Participants:
| Scene Title | Did Something Happen? |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Calling to report that she's alive, Ygraine discovers that the news media aren't even reporting the previous night's events in the Dome. |
| Date | February 12 2011 |
The Dome and the telecommunicative aether
Even as her truncated world threatens to fill with fire, flood, famine, and frenzy, Ygraine can't help but find a few moments to wish that she had her art supplies with her.
Sitting cross-legged on part of the superstructure of the ruined Queensboro Bridge, she holds her cell in both hands, the screen flipped open and a number ready to dial - but her thumb hovers motionless over the button, her gaze fixed on the cascading shimmering effects of the morning sunlight filtering through the refracting film now coating the Dome. Reflecting down from the underside of the snow cap atop the strange field, it bathes the whole of the most unfortunate section of Roosevelt Island in a red-gold glow, briefly washing away many of the stains and scars of last night's violence.
But as the sun inches higher in the sky, the angle of the light shifts and the snow becomes a barrier, a darkly shadowed line drawn across the world beneath the Dome, creeping forward to consume the gloriously incongruous beauty of the light.
Shaking her head and sighing, Ygraine blinks down at her phone, closes her eyes, and presses the Call button. Lifting the device to her ear, she murmurs one word. "Please."
The other line rings for what must seem like ages, long enough, surely, to seem like it must be getting ready to flip over to voice mail when finally, the ringing stops and there's a moment of silence before a voice responds.
"Hello?"
THe audible Irish accent means Robyn Quinn has found her phone, yawning on the other end before speaks again. "Ygraine? You're calling awfully early, are you alright?" A constant worry in the back of her mind, the case for the early call makes it only flare up worse.
"I…." The sharp catch in Ygraine's voice is unlikely to do anything to reassure Quinn. "I wanted to call to say I'm unhurt", the Briton manages on the second attempt, though there's a distinct huskiness to her words. "And I wanted to catch you before you saw the news. Or… saw the right bit of the skyline."
"The news?" Quinn glances over at the TV in the common room - which happens to be showing the news, in fact. Thre's a sound as something brushes over the phone, Quinn's voice returning a moment later. "I have the news on right now, it was on when I turned the TV on. I'm glad t' hear you're okay, did somethin' happen?" Now she just sounds straight worried.
"Yeah, the news. The great big columns of smoke, and the fire underlighting the snowcap atop the Dome last night", Ygraine says rather wearily. "It'll have been visible to anyone with any kind of a view of this stretch of the Hudson, and the smoke's still rising now. No fire brigade operating here, you know…"
The view from Quinn's apartment doesn't afford her a look of the Dome, otherwise, she'd go and look for herself. Instead, she furrows her brow and returns attention to the TV in front of her. "I… haven't heard anyhthin' about it. At least not on TV," she replies with her eyes narrowed. "But you're okay, right? What ever's happened in there… you're okay?"
Laughing softly - though there doesn't seem to be a great deal of happiness in the sound - Ygraine leans back to rest against the strut behind her. "Worthless fucking cowardly media parasites. You could see this from the fucking roofs of buildings or from any helicopter over the city…."
Another weak laugh, and a head-shake can be heard. "Oh, just war breaking out. Humanis First waited for Stillwater to send most of their personnel over to Queens to quell the troubles there, then tried to stage a coup on Roosevelt. They blew up the Chapel of Good Hope, which was being used as a dormitory, and they bombed and burned down Eastview apartments. The Suresh Center was bombed and shot up as well, but it's still standing."
"Je-Jesus, what?!" QUinn's voice raises a bit - though it's followed by a squeak and a curse, along with the rustling of fabric against the phone. "Fuckin' hell, I am glad you're alright. What- God, fuckin' Humanis First, of course, not thinkin' about how this makes things worse for everyone else." She clicks her tongue, heav footfalls against the carpet audible to Ygraine. "I- just got outta the shower, an' I need t' put somethin' on before I drop my towel again. Hold on a second?"
That's about how long passes, or it seems like it. Quinn is quick in getting back on the phone. "Are you going t' be okay? I… was going outta town t'day, and I know I can't get int' the dome t' help btu… I want t' help. If there's anythin' I can do, please, let me know."
