All the perfect smiles

He was right. What happened to them all was no small, insignificant feat. It was traumatic, horrifying, and left with more consequences than anyone would know how to deal with: physically and mentally. Just the thought had Coraline longing for a nap then a plane ticket. It wouldn’t be the first time that she’s fled from Salem, unwilling to deal with her emotions. “That’s good. I mean, physically you’re alright. Can’t say much for your mental state. It’s probably just as fucked up as the rest of ours.” Coraline replied with a bitter sounding chuckle, running her hands through her hair. She’d need to wash it soon. At the question, she felt an eyebrow from the unmarked side of her face lift in curiosity. “I mean, no one is ever really safe. We’re all pawns in someone’s game whether we like it or not. But it here, it just feels more frequent like, we don’t have any control of our lives. I don’t think anyone would be foolish enough to do more now that a spotlight is shining bright on the town.”

“It’s been a weird few months.” Daniel admitted though Daniel’s experience with the town’s strangeness had gone way beyond that. He had been around from the very beginning when everyone was being asked for the kidnapping to now and he wondered why he decided to stay still. Maybe the stories about those witches were true and he had some sort of spell handed to him without him knowing. It was an entertaining enough though to keep him from going actually insane. Coraline’s thought regarding the situation was interesting to say the least. Daniel didn’t pay that much attention to the founders not anymore but maybe they did play a part in these shenanigans and they were just a bunch of ants being taken advantage of for the greater evil. Sounded ridiculous but strangely wouldn’t be a surprise. “You think that’s true? I mean. Do you think there’s more than meets the eye? They’re locking us with a curfew now. It’s like they can’t allow us to leave or to breathe.” He shrugged. “It’s supposed to keep us safe but it feels more like a cage to me. I don’t think a curfew would be strong enough to prevent tragedy. And those killers could still be among us for all we know.” 

It was a traumatic experience for everyone involved, Coraline aware of the fact as she stared upon the various faces of people who had come to visit her. And she doubted, greatly, that anyone would be able to shake off the weight the night carried, Coraline able to see the effects as time past in the people most close to her. She couldn’t wait to get out of the hospital and find the sanctity of her apartment, she’d even drag a few individuals like Jiho and Doyun there if she had to. “I’m afraid once I get my hands on some art materials, my body will relive that night whether I like it or not. The price you pay for being an artist, I suppose. I’m alright. A bit sluggish because of the medicine but I’ll be discharged in a few days. So, that gives me hope. How are you?”

“I think we’ll relive it for a long time.” Which he didn’t like the idea of. Daniel already felt bad enough for what had happened a few months ago when he was caught with a hidden agenda for the sake of money and almost sold out one of his friends one who didn’t deserve to be put in such misery. Daniel started to wonder if he really should leave this town. He no longer had passion in rebuiiding his restaurant and his skills were becoming stale. “I’m okay. Better than most I guess. I came out only with a few scratches but I know a lot who weren’t so lucky.” There was blood everywhere and Daniel had to shut his eyes. He remembered only looking straight ahead so he wouldn’t see any of those falling body parts. “Do you think we’re safe here I mean... These things could happen again. We’ll get exposure from this and then what? We’ll be the talk of the town. The lucky ones that got out. Like in those movies. Except this is real life and we’re probably in danger still.” There goes Mr. Optimistic. 

[ Coraline’s private hospital room; New Years Day ]

She doesn’t remember much after the clock struck midnight, other than a pressure against her lips, a shrill scream, and people soon panicking. Coraline recalls her body being shoved, pulled in an opposite direction from the one she longed to be. Her vision blurry due to the multiple drinks she’s had, feet stumbling as the chaos continued. There’s more yelling, something heavy hitting her head and warmth trailing down soon after. Coraline is still stumbling when she’s pushed down stairs, tripping and falling, finally choosing to stay down. It’s safer that way. The last thing she remembers is being carried in someone’s arms, them telling her she’s safe. Currently, she’s at the hospital, in a lovely private room. The television is running reruns of Courage the Cowardly Dog while the afternoon sun settles down thanks to the time change. It’s not where she wants to be but it’s better than the alternative. “I have a concussion, a few stitches but nothing so bad. I’ll be out of here in a few days. Do you know who else was hurt?” Coraline questioned, leaning back against the pillow on her bed.

