#interlude 001

"I can't explain why, but it feels like the weirdest structure on the entire island," Darcy explained as they were getting closer to the Tower. "Well, the entire island as far as I've come across so far. It's only been a couple of days, I doubt I've been everywhere else."

And Darcy hasn't, that was for sure - she's been doing runs to the ship with others when she could, and at other times she's been roaming the island, trying to see every nook and cranny of it. It wasn't the biggest island on the planet, sure, but it just felt like full of interesting, mysterious places and corners that were just waiting for them to explore them and figure them out.

The Tower being one of them.

It loomed above them, its antenna going even above the treeline, while the top of it looking like it held a terrace, a balcony, something where humans could and would use as a lookout. But no door, no chance to actually get inside - if there was anything to even get inside to -, nor any way to get on the top of it.

Darcy stopped in front of it, looking up and then over at Chance. "There is just something about this, I can feel it. I mean, what's the point of it? Everything else is here to help us survive, to give us comfort, while this tower is just... it's just here. Doing whoever knows what."

Darcy noticed that there was somebody on the black sand beach as she was getting close to the edge of the forest area that seperated the beach from the rest of the island, and if she was being honest, as bad as it might have sounded to others, her first thought was that she hoped it wasn't the lady who called her crazy so intensely on this same beach. She just did not have it in her to have it out with her again.

But then she stepped out to the clearing and instead of that woman, she noticed a familiar, tall figure, and her lips curled up into a smile immediately. "Lokni! Hey! I see you found the cool beach too." She looked over the black sand, taking in the sight for a few moments. "Isn't it just beautiful?" she couldn't help but ask.

"How have you been? Last couple of days have been-- intense, right?"

It's been a couple of days on the island since all of their arrival, She's been doing a couple of runs to the ship to get some supplies along with other people, and even more importantly, Darcy was slowly going to every part of the island, exploring every nook and cranny of it both to learn about the new place they were all on, while also seeing if there was any kind of secret or any hidden instructions she could go and find.

And then, if she was being honest, she kind of got sidetracked and distracted and then pretty much lost in the forest area, and now she was more than likely just going in circles.

Where was Alex when one needed him to lead you out of a forest?

Darcy wasn't quite sure how long she's been circling around, but despite getting lost, she couldn't help but admit that she actually enjoyed the walk she was on. And then at some point she heard some-- weird, animalistic noises that she most assuredly should have ignored and turned around and walked in the exact opposite direction to. But instead she headed towards it, until she got to a little further clearing with a huge, tall, smooth rock formation looming at its edge, and--

was that the beach woman who freaked out so badly on top of it? With a bunch of monkeys surrounding her and hounding her? In the moment several of them were throwing smaller pebbles at the woman, while a couple were trying to climb the rock.

"Hey, you okay over there?" Darcy asked, though maybe she should have just jumped right into it. But something stopped her for a moment, made her question instead of jumping right into it right away. "Need some help?"

After talking with Gael and helping him get some samples, Darcy found herself going back to the beach, sitting down and taking a breather. Wrapping her arms around her pulled up knees and just staring out at the waves lapping at the shore, the water that somehow after everything seemed still calm, and the ship towering above its surface.

It was the same view she saw most of the night, not having been slept too much - then again, she was good at not sleeping.

If she was being honest, she was starting to itch for a run, but she somehow just couldn't seem to tear herself away from the sight and her own mind. She wasn't really sure how long she's been sitting there, unaware of anything happening around her - not until a shadow covered her up

(swallowed her up, pulled into her, pulled at her, tickeled her, teased her, embraced her, wake her up and so many more all in one that Darcy couldn't even comprehend, it all happened in such a short amount of time)

and she looked up, squinting, needing a few moments to realize it was Akhila hovering over her.

Well, there was a lot of things that Darcy expected - it was easy to say that this was not one of them.

A woman, Maria - she seemed really nice, the little Darcy talked to her while she got a few bites to eat in the evening -, actually blew up. No joke, no magic trick (as far as anyone could tell), no fake effects revealed later.

No, she fully blown up into pieces and Darcy was sitting a couple of feet away from where it happened, where she spent the entire night just watching the water and the night sky, unable to sleep.

She knew that something would happen, if she was being honest. Them just waking up and figuring things out on their own couldn't have been just it. But she figured there would be some new messages coming from the speakers, informing them of the next job. Maybe even a couple of days of silence, so that they could acclimate to everything on the island before the next steps would come.

