(no subject)

[daryld]

[A man is backing into the room, a crossbow out and ready to shoot at a second's notice - so better not to creep up on him. Thinking he hears a noise, he whirls around, confused.]

What...? Where the hell am I?

Comments

[nolongerhollow]

Revenants? Ugh, they can become a scourge very quickly. And they spread disease. No wonder you came in with such a wary expression.

[daryld]

More than disease. You become one of 'em and start eatin' everybody if they bite you.

.... And even if they don't.

[He makes a face.]

Guess I smell like death and guts right now. Where's that shower again?

[And some clean clothes.]

[nolongerhollow]

That's even more horrid than the ones from my world.

Oh yes, here...down the hall, first door on the left. [He points.] The Endless Closet is right next to it. Most of the clothes are a bit odd, however.

[daryld]

Bit odd how?

[nolongerhollow]

[He stands up, sets aside his magazine and heads down the hall, pulling aside the sliding door to the Closet. It looks like a gruesome crash between two trucks carrying Levis and bizarre stage clothes.]

Like so.

[daryld]

There's jeans... Must be a plain t-shirt or somethin' in there somewhere, right?

I ain't wearin' nothin' frilly.

[nolongerhollow]

I can't say I blame you. I leave the frilliness for that peste Lestat. You go ahead and shower, I'll dig through this mess. It's no bother.

[daryld]

[He looks reluctant then nods and heads off. After less than five minutes he's back with a towel wrapped around his waist. His torso is littered with scars that look both new and old.]

Find anythin'?

[nolongerhollow]

[He nods and holds up two T-shirts. One is a Merlotte's T-shirt and the other one has a grinning smiley face with a bullet hole between the eyes. Also socks. He found the damn socks.] These and some jeans should do you.

[daryld]

Guess they'll do for now, yeah.

[He takes the smiley face shirt and the jeans and socks and heads back out to change, returning shortly afterwards. Clean, at least. He's slung his crossbow over his back again though.]

So... D? Was it? Did I tell ya my name? It's Daryl.

[nolongerhollow]

Hullo Daryl. [He offers a long white hand] Sorry about the situation, but...at least this place is safe.

[daryld]

[He looks at the hand for a moment before giving him a short but strong handshake.]

Is there a way out?

[nolongerhollow]

[His hand is rather cool, but his grip is firm and he seems quite relaxed and friendly.] Yes, yes. The door you came in should lead you back when you are ready to go. Though under the circumstances I must insist on sending you out with provisions at least.

[daryld]

Who'd wanna go back to a world with walkin' corpses everywhere and little t'no hope?

[nolongerhollow]

"That's a very good point. I don't know, perhaps you have people you'd like to lead out of there or something. But the thing about hopeless conflicts is that you can use places like this to cheat in very creative ways."

[daryld]

Cheat, how?

[nolongerhollow]

No matter how long you stay here, that door leads back to the exact place and time that you left. There's no reason why you couldn't spend a month here making superpowered allies and coming up with better weaponry, go back in, rescue any friends you have, come back here, and transfer to an Earth without zombies.

Basically, use the weirdness to your advantage.

[daryld]

So how would I get to this place without any walkers?

[nolongerhollow]

Well, I have been documenting where some of these doors around the main room lead. There are various Earths, and I know one with no zombie problems. They do have superheroes, however.

[daryld]

Superheroes like who?

[nolongerhollow]

Like the goddamn Batman? I was not crass enough to ask for an autograph, but he is an admirable fellow.

[daryld]

You met Batman?

[nolongerhollow]

He managed to sneak up on me! Nobody can do that, but he did it like he does it every night.

[daryld]

He does it every night...?

[This was getting weirder, Daryl thinks.]

[nolongerhollow]

On criminals, not on me.