♊ 21 ♊ [Text] [Back dated to within 30 minutes past 'dawn' on the 23rd]

[thii2ii22tupiid]

*The handwriting is sloppy, but being written in the dark and by a shaking hand will do that.*

plea2e tell me you can read thii2.
anybody.
anybody plea2e tell me they can 2ee me, ii don't want two do thii2 agaiin, plea2e 2ay 2omethiing.

IB? where are you? 2tay where you are, ii don't know what happened, even the fake 2un wa2 gone.

Comments

[cellwave]

[Audio]

I can read it, though it would have been easier if it wasn't so messy.

[thii2ii22tupiid]

*OH GOD A PERSON. Sollux has no idea who you are, Shal, but he is overjoyed to hear from you.
While talking seems obvious, you get more messy handwritting in return.*

ii can barely 2ee the paper.
where are you? ii2 iit dark there? ii got lo2t agaiin, 2omehow the tunnel2 came two me.

[cellwave]

[Audio]

That sounds like what happened to me, the walls turned into a maze and now I'm in some sort of small dark room. I guess we weren't supposed to be wandering around in the dark. Would have been nice to know that from the start, huh?

Oh well. It's not the end of the world.

[thii2ii22tupiid]

la2t tiime ii wa2 iin here ii diied.
2lowly.
wiithout any food or water.

*So, yes, it is the end of the world.*

[rocklikerunaway]

No. I can't read it or see you.

But I can hear you just fine.

[thii2ii22tupiid]

2tfu toph, thii2 ii2 no tiime for game2, the tunnel2 are 2preadiing.

[rocklikerunaway]

What tunnels?

[thii2ii22tupiid]

the tunnel2 around the keep, the one2 that fuck wiith 2pace-and-tiime, the one2 wiith no way out.
unle22 2taff help2, ii thiink, ii'm pretty 2ure that'2 how everyone el2e got out la2t tiime, but ii never diid, ii had two take the emergancy exiit.

[halfbrokenwings]

[Video]

Sollux?! Where are you?! What's going on?!

[She's only partly taking your advice there Sollux. She's already up and moving from her room to yours, to check on you-]

I'm in the hall. In the barracks-

[thii2ii22tupiid]

IB.
IB, ii got lo2t agaiin, ii don't thiink there'2 a way out thii2 tiime either.
2tay where you are, you can't come here, ii don't want you two get hurt two.

[halfbrokenwings]

How?! What?!

[This is not happening again! She's headed back to her room.]

When? When did it happen!?

[Did he walk through a door?]

[thii2ii22tupiid]

ii wa2 ju2t goiing back two the barrack2, iit wa2 2uppo2ed two be morniing but there wa2n't any liight, ii diidn't thiink iit would be a problem.
2o don't go anywhere, ii don't know what made the tunnel2 come two me, ii don't know iif iit can be repeated by other2 or iif ii'm 2peciial.

*He's tempted to think he's special and they came for him, really.*

[bffpoltergeist]

[Audio]

[Liz isn't much bothered by the oncoming darkness, but then she hasn't really been here long enough yet to be scared of it; and hearing about it is different than living through it.

But this is different. Someone she knows is in trouble and, if she's not totally living in a reversed world, sounds scared as hell. This makes things different and the poltergeist isn't going to stand idly by.]

Sollux??? I can see your entry... where are you????

[thii2ii22tupiid]

*Sollux is not scared of darkness, if this were regular darkness he'd be fine. But as soon as he recognized the tunnels he freaked out.*

ii got lo2t agaiin.

[bffpoltergeist]

[Liz has yet to experience the tunnels, so it's all semantics in her eyes. In the end, though, it sounds like he needs help and that's enough for her.

She looks out of the common room in the barracks, biting her lip for half a beat before replying again.

As she's speaking, Sollux, she's shoving several tealight candles in her pant pockets.]

Is there, like, anything distinguishing around you at all?

[thii2ii22tupiid]

black, the tunnel2 are ju2t darkne22.

[ghostly_stutter]

U-um. S-Sollux? Are you okay?

I can read what you wrote, if that helps.

[thii2ii22tupiid]

no, ii am not okay.

[ghostly_stutter]

S-Sollux?

You're worrying me. What's wrong?

[thii2ii22tupiid]

ii got lo2t agaiin.