, yeah," she said with a shrug, "We didn't have shit like this, it was mostly more physical stuff and much less digital stuff. But yeah I played games. played catch with dad, tag with mom," 'played stab the ghoul under the bed when I was 6…' she thought to herself. "What about you? Any games from your time you don't see 'round here?"

She looked out over the park with Casey, nodding her agreement. It really was going to take ages to clean up the place. And of course, the job would be given to everyone, meaning she had even more sandbags to look forward to in her near future. “At least the sun’ll be back!”

The mood seemed to change suddenly, and Mei could see Casey’s face fall. While she wished she was wrong, she guessed the problem was most likely her escape attempt…emotions Mei was not equipped to deal with were surfacing, and she shifted awkwardly, her tiny feet tapping each other in turn as she fiddled.

 Casey needed to find some way to keep busy and the rain was seriously putting a damper on any plans she might normally have. Plus there was the added fact that all the gloom and the sound of rain made her bit sleepier than normal. Yes, it was good for when she had knock out at the end of the day and even helped her relax enough to keep some semi-nightly nightmares at bay, but during the day it was of no help. 

When Mei asked her what was wrong, Casey was tempted to just outright blurt ‘Yeah, the hole in my baby’s window is a problem.’ But she held her tongue. “Nothing, just thinking.” she shrugged. “How are you healing up?” she asked, her arms folding across her chest as she looked over at Mei. 

It felt awkward in his hands and he held it with an oddly twisted wrist. Trying to remember how people around the park held their phones, he adapted to an easier way of holding it and began to swipe like he’d seen Casey doing, missing on his first try.

“Hm. It’s harder than I thought..” Abasi got it on the second try and actually smiled, but quickly handed the phone back (he had seen how flimsy these things could be, and he didn’t want to somehow break it). When it was back safely in Casey’s hands, he nodded and held out his hands in a loose shrug. 

She didn't expect Abasi to understand her excitement either. He didn't seem the type to embrace technology and beyond that Casey was just excited to play since video games and pokemon were something she wanted to play, but never had the time. One didn't have time to play on a gameboy when you busy learning how to sharpen blessed blades properly. If she wanted to get deep, maybe her childish behavior and love for this silly game even now was to make up for the slightly skewed childhood she had.

Casey's face lit up when Abasi managed to capture the Scyther. "Dude! Nice! Thanks for catching it for me!" she smiled happily as she took back her phone. “You know not everything has to have a physical reward. Sometimes it’s just fun and that’s enough." she said before she looked down at her phone. "I'm gonna name this guy after you." she smiled as she typed in 'Abasi'.

“Oh no, whatever will I do, now that…” She looked at the zombie, wondering if they had names. “That guy…knows.” She threw up her hands in mock distress, laughing lightly. Maybe they could just move on and forget the whole thing. Maybe it never had to be mentioned again.

Casey absentmindedly adjusted her coat and tugged the hood over her head to keep the rain from getting on her face and in her hair. “Yup, not sure how long it’s gonna take to finish this up.” she said wit ha shrug as she looked out at the dreary park before them. “It’s gonna be a real pain in the ass to pack this all up when it’s all over.” she sighed, the humor slowly fading since looking at Mei was just a reminder or what happened that day... and the fact that her car window still had a hole in it. 

He floated across the apartment, threading through a narrow path in the greenery. The canopy of hanging vines thoughtfully rustled themselves out of his way. He stopped at the front window facing the street between the apartments and levered it open with his foot, his hands being full of radio and a milk jug. Insects chirred outside in the dark and a sticky breeze nudged at his skin. Finn pressed his forehead against the glass.

“I would not put that past his capability. I doubt you would either, if you were being honest.” Finn’s voice went flat, steely at that. He forced a smile to soften the edge, even though she couldn’t see it. Its false warmth trickled into his tone. “Though I suppose he would not have to watch us with his own eyes. That’s what he has you for, isn’t that right?”

Casey leaned back further into the couch cushions and started blankly at the ceiling above her as she listened to Finn’s voice come through the speakers. She was more than willing to talk to someone, but the second he basically called her the equivalent of that fucking demon’s watch dog, she found herself frowning. It was just another reminder of how trapped she was. 

“Did you want someone to have a conversation with or just someone to serve as another one of your verbal punching bags? Because its sounds like the second one and I have better things to do instead of dealing with a snippy faerie at four in the fucking morning.” Casey said, her normally chipper voice devoid of any of her usual humor. She did her job, she did it well, but she did it for the sake of the humans in the park and by extension the employees. At least that’s what she told herself to get through the day seeing as how she hated being locked up here with every fibre of her being. Part of Casey was ready to head back to bed shut off her walkie talkie. That was an infinitely better idea than to have to deal with Finn’s unique and flowery style of bitching that everyone seemed to let him get away with. 

