Event Log: Flu Season

[hadrielmods]

Who: All characters
What: The event log for the Flu Season event
Where: All over the city
When: March 20th-March 30th
Warnings: Gross sneezing, sick people, and paranoia

It starts with a cough, a sneeze, a sore throat - something small and simple, easily ignored. But then your symptoms get worse. It's probably been awhile since you've been sick, that sort of thing doesn't usually happen here. You might be able to raid the shops for some tissues and tea before it gets too bad, and hopefully you've got a friend to help out until you get better. Surely it'll be over soon, right?

Until the fever sets in, and you start to understand why your friend is really there. They don't want to take care of you. They want to make sure this is the last anyone will ever see of you. They want to learn all your secrets. They want to steal your most precious possession. You know they're plotting against you, you know they're keeping something from you. What will you do to find out what it is?

Then, as the sickness fades, you realize it was all in your mind. Let's hope you didn't do or say anything too awful. But that friend of yours... they seem to have picked up your cough. Maybe you should help them out?

► This log covers March 20th-March 30th.
► Feel free to make your own logs, as well
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► If your paranoia ends in murder, please let us know here.

Comments

[greywaren]

[He doesn't hear Adam coming at first, and when Adam finally makes his presence known, Ronan jumps, startling and dropping the nails he'd been holding. They scatter below him onto the dirt and he curses, crouching down and trying to frantically scoop them up, his nails scraping uncomfortably against the ground.]

Get inside.

[His voice is still hoarse as he glances furtively up toward Adam, red-nosed but serious as a heart attack. Ronan looks past the other boy for a long moment, his mouth drawn in a thin line.

It isn't safe out here. Not for either of them.]

I'll explain everything- duck when you open the door, there's a wire that'll catch your throat.

[unknowable]

[This isn't right. Adam knows that immediately - as far as he knows, there are no new threats in the city, nothing that hasn't been there already, and Ronan has never been the type to overreact to things. So something else must have brought this on. Either there's a new threat, one unknown until just now, or - something else is going on.

Only it doesn't really matter, not at this exact moment. Adam can figure out which it is once he's inside. If there is something out there, he's better off inside, and if there isn't then at least it might calm Ronan down a little and give him a chance to figure out what's going on.]

Okay, but - you come in too. It's safer.

[He does as Ronan instructed, ducking to get inside, with one last glance at the fortifications Ronan has created. Impressive, actually, but worrying.]

[greywaren]

Yeah, of course.

[He's not going to stay outside when it's like this. Ronan sniffles and trods into the house after Adam, closing the door carefully behind him, careful to uncharacteristically lock and bolt it shut.

Once inside he turns toward Adam, glancing toward the window he had not yet finished boarding up. They could probably get in through there and he doesn't like the thought of it. He'll have to finish after this, he thinks. Maybe Adam can help- no, no Adam needs to stay inside. It's the only way that Ronan can ensure that everything goes alright.]

Look, there's just- fuck.

[A thought strikes him as he looks up toward Adam suddenly, his brows furrowed.]

Take off your shirt. [It makes sense, he thinks, perfect sense. You never know what someone could do to you. What someone could have on their person.]

Pants too. And- and your shoes and socks. Put them in the other room.

[unknowable]

What?

[He looks at Ronan like he's gone insane, which seems to be not far off from the truth. It's not that he has any aversion towards getting undressed in front of Ronan - far from it, Ronan has certainly seen all there is to see. But usually any requests in that area are, well, much less strange than this.

He's not sure what's going on and he's not sure how to react to it, so he ventures a careful smile.]

You know, I don't usually say no to you, but don't you think you're a little too sick for something like that?

[Adam knows that's not what Ronan is aiming for here - his attitude is all wrong, for one - but it seems safer to keep things on familiar ground until he figures out what is going on.]

[greywaren]

[The reluctance makes his eyes narrow a little, but it could be genuine- maybe Adam doesn't know? Ordering him to take off his clothes could be seen as a little odd, if someone doesn't know.

Or he could be hiding something. Ronan is indecisive about what the ultimate answer is. Adam would never betray him, he knows that much, not even this sickness could deter him from that, but this person in front of him may not be Adam. Or if it is, he may not know he's betraying him.