The ordeal was a mess and Daniel was grateful he succeeded in coming out in one piece. He was strong enough to drive to the hospital on his own but he still had bruises to be checked plus he didn’t think he would be able to erase the memories of what went down so easily. He didn’t think anyone could. People were being attacked and murdered left and right before him. How he didn’t crumble together was a mystery but he guessed the last few years had steeled him into a rather strong creature. Not that anyone was  particularly a fan of him anymore after the stunt he pulled. Looking around he decided to visit one of the victims and was glad to see Coraline at least looking intact as well. And alive. “No idea... It was too much. I can’t even remember what it was like before shit hit the fan.” He asked concernedly. “How are you doing?” 

[ location ; the back nine ]

STELLA WASN’T A BIG FAN OF WORK, IN GENERAL. it was something her grade school teachers noticed early on, consistent report cards send home explaining her lack of effort and ‘maybe if she just applied herself.’ the only thing she seemed to be applying herself to these days were finishing any bottle of liquor within her vicinity and seeing how many harsh comments she could get into a conversation before getting threatened. it made for an interesting night. despite her dislike of work, she found herself at her job, mostly because she knew all the prices and could elbow an coworker into pouring heavily. the only issue was other patrons thinking she had any interest in conversation with them. yes, she was at the bar because it was better than being alone in her room, but that didn’t mean she actually….wanted to talk to people. so, as some guy spoke her ear off as she sat at the bar, not seeming to notice that she had given absolutely no response, finally she broke. “dude, i’m gonna be real with you; i have not been listening to anything you have said in the past-” stella looked down at her wrist, even though it was bare of any watch. “-seven minutes? like, you sound like charlie brown’s parents in peanuts.” her head tilted to the side. “but if you buy me another shot of tequila, i’ll consider pretending to listen for another five minutes.”

Daniel was a lost cause. It was safe to say that since he stopped working as much the moment he shut down the place he used to run. He had been going around looking for one that could keep him settled for the next few weeks and although his finance was still safe he was not comfortable just yet. It just that there wasn’t many people that wanted to hire him after what he had done to himself basically ruining his reputation as someone who would snitch on his friends. While sure he could have tried to rebuild the restaurant he had had enough of leadership and wanted to try contributing to someones work again. He had been sitting at the bar drinking his night away but not yet getting drunk. When he found the girl sitting alone there he thought he could vent for a bit but it seemed like her night had just been as rough. He quickly shook his head and settled for a smile. “It’s okay. I didn’t mean to bother you I was just ranting about work. Or lack therefor for that matter.” He said with his friendly smile but his light had faded. “I’ll get you another drink though. Just for all that trouble.” He said as he flagged the bartender to refill her shot.

[ location: mt. wilson ranch. ] 

Flabbergasted couldn’t even begin to construe what the lavender-haired was feeling right now — perched outside a near run-down saloon with a mug of steaming tea to ease her nerves, Micah was thoroughly rattled by what she had experienced down in that forsaken mine. Perhaps, after residing in this god-awful place for a long time she should have predicted something ghastly to occur, yet nothing could have prepared the podcaster for the sight of a decomposed body which had smeared her mind. Always the prim one, she was, choosing to unblemish herself from such things to maintain her sanity though fate seemed to have decided on the opposite for her. After ducking her head down and spending almost an hour huddled in her spouse’s arms for comfort, she opted to take a breather outside the bar, placing down the drink that had done almost nothing to ease the rampant trembles running through her torso. This was supposed to be entertaining, prickling away the stress which had accumulated over the past few months — Jesus, supposed she would have to dial her therapist again tomorrow. “I’m fine,” she spoke, upon sensing another presence closing in, and she fiddled with her cigarette pack, “just need to — collect myself after everything. I don’t want to talk about the details.” She added, before sighing, looking up at them. “Are you alright? Sure hope your night went better.” 