Abasi watched obediently as a bird-looking animal appeared and was put into the world through a camera. It was an alright gimmick, he supposed,  interesting enough that he kept looking. “So…does it translate into real life somehow?” He glanced up at the hedge in front of them – no bird. “Do you receive a prize of some sort?”

"Eh, not really. Not unless the app company decides to make real life rewards, but that's probably not going to happen." she said. Most of the rewards were digital after all.

"Okay, so this is how you catch the sucker." Casey said as she showed him how to swipe the poke ball towards the pokemon on the screen. Within a matter of seconds the thing was encased inside the ball and caught. "And there you go. Now it's mine and goes into my inventory with all the rest of my Pokemon." she said as she showed him the rest of the pokemon she managed to catch as she occasionally wander the park. As she scrolled through them, the phone buzzed and when she went to the map she saw that there was a Scyther nearby. "Oh! Dude! This one's rare! You wanna try catching it?" she said, offering her phone to him after she tapped on the pokemon

Since her failed escape attempt, Mei had found herself more than a little down. Wandering aimlessly from section to section, the rain beating around her reflecting her mood, she found for the first time she couldn’t always summon up her normal excited smile.

At least stacking sand bags around kept her busy, even if she did feel it was pointless - didn’t they know a few especially strong charms would do the trick just as well? Not that she’d be able to provide them, especially not at the moment. 

Placing one down, she sat on it, just staring up at the rain for a moment. Most of her wounds had healed bar a few nasty cuts on her arms and legs, and she’d begun to practice how to fly again, just a little. Still, it was painful to always be holding her human form, and if she could just let it go for a moment…in an instant she was herself, green and tiny, her iridescent wings still ripped from the accident. Relaxing from having to hold her form, she laid down, sighing in relief.

Before Mei knew it, she was asleep, all five green inches of her laid on the sandbag like a massive bean bag. She didn’t dream much nowadays, being so exhausted by the effort of just getting up that her brain was too tired for it.

The noise that awoke her, the slap of  another sand bag hitting the ground nearby, made her jump up. Normally being so small she could pass by unnoticed, but the shock made her explode in a little cloud of golden dust, covering the bag. Seeing the other employee staring, she waved with her tiny hand, trying to stand up (which was harder when the rain was a third your size).

 Half the time she’d get bored out of her mind filling in sandbags and so when that would happen she’d opt to haul a few sandbags with the help of wheelbarrow she swiped form maintenance. And then when she got too cold or her harness was starting to dig into her skin a bit too much she started filling out sandbags. Right now she happened to be on her ‘haul things outside’ phase.

She had just finished one section of the sand bag barrier and was heading back when noticed something green on the bags. Ar first she thought it was a stray leaf, but upon closer inspection she saw it was a familiar green faerie who then exploded into a small gold cloud. 

“Nope, I’m gonna tell everyone.” Casey said with a shrug before she turned to a nearby zombie, “Hey, Mei fell asleep on the job, spread the word.” Of course it was all a joke. She knew full well that the one zombie that she had flagged down wasn’t really capable of anything beyond a groan.

He laughed at the idea of a ‘mad scientist’. “Maybe not at the moment, but I wouldn’t be surprised, in this place…” He glanced over the park in front of them. “A new attraction, maybe.” Some members of the park even like strapping explosives to undead, so an attraction based around cutting them up really wasn’t that far fetched.

Abasi had heard of games on electronics – he’d seen the arcade machines around the park and people tapping away at their phones or on controllers in front of consoles. The whole exercise seemed rather pointless to him, really. Still, in the vein of being polite, he gave a semi-interested hum and looked over her shoulder.

“It’s just repetition. The more you use it the more you just get used to it. Same as riding a bike or walking.” she shrugged as she scrolled through the apps. She wasn’t really expecting Abasi to take anything she said to heart, but she might as well try. Plus it would give her something to do while she was waiting to dry off a little bit more before heading inside and taking a warm shower. 

“Okay, check this out. This is Pokemon Go. Basically, you wander around with your phone with this game on and suddenly these little animals called Pokemon will pop up in the game and you can try to catch them.” she explained as she showed him the screen just before it buzzed and a Pidgey showed up. “Here’s one fucker right now,” she said, tapping on the screen even though she didn’t want to catch one of those. “And there he is. The game uses your camera to make it look like the Pokemon’s here in the real world. See?” she said, chuckling at the perfect placement of the Pidgey on the small hedge just in front of them. 