Somebody blowing up? It was not on Darcy's list of things she assumed would happen sooner or later.

Most people were openly, clearly upset over what happened, and don't get her wrong, she also was extremely upset, but her ear was ringing, she was half-disassociating, her mind racing trying to make sense of it. If they were meant to be here, if all of this was meant to happen, how could one of them just-- blow up in so many pieces?

Unless...

But before she could really think through the possibility that this woman was nothing more than planted among them for some reason, she noticed a more familiar figure (at this point, those she talked to before and it didn't result in disaster, she more easily picked out of everyone - the disasterous ends too, but for a whole different reason, really) heading towards the last remains of Maria.

Gael.

There, somebody she could talk to. If he didn't fear going near, that said something of him, in her eyes. "Crazy morning start, yeah?" she said as a way of greeting when she stopped next to him. "I don't think any of us really had casualties coming from random self-combustions on their bingo cards for this island."

Practice was the easiest once the sun has already set. Darcy didn't have the kind of control she already wanted to have, but she didn't let that get her down, so every single night once the darkness came, she started practicing. She couldn't fall asleep still anyway (she thought she'd leave the nightmares and the not-sleeping behind herself by now, and yet that part of the simulation still lingered and she wasn't quite sure how long it would last, but she was certain it would eventually fade away. ...... right?), so she had plenty of time to practice.

When it was dark, she could mostly trigger it intentionally at this point, but directions and intentions were hard still to control. This time around she intended to go to the edge of the bungalows - she got that in a way, except right at the other edge of it than where she intended to go, near the Hub.

Where somebody was playing a guitar.

It took her a moment for her brain to catch up to it, it was such an unexpected sound, but when she realized what she was listening to, she couldn't help but go towards where the sound came from.

It turned out to be Gael, sitting by one of the tables on one side of the Hub, focusing on the instrument maybe too much to notice that Darcy walked up nearby. She leaned against one of the walls just to listen for a bit, and when there was a lul in the playing, she finally spoke up, "Planning on starting up the first band of the island?"

"We could only do tea the last time, so I figured you'd enjoy this," Darcy said with a smile as she handed over a mug of coffee to Elijah, her own in her other hand. Actual mugs, since they didn't have to go cups, but they could both handle walking with a mug in hand. They agreed to meet up, and she figured she'd surprise him for they walk. (Not that he couldn't have gotten himself coffee, but still.)

"How are you doing? Have you settled in yet? Found a bungalow and everything?" She wondered just what this would be like for Elijah? Somebody who was a free spirit, who fed off of going to new places, meeting new people, never sitting still for too long in one place, now being forced to do the exact opposite of how he lived his life, how he loved it. Even if it was in the simulation, it would be something he held onto, Darcy was sure. It wasn't the result of the simulation, it was due to who he was as a person. But it would certainly make things harder to make it here.

Okay, so Darcy had her own thing - some people turned invisible, some could turn really small, and she could teleport.

It was great! Exciting! Darcy could ramble on about how cool it was for days, at least.

That being said, she needed control. She couldn't just keep appearing in the midst of angry monkeys and on top of towers. Eventually she'd appear somewhere where she'd break her neck, get stuck there without an actual way out or get so hurt, there wouldn't be any coming back. Maybe cause somebody else to get hurt somehow. And those were the last things she wanted.

She wanted to be amazing in using her gift, be the best and be able to use it for so much good.

So, practice. She needed lots and lots of practice.

She ended up settling down on the side on her own bungalow, trying to figure out how to intentionally do the jumping - and then felt like the most ridiculous person on the entire island as nothing was actually happening for what felt like forever. She tried with her eyes closer, eyes open, tried talking, tried without talking, tried to go somewhere random and then somewhere specific, but it really just didn't work.

It didn't work until she kind of lost her focus and started staring into the distance, her eyes focusing on the darkness that was in another bungalow (she could just see inside through the open door). She zoned out on it, the darkness feeling familiar, feeling like it was quietly pulling her, taunting her, and this time, when she closed her eyes, she felt that tug get stronger and she reached out mentally and tugged back.

PUFF

Darcy was in the air for a moment and then fell-- right on top of somebody, as she quickly realized some limb was pressing against her side.

"Fuck, what even--" Darcy scrambled, rolled off onto the floor and then frantically looked around. "Where am I? Where-- oh shit, I am so sorry, did I fall on you? Stupid question, I am pretty sure I fell on you. I am so sorry, was absolutely not my intention! At all! I promise!" A pause, "Are you okay?"