FLIGHTLESS BIRD

         ❛  a  big  ol’  pile  of  extra  crispy,  ❜  sam agrees as the lights cut off. the thunderstorm’s bad, but there had been an alert. here she thought they’d be okay, but apparently the wind’s got other plans. either that or the lightning hit something bad, either way. her phone’s fully charged and she’s got a vast assortment of games and stupid stuff to occupy their time. even a lantern to keep things well lit. ❛  it’s  not  the  worst  thing  though.  c’mon.  i’m  gonna  teach  you  bullshit.  it’s  a  card  game  and  if  you  play  josh,  he’s  real  good  at  it.  i  can  proudly  say  i’m  one  of  the  only  ones  to  beat  him  and  chris.   ❜

        ❛  do  i  think  i  can  handle  that?  ❜  careful josh, you did give her a baseball bat. which, is a deadly weapon in horror movies, but even deadlier in the hands of the very capable sam giddings. not that she’d hurt the prankster, aside from maybe a casual tap on the back unless he started it. especially with those freaky masks of his, oh, then there’d be vengeance!     ❛  of  course  i  can  handle  it,  and  i’m  mildly  offended  that  it’s  even  a  question.  ❜

         the words ‘ i’m  fine ’ were repeated in her head like a holy mantra, as if it could truly save her from the madness that’d been at the mountain. the things that killed their friends, what her best friend had become. what hannah had to do to survive. it didn’t seem like it’d been real, but it was. it was and that left her with more questions than answers. maybe the runner thought she’d be able to find it in cryptozoology, in veterinary school, or even in the books in libraries but she didn’t. the answers would evade her because there’s some things humans aren’t supposed to know. she nearly jumps when mike’s fingers meet her own.        ❛  seeing  hannah  as  that...  thing.  i...         i’m  just  wondering  if  they  remember  anything.  ❜                                                       she wondered if hannah knew what was happening still.                                                       what had happened, if she felt anything at all.

                       pizza: the meal of champions. sam isn’t opposed to pizza, but they’re going to have to get two. sometimes being vegan’s a hassle, but she wouldn’t change it. she’s got her phone in front of her, silently judging the online menu as she scrolls through different degrees of fats and carbs.   ❛  what  do  you  want  for  toppings?  there’s  bacon,  the  usual  meats,  veggies  and…  if  you  put  pineapple  on  pizza?  you’re  paying  for  it.  ❜

    ❛  so,  you  and  jess?  ❜  there’s an irony there, and it makes her sick to her stomach if sam is honest with herself, but she isn’t here to start shit. it strikes her funny, emily was so worried about hannah but really? she should’ve been worried about her best friend, but isn’t that the way of it? karma, or... something. regardless those thoughts are fleeting because it’s about having a good time in celebration of the lives of hannah and beth, in celebration of their memory. at least, she tricked herself into believing that. there’s still a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.  ❛  gotta  say,  i’m  a  little  surprised.  needed  a  drastic  change  after  em,  huh?  ❜  //  @fnalguy: sc.

       sam always liked to think she was smarter than these meetups late at night, but rey said she needed to talk and  ━━━  she failed enough people. a family, friends, she wasn’t going to let another soul slip through her fingers. not while she had control, or some false sense of it. a morsel of control over losing people, watching them disappear while only having the ability to watch the shitshow of horror. there’s something unnerving about the darkness now, as if those creatures followed her down from the mountain, from the bowels of the mines. of course, they didn’t. they wouldn’t. she didn’t know that for a certainty though, but it doesn’t matter. not when the younger woman is less than ten feet away.                  ❛  i  came  as  quick  as  i  could,  are  you  alright?  ❜  //  @ariwo: sc.

         ❛  people  ———  terrible  people  will  do  heinous  things  when  they  think  they  can  get  away  with  it.  ❜  sam admits rather absentmindedly, she has this lost gaze set on the tv in the corner of the little eatery they’d stopped at. truth be told it’s hard to distinguish whether she’s talking about current events or something from her past. her voice sounds hollow, she’s wrapped up in her thoughts once more, which happens to be a dangerous plane of existence that’s riddled with doubt. she snaps from her thoughts with a shake of her head, eyes glance away from the tv and it’s brave-faced talking head.           ❛  you  okay,  em?  you  haven’t  touched  your  food.  ❜   //  @notimminent: sc.