"Oh, they're… possibly not the worst idiots in here", Ygraine says tiredly, still sounding hoarse. "I might be wrong, but I… what I've seen strongly suggests that we've now got another set of armed vigilante psychos. The Humanis First guys I saw were slaughtered. And their weapons taken. We know that not all of the HF guys were caught, and they've got a very fucking talented bomber, but now we've got a bunch of armed loons with their blood up and a mirror-image desire to purge the world of the people they hold responsible for its problems."
"Ygraine," Quinn starts, sounding very serious for a moment, "I want you to find somewhere safe and secluded. SOmewhere… somewhere people won't look, but that you can get away from. The last thing I need is for you t' get hurt while in a fucking bubble, particularly because of bigoted assholes. Please, find somewhere resembling safe, an' stay there."
"I can't", she croaks. "If… If I hadn't been there last night, a lot more people would've burned to death. In Eastview. I… I was the floor below the firebomb when it went off. Crouched on a bloody windowsill. As long as I could, I kept going in and out, putting people on the wall and getting them away from the flames…. But I… the other places. I couldn't face. Not after that. And not after… the street outside. They… they just butchered the Humanis guys. I found a fucking hand lying in the road. Someone cut someone's hand off."
There's silence for a moment on the other end of the line, before Quinn heaves out a worried sigh. "Please… please be careful, Ygraine." It's almost with a pleading tone that Quinn speaks, her eyes shut as she says the words. "Jesus, a hand. Th-they aren't fuckin' around. I'd feel a lot better if you stayed outta ahrms way, but… just please, be careful. An' if you find the guy that cause this, punch him just square in the balls, please? Or the boob if it's a chick, I don't care." She can't help but laugh a little, something she hopes Ygraine does too.
Well, it's either a sob or a laugh from Ygraine…. "That's… that's something else I'm worried about. Signs are that this was done by someone shooting up with Amp. Or being shot up with it. I find it kinda hard to believe whoever did this intended all this. Seems far more likely that if it was planned, the poor schmuck whose power was used is just a pawn and a tool. A weapon. But I'm worried he'll be lynched if the idiots catch him."
Wincing a bit, Quinn sighs again into the phone. "When I say whoever's responsible, it doesn't have t' be the evo. Particularly if the poor bastards's been used," which isn't something Quinn had previously even considered until Ygraine said something about it just now. "But at the end of the day, all I care about is that you're okay. I mean.. I want everythin' t' be okay on Roosevelt, an' I want I want everyone I know there t' be safe… but you above all else, Ygraine."
Blushing, Ygraine offers another laugh - weak, but there's a good deal other than bitter fatigue in this one. "Thank you", she murmurs. "And I apologise for… putting you through this. Though… so long as I can get out of this, I think it'll be good that I was in here. I… I don't think many of the people I got out would have escaped otherwise. I just… I just hope I can stop this escalating into an all-out war. Round up enough people that we'll get listened to when we say the violence has to end or we're all dead."
"'Course", she admits. "I can hide better than just about anyone else in here. So if it really does all go to Hell in a handbasket I've some ideas for where to try to wait it out. But… as long as I can, I'll keep trying to stop it getting that bad."
"Don't apologise," Quinn immediately replies, the sound of her head shaking against the phone audible. "Absolutly no reason for you to. I'm not the one stuck in a bibble. I feel like I should be apologisin' for not bein' able t' do more. As it is, I feel… bad enough that I'm about t' leave town now." She swallows audibly, a nod that Ygraine can't see given to the phone. "Don't do it alone. You'd just be asin' t' get killed. Get whoeve ryou can' t' help, evo an' non evo alike. BUt when it looks like there's nothin' you ca do, get the fuck outta there." Normally, cut and run isn't something QUinn advocates. But this… this is something different entirely.
"I'm on my way to try to find Jaiden", Ygraine says quietly. "And… a certain puppeteer of our acquaintance as well. There's also a FRONTLINE guy who seems really competent, though he got fairly badly hurt last night and I'm not sure when he'll be on his feet again. There are some people in here I can trust, anyway. And… as the violence last night demonstrates, if you have a group of apparent strength taking a stand and Doing Things, then you