He often forgot he even wore the bracelets, he was so used to the feel of them on his wrist. Lifting them up to look them over, he nodded slowly. “Mmm. They work well enough. Sometimes the magic can…fade away, if I put it under too much stress.” It was odd to know the strength he had was not his own, but lent to him by a few pieces of string and a leather-burnt rune. 

“I’m not going to let anyone take me apart.” He grimaced just at the thought. “And if they wanted to put me back together, I would firmly say ‘no thank you’.” Obviously the maniac cutting people into bits in this hypothetical scenario would listen.

Security tech, mechanic, they may as well have been the same thing for how much Abasi understood what the job entailed. Still, it was predictable either way she’d try to convince him to just try some new technology. He’d tried it all and it was all bad. Still…humouring her more than anything, he shook his head.

"Well I don't think you have much to worry about here. I don't think there's a mad scientist here at the park that would willingly take you apart." she said quickly, holding up her hands to as though to assure him. She was sure that Emily wasn't in the business of chopping up her patients, that's for sure.  

"Well, yeah, you can call people, but phones can do more than that now. Multi-purpose and what not." she explained as she pulled out her phone from inside her shirt pocket and breathed a quick sigh of relief when she found that it was dry thanks to the otter box. "You sometimes read book on these things but I mostly use it to text, listen to music, and play games. I can show you if you want." she offered as she swiped through her phone, looking for the Pokemon Go app she downloaded a few weeks ago.

Abasi had never really thought of the ‘veil’ before, but it was as good as any explanation he had for it. “I suppose its just that sensations are more intellectual than physical. This is not my actual body, so I don’t feel things with it as I used to.” Sometimes when he took his bracelets off out of morbid curiosity (and always regretted it), he was shocked to feel how real it all was. 

He was surprised to see her face after his joke. Hoping he hadn’t offended her, he laughed quietly with some relief when she joked back. “Please do. I would love for someone to take over guarding that ride. Although..I can’t say I’ve ever reattached my limbs, and I wouldn’t want to, no matter how dead I am.”

"Oh," she nodded her gaze travelling over him until she spotted the bracelets. "So yours is the magic bracelet." A lot of the undead around here had those. It wasn't here work since illusion magic wasn’t her expertise, but she admired the craftsmanship all the same. However, it left her wondering if the mirage she was looking at right now was what he actually looked like or just something conjured up by one of their resident witches.

"Well, maybe I wouldn't take over your spot at the ride. I mean, white girl like me posing as an Egyptian? That's just as bad as that shitty Gods of Egypt movie that came out." she snickered. "And if you ever do find yourself and your limbs separated and then suddenly reunited, let me know how it goes. Gotta write that shit down for science.” she said as she finally reached the overhang. Immediately she began wringing out hair. 

“Sorta. I most deal with the cameras. Security Tech.” she explained. Although Casey had every requirement to be mechanic in some right. She couldn’t help but chuckle at his statement, mostly because coming from a mummy from ancient times, the statement seemed predictable. "Well, as romantic as the idea of going back to the days of candle light is, I'm gonna stick to my tech and modern stuff. Makes my job way easier and gives me shit to do." she explained before an idea entered her head. "You ever play any games or anything on a phone?" 

But she had to remind herself screaming at random hours do not good neighbors make. Which left her in the bundle of blankets on the game room staring at the TV screen, stale popcorn left sitting in a bowl by her side. In little ways her nights were still the same as they were when she was living. Holed up by herself all night having a one-sided argument with a screen. 

“Ugh why do movies always make kissing scenes weird.” She criticized with a well aimed kernel at the couple doing said kissing. “No one wants to see this.” 

So engrossed she hadn’t even noticed someone else up and about. She leaned out of her cover to properly look at the other. “Can’t sleep either?”

However, that feeling wore off very quickly and she soon grew bored. She couldn’t really head out into town with her window still busted, she couldn’t go ahead and fix the car window herself because the weather wouldn’t allow it and apparently the shop she ordered her car stuff from was having some trouble because of the rain, and she couldn’t exactly do any so-called maintenance checks on the cameras or really test out anything new either. She was stuck. Even more so than usual.

So for the past few days, she found herself wandering down the gym and working out as a way to keep her mind busy. Also, to remind herself that just because she was stuck in here and no longer hunting, didn’t mean she have to go and get all soft. And after that first day at the gym, she realized that she had been slacking. If her mom were still alive, she would probably would kick her ass if she found out. 

Casey was coming back from the gym after a work out, cutting through the game room since she wasn’t crazy about being out in the rain again. She was contemplating how doing pulls up was much harder with a prosthetic and how working out in long sleeves sucked when she heard a familiar voice. “Huh? Wait, how late is it?” she asked, looking up only to find Jennie.