D A Y 0 8

[founds]

CHAPTER 2

NOV 7TH | 54℉☀(windy)

▸ Parka up for a cold an--*CHSKSSS--*- windy day in Blackwell folks! I sure do hope--*CHSKSSS--*-search team down at the lake won't--*CHSKSSS--*---*CHSSK--*-trouble out on the waters. Professional divers have been going in since dawn, let's give it up for the professional --*CHSKSSS--*-!!

▸ Old Lady Petunia has paid me to say DO NOT SEEK OUT THE ANGELS--*CHSKSSKK--SK--SSSH--*- In fact, there are no such thing as angels. See how easy that was? No angels, no problem.

▸ And now back to our --*CHSKSSS--*-regularly scheduled programming.

THE RISING IS NOT IN EFFECT

Comments

[espish]

Well. Thank you.

[a little surprised, actually. most of sam's meals have been ramen alone in his room since he arrived. last night had been a conscious attempt to break what was swiftly becoming a depressing and depressingly familiar habit.]

[secretagents]

Figured I'd rather eat with you than the cop.

[ points fork at Ben still intensely playing with his phone. judging by what he saw last night Sam isn't so bad so he took the risk of inviting him over. ]

[espish]

[glances where jacob points, toward the table sam abandoned, and toward ben.]

Thanks...

[wouldn't make the same choice, in your shoes. looks back to jacob.]

I'll say this much, there are less personable cops on the force.

[like all of them. literally all of them, though the one from last night is unquestionably the worst. just the worst.]

[secretagents]

Oh right, you met Dennington.

[ smiles at the eggs but the emotion doesn't reach his eyes. ]

[ people have been trying their best to stay out of his way ever since he started working here. Jacob knows his reputation. ]

[espish]

Was that his name? Salvi just introduced him as "Hillbilly Cop," and he didn't bother to correct her. I didn't address him by it, did I?

[this last part is a joke, but he might've. there was a lot of whiskey.]

He's sure a sweetheart.

[secretagents]

One of many.

[ like you said, there's a lot where that one came from. ]

At least he doesn't waste any time on bullshit.

[ respects him in some twisted way. ]

[espish]

No, he didn't do that. Not that we had a long conversation—which I guess proves your point.

[this breakfast isn't working out for him. reaches for the ketchup bottle and pours more than is really palatable to most people over the excavated omelet and hash browns.

they never brought out the toast, though.

or more coffee.]

He didn't really seem to want to own being from here, either. As a matter of fact, neither did Salvi. Nobody does.

[secretagents]

Can you blame us?

[ there's your answer, he's local. ]

[espish]

I guess not. It's no New York. It's barely a Newark.

[that's very rude, and that attitude is possibly why the waitress seems so disinterested in actually waiting on the table sam is affiliated with. then again the others seem to give jacob a wide berth as well, so it's probably both of them. good job jacob on consolidating the undesirables.]

All right, maybe it beats Newark. Given my choice of which one to walk through alone at night, though, I might pick Newark.

[secretagents]

Right.

[ suddenly pauses eating and looks like he's going to throw up for a moment. ]

[ slowly pushes the plate away. ]

[espish]

[glances up from the plate then back down. takes another bite of over-ketchuped egg.

that's probably an expression he would know better from the inside. not recently, though.

everybody here's lost somebody, huh.]

[secretagents]

[ digs around for his cigarette pack like he forgot where he had it. ]

... A pleasure meeting you.

[ he's gonna go now. slides off the chair and wanders to the door. put it on his tab, whatever. ]

[espish]

Likewise.

[apparently more for sam than it had been for jacob. once jacob's gone, sam produces a battered, and empty, purple plastic lighter from an overcoat pocket and sits there looking at it until the waitress shows up with the bill.

for what it's worth, he's sorry he brought it up. that was the longest and most pleasant conversation he's had in nearly a week.

well, with maybe one exception.]

[eternalboy]

[ you done? ]

Hey, Sam!

[ raises his voice because he's still sitting on the other side of the restaurant, gaze fixed on his phone. he would have greeted Sam if Jacob hadn't gotten there first. ]

[espish]

[looks up, startled, when he hears his name. at first he's a little confused as to who addressed him, since nobody's maki eye contact, but he's pretty sure that was Ben. pockets the lighter, grabs his hat and slides out of the booth to head over to ben's table. ]

Morning. I thought I'd managed to sneak past unnoticed

[gestures at the other side of the booth, eyebrows raised. you mind?]

[eternalboy]

[ figured he'd drop the mr Blake since they've known each other for so long now. yep. he doesn't see Sam's gesture since he still hasn't looked up from his phone but nods anyway. ]

Nothing gets past me.

What are you doing later today? Say, in 30 minutes.

[espish]

Ace detective.

[slides into the booth across from Ben and sets his hat down on the table. Lifts his eyebrows to the both awfully vague and awfully specific question]

I've got no plans that can't be postponed. Why?

[an exaggeration—he has no plans]

[eternalboy]

[ frowns and makes a quiet argh noise before setting his phone down on the table. lets out a small, frustrated sigh. ]

Man, I used to be able to clear through that level in seconds. I bet it's the weather. Gets to my fingers, you know?

[ he should really get himself a new pair of gloves. sets his hands on the table and looks across the table at him. ]

The thing is, I'm moving out today. Could use a hand.

[espish]

I bet.

[looks up from ben's hands on the table to his face.]

Sure, why not. Moving out of the resort or moving out of town?

[casual, almost inflectionless]

[eternalboy]

Out of the resort. I was supposed to gather my stuff before 12 actually, but it looks like that isn't happening.

[ missed the time for no good reason too. in fact he was supposed to find a place like a week ago but house hunting never sat well with him. ]

I guess I'm stuck here.

[ if he thought he'd be in and out of the town with the disappearances resolved within a week until now it looks like this is the point he realized it's not gonna be so. it's not a good moment. maybe he's been postponing this. ]

[espish]

Because of the cases?

[cases, plural. this town is shaping up to be more interesting than either of the city folk had counted on, it looks like.]

Well, at least you've got family here, right? You're not just an island in the middle of a sea of West Virginia.

[like me. it's just me here but you don't see me complaining.

Unless you have eyes and ears.]

[eternalboy]

Yeah and none of them are helping with the move.

[ because he didn't ask. lol. ]

[ there used to be a girlfriend too, he vaguely remembers it. ]

[espish]

How rude of them.

[if ben's family are locals, Sam can see how they might not get along. And there was that crack Ben made about his brother the night of the party. So maybe it's not a great thing to have relatives here.]

Well, I had a bit of a whiskey experience last night, so I might throw up or pass out on you, but I'll do what I can.

[charming.]

[eternalboy]

[ funny thing is his relatives are great. the living ones at least. ]

Yeah. Try not to do that.

I didn't see you at the hotel bar.

[espish]

Well, like you, I thought I'd get out a little. I went to a place in town–the Black Lodge? Ran into an old neighbor of mine, actually.

[hence his new even higher opinion of the hospitality of the locals. at least the actual bartender was good at her job and appropriately friendly. hadn't expected to see Noah there though. hadn't really expected to see Noah again ever.]