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[thehobbsgirl]

[ Abigail tries to do the smart thing and figure out the situation on her own. She does her best: reads the weird pamphlet three times, glances through the first few videos she finds on the smart-phone-like device, wanders around the grounds trying to look for a way out. Obviously, she does not find one. None of it makes any sense. She sits in the gardens for a few hours waiting to wake up, but if there is one thing her nightmares never are, it's tedious. So with boredom comes fear; if this isn't a dream, it means her life had changed radically yet again without warning. It means that just as she was beginning to have hope for some kind of stability, she was thrown into another mess. ]

[ The video shows her visibly upset, though clearly trying to master it. Her voice is small, and shaky with suppressed emotion, but she gets out what she means to say: ]

I'm not gonna bother asking a bunch of questions when it's obvious there's no one here who can help me.

[ Not to mention the fact that she wouldn't trust any answers she got, anyway. Any stranger might be complicit, as far as she's concerned. Abigail has difficulty trusting on the best of days. ]

I just want to know if... if anyone who sees this recognizes me. Is there anyone from my- [ It sounds so silly saying it, but she does ] -from my world here?

Comments

[monopolies]

[ Continuing his track record of giving horribly unhelpful welcomes to troubled-looking young women, this fuckhead interprets her (correct) assumptions as unwarranted pessimism. Something that he's obviously qualified to handle. ]

Depends on what kind of help ya need! Medical? We got doctors and angels and if you're tryin' to turn into an ambibian I know just the demon for you. Protection? There's a guy with a heart of gold and a patriotic shield I could send your way! Food? Endless, free, and if none of it suits your fancy there's a guy who makes killer pies. Really, this place is full of endless possibilities.

As for your pals, there ain't a roster or nothin', but if you've got a general description or name I might know 'em.

[ From the way he smiles, he's either a master of feigning stupidity to disarm people or he's truly so dense that the light bends around him. In actuality it's both. ]

[thehobbsgirl]

I don't need help.

[ There's an iciness to the way she says it that she hopes will dampen the rather alarming enthusiasm of this man. Abigail had explicitly said that she didn't want help, or at least that she didn't think anyone could give her the kind of help she did want. So it's irritating to have someone responding as if she'd said the exact opposite. Besides, half the stuff he's saying makes no sense at all. ]

Of any kind.

[ That doesn't mean he doesn't have information to share: the bit about the food being endless and free is new to her, and Abigail files the information away for later without thanking him or asking for details. If it were earlier in the day she'd have asked how that was possible, but she's learned already not to ask about the logistics or logic of any of it. ]

[monopolies]

[ The iciness bounces off him like baby goats on a trampoline. And much like a goat trying to attract the attention of an Airedale, America continues his chattering regardless of how Abigail is or how much she hates her life for being subjected to his presence. ]

Wrong! Everyone around here needs some help, especially if you're a new face. Yeah, yeah, I get it: everything's fine, you can take care of yourself. That's gotta be a motto for like half the people 'round here.

For example: I've been around a while, did my time here, went home, came back, I've seen some of the weird shit Wonderland can do. Ever been turned into a metal dog? 'Cause I have.

[thehobbsgirl]

[ Her only reply to this is stony, unblinking silence. She'd say she's heard weirder from some of the other girls at Port Haven, but not much weirder. Either this guy is loony, or she is the loony one for conjuring up such an annoying hallucination. She's still half-convinced all this is in her head, anyway. ]

You went home?

[ That, at least, is potentially interesting information. ] How? Is it just a matter of waiting a certain amount of time, or did you do something in particular?

[ She's going to take his answer with a grain of salt, considering he seems like a fucking lunatic, but it's worth asking anyway ]