entranceway | 015] video ----> BACKDATED TO TUESDAY MORNING <-----

[It takes him a little while to collect himself, as the memories (most jumbled and incomplete thanks to the amount of shit he'd been pumping himself full of for the past few days) slowly filter back in bit by bit, but eventually he gets it together enough to ask what he needs to ask.

When he pops up on the feed his face is drawn and tired, the bags under his eyes even more pronounced than usual despite the fact that he'd essentially been "sleeping" for an entire day.]

Somethin' got me down in the caves. [And his tone makes it obvious that he doesn't mean "got me a birthday present". He looks down then, unsure how to put this in a way that isn't cryptic or confusing... But after a few seconds of lip-chewing and offscreen callous-picking he continues, figuring that if anything had happened, it'll be pretty clear what he means:] ...I hurt anybody?

[If he hadn't, this is gonna drag up a whole bunch of questions he'd prefer not to touch... But he needs to know what he did after the lights went out, and if that means outing himself and explaining his situation back in Georgia, well... It's the least he can do. There could be people who are owed one hell of an explanation.

And he considers elaborating now but thinks better of it, cutting the video feed abruptly to send a private text to America:]

that shit upstairs gotta go if you havent taken care of it already

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[He frowns. Now that he really, really thinks about it... It might have been a good idea to let more people in on what'd been going on in Georgia, if for no other reason than for someone to know how to handle him when shit hits the fan. You know, like it had this time.

There really is no point dwelling on it now, though- it's done, and all he can do is make sure it doesn't happen again.

He narrows his eyes at "vampires"- does he look like Lestat to you, Jo?- but "zombie" gets no reaction whatsoever. He's never heard of those. Is it a cave thing...?]

We call 'em 'walkers' back home. Dead people comin' back and walkin' around, spreadin' whatever shit they got... [He looks offscreen for a second.] That's why I gotta know if I bit anybody.

That's pretty much the same recipe as zombies.

[Most people seem to be familiar with the word, at least from pop culture, but that's neither here nor there at the moment. No matter what they're called, these things are a problem. One that needs to be stamped out before anyone gets hurt.]

How do you kill a walker?

[Who knows what lore applies to the thing in the caves. They'll need to prepared.]

[For all the weird shit going on in other people's home worlds, it's rare for him to hear of another place that has anything like walkers...]

Destroy the brain. Or cut sombitch's head off, but that don't kill it. The damn head can still bite. [He scowls.] Had a knife down there but I couldn't take care of it.

[He's perfectly aware of the fact that the only reason he'd been unable to take the thing out is because of this place and its god damn mind games... But the fact remains that he can remember making the choice to get fucked up and wander around down there stoned out of his mind. He remembers not giving half a fuck and so even if he knows it wasn't really him... It feels like it was.

If the consequences weren't so serious, he might have some energy to spare being ashamed of it.]

You got those where you're from?

Won't really know until I get a look at it, but we've got no shortage of monsters back home.

[It still seems to fit the bill for zombie -- walking corpse with the ability to spread infection, though these sound a little easier to kill. Unless they're burned to ash or impaled, zombies aren't going anywhere. Something about his description of the walkers invokes memories of rumors about the Croatoan virus, but she'd never witnessed that herself.]

Plenty of things that take beheading or have other special instructions for disposal. So we're going down there to make sure the place is clean, right?

[Only responsible thing to do.]

Think if you'd bitten someone, we'd know by now.

[Daryl bristles a bit. He'd absolutely intended on heading back down there to find it and kill it; he knows better than to let a walker roam around, after all.

He'd just... Needed to know what he'd done.]

Course. Bastard can't stay down there. [He narrows his eyes. He doesn't know this girl very well at all- and despite her demeanor she looks pretty young to be messing around with this shit- but considering he comes from a place where a fourteen year old kid can take a cell block of geeks by himself, well... He knows better than to judge.] Ain't gonna say no to some backup, neither. Might be more'n one.

[And it's not that he's incapable of taking out a couple walkers- not in this condition, anyway- but he doesn't know the caves as well as he should and given the circumstances... What could it hurt to be cautious?]

I'll be all the backup you need.

[There's a whole lot of confidence there. Whatever misgivings Daryl might have about her, she clearly feels she's cut out for the job.]

Want me to meet you? I'll load up and bring a few spares. You need a shotgun?

[She has two.]

[...Well alright then. He ain't about to argue.]

I got what I need, meet me outside by the entrance.

[He doesn't remember how to get around through the basement- he was dead at the time and so he'd prefer to start somewhere he's at least a little familiar with.]

I'll be there.

[She closes the video feed without saying anything further, but five minutes later she shows up at the entrance to the basement, toting a shotgun over one shoulder with the safety on, taking the stairs down two at a time. She sinks her free hand into her back pocket, raising an eyebrow at him as she approaches.]

Hey. Ready to get this show on the road?

[Let's go hunt some zombies, Daryl.]

[Daryl's waiting outside, crossbow and quiver both slung over his shoulder. He's also got a handgun stashed somewhere or other, though he's knifeless thanks to his own stupidity; he's hoping to retrieve that while they patrol the caves, actually.

He's peering into the entrance when she arrives, and it's a testament to how lost he is in his own thoughts that he doesn't notice she's there until she speaks up. It doesn't bode well for this trip at all... But he shakes that off like everything else- it's not just his ass now, and hell if he's gonna put someone else at risk by being distracted.]

Yeah. Thing I ran into was pretty far in... You got a flashlight?

[He has a spare, just in case, and if they find the spot where he'd been attacked, the one he'd had with him should still be around somewhere. He doesn't remember losing it but he knows he'd had one...]

Right here.

[She reaches to pull one from her back pocket, holding it up and giving it a shake. It's small, but as soon as she hits the switch, it turns out to be a lot brighter than one might expect. She also has a handgun tucked into her pants at the small of her back, and a knife in each boot, but for the time being, she'll leave them where they are.]

I've been in the caves a couple of times before. Wouldn't dream of going in without one.

[She inclines her head towards the entrance before moving forward, trusting him to follow. She's not going to wait for him to give the word. They both know what they're here for, and that's enough.]

Think you remember the way to where you ran into it?

[Prepared.

That's good, and Daryl nods approvingly.]

Ain't been around here much myself. [And his tone suggets that yeah, he's aware of how goddamn stupid that'd been...] Shouldn't be too hard a start- [he points at a cigarette butt just off to one side.] -just follow the damn breadcrumbs.

[He's sure there's gonna be blood, too... But he's trying not to think about that as he clicks his own light on and heads inside, eyes alert as they scan the area, looking for his next lead.]

Guessin' you do a lot of this kinda thing back home.

[Small talk usually isn't his style, but right now? He'll do anything to keep from thinking too much, and that includes running his mouth to a relative stranger. Lucky you, Jo- he might resemble something close to social today.]

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