Seeing a corpse... Had definitely not been on his agenda of all things today. He had taken his time to get his shit together after the fiasco had gone down but it was hard for him to forget the image and he wished he hadn’t gone at all today. He was out here thinking he could have found some relaxation after what he had gone through but of course he ended up finding a corpse and not some treasure he could have paraded around. Daniel was disturbed to say at least but glad it was over. He wondered if Apple was okay and Jayden definitely wasn’t someone he wanted to talk to about these things considering their lack of interest or even reaction to the scene. It was weird. It seemed like everyone was affected and he wondered if someone was playing around with them. Daniel decided to unwind at the bar and then he looked up to see a familiar face. She was only familiar because she was pretty famous and she was the sister of his dear friend. He thought he could check up on her as she looked disturbed. But well she didn’t seem to want to talk much about it. “That’s fine.... My night hasn’t been the best either.” He sighed as he tipped his head to drink his beer. “Wish I could just go home. But everyone seems tense.... I wonder if something’s happening.” 

Being propositioned to meet up was somewhat reassuring to the southern belle, to say the least, that she had a handful of friends left to her name. No, she didn’t particularly care to speak at length on her stint in rehab; if she could put it behind her now that she was out, she would be ecstatic. It would be a different world for a while, struggling to clamber back where she once was, but she was looking forward to easing her way back into work at the restaurant and making arrangements to have a sit-down with the television company when Ramsay cleared her in the next few months and had prepped her for the meeting. It meant putting off the taping of the infamous show until the spring, and it reminded her that her boss wasn’t solely about profit now that he had sequested himself at the top of the food chain. On a wonted habit, she had made an appointment for her hairdresser right away and recalled it last-minute. Thankfully, Daniel was an amicable guy and had agreed to the meeting spot, and despite her lateness, he was seemingly delighted to descry her approaching. Letting out a slightly breathless giggle, her eyes flitted upward, pretending to cogitate the possibility and jesting, “Oh my, I guess my place on the track team could have taken me far in high school had I stuck with it. How foolish of me to toss that away.” With a snicker, she stepped into the building and gestured for him to follow with her, signing into the sheet at the front desk and waiting patiently for her hairdresser to collect her. There were plenty of chairs in the salon that he could sit at where they could continue to chat while the woman was working on lightening her hair for the desired end result. “Me, too. I can handle the heat just fine but I think I’m sick of it. The evenings have been so nice when I’ve been outside lately, and I can’t wait to go home. I do hope that the snow will return this year. It gets awfully dreary looking at this red desert all year-round.” Smiling at her friend, she walked across the floor to the hairdresser’s seat and settled herself in it, folding her purse into the side of the chair and looking over at him. “No problem. Sorry to drag you with my errands, I’m hoping to surprise Heather later. How are you doing, honey? Decorating for the holiday yet?”

Daniel was an all around pretty chill and openminded guy. He looked past people’s faults because he knew he wasn’t perfect himself. Infact the recent events only showed how much of a mess he had been despite putting up the disguise of a very organized person. Sure Anabelle’s issues might have been deeper but he wasn’t going to judge. It wasn’t like he had been out and about when it happened either. Too busy trying to hide from society just incase one of them thought it would be nice to hold a grudge and throw it at his face. He wouldn’t have liked that. So far though things had been alright on his part. He knew he had to let go of his restaurant but he needed to find a steady job first incase he ran out of his savings. It never hurt to prepare if he could help it. He had been considering waitressing or maybe taking up a job as a chef again without having the responsibility to also look over managerial problems. He laughed when Anabelle returned his joke glad to know she wasn’t mad over what happened. Maybe Cyrek just hadn’t told anyone else. He wasn’t close with the guy anyway. “You were on track team? I could never do well in P.E. I was mostly the quiet kid who sat in the corner studying novels and looking up cookbooks. I got made fun of a lot I gotta say.” He said and nodded is head in understanding. He looked over at the hairdresser and he thought it would be nice to have a trim since he didn’t look having his curls branch out wildly. “I’d be ecstatic if we got snow. As long as there ain’t no thunderstorms coming I should be all fine. The restaurant took a hit last year. I would rather not worry about those things anymore.” He said shrugging. “That’s sweet. How are the children? Have you all been spending time together?” He asked. He kept forgetting to visit but maybe with more space in his schedule he could do it soon. “Yes. I’ve been shopping for some decoration all week. I’m not the best at putting them up though so it might look a shipwreck.” He said with a laugh. “There’s a pile of pumpkins in my apartment if you ever want one or two. Carving is like one of my favorite Halloween themed hobbies.”