Difficult choices indeed.]

C'mon, don't fuck around with me.

[It's clearly important to him. Ronan looks back toward the door for a moment, his teeth gritting in frustration, before shaking his head.]

I just- look, if someone planted something on you or if you're wearing a wire, we both go down. Is that what you want? [No, it isn't- he hopes. So Ronan refocuses, ordering now:] Take your damn clothes off.

[unknowable]

[Even though what Ronan's saying doesn't make any sense, it's clear he believes it - it's clear that it matters to him. That's what gives Adam pause, what really starts to make him worry. A wire? Who would even want to do that here, much less to them? Something is really wrong here.

But resisting Ronan's delusion is only going to end badly. If Adam plays along, maybe he can figure out how to snap Ronan out of it - or at the very least, keep him from doing anything dangerous. Or rather, anything more dangerous than he's already done to the outside of the house.]

No one planted anything on me. You think I let anyone but you get that close to me?

[He keeps his voice casual, hiding the nervousness he now feels, and hooks his fingers under the hem of his shirt. He's not self-conscious, exactly, not in front of Ronan, but this is so strange - and so he undresses carefully, feeling much more awkward than he might otherwise.]

See?

[greywaren]

Okay.

[He's a little less frantic now that Adam is working with him, as the cooperation means that he's probably okay with working with him further. Ronan nods slowly, looking for a moment at where Adam's clothes had landed, but he can't see anything suspicious among the various lumps of fabric.

So far so good.]

I'm good too. I've been home all day- nobody's come by, so they couldn't have gotten to me.

[He moves up closer to Adam, wrapping a conspirator arm around the other boy's bare shoulders, pulling him in close and lowering his voice.]

So we're both safe. [Jesus, what a relief that Adam is alright. Ronan lets out a sigh, nodding as his mind races, coming up with the plan as he speaks.] Okay, so now it's the two of us. We stay together. Away from all the others. Just you and me, like it always is.

[unknowable]

So who couldn't have gotten to you?

[At least Ronan doesn't seem to be concerned about him any longer, but Adam doesn't feel any less alarmed. His natural instinct, after everything they've shared, is to believe Ronan - to trust that something is going on, that someone somewhere might really be a threat to them. But he has no idea who or what that would be.]

I'm not gonna go anywhere, but I don't think there's anyone else we need to worry about.

[Adam will stay if Ronan wants him to, he wasn't planning to go anywhere else today - he found some supplies while out, cans of soup and other things he was hoping would help with Ronan's illness. So being locked away with him isn't, in and of itself, strange or a hardship. But Ronan being so adamant about is, so sure that they're in danger?

That's upsetting.]

Maybe you should get some rest.

[greywaren]

[He shakes his head quickly.]

I don't need rest.

[can't Adam see? He needs to protect him, needs to be there so that they can stay together and stay safe. He's not sure why Adam doesn't see that, but it surely isn't because something got to him. Now, it's almost the opposite- it's as if he doesn't even know.

How could he not know?]

You can't trust anyone, Parrish- Jesus, don't you know that by now? [His tone is chaotic, higher pitched than usual, closer to hysteria though not over the line yet.]

I need to finish fortifying the house. Then we can rest. Here, [he moves them both toward their room, nodding.] You can get some clothes from the dresser. Then we can talk about how we're going to do the lockdown.

[unknowable]

[He reaches out to put a hand on Ronan's arm, try to be calming. Adam is not so practiced at that - in a less volatile situation, if Ronan were acting erratic Adam would be direct, would ask him what was wrong, tell him to get himself under control. Or just let him do as he liked, and pick up the pieces after.

But neither of those approaches seems like the right one this time. Adam is genuinely worried, not just about Ronan's physical state (he's clearly still sick) but his state of mind. Faced with that, calm and centered seems like the only thing to do. Maybe he can get Ronan to see sense, but at the very least he can try to keep it from getting worse.]

There's a few people we can trust here. But even if there weren't, I don't think anyone is out to get us.

[He lets Ronan move them towards their room, because regardless Adam would like to get some clothes on.]

Do we really need to do a lockdown? We can protect each other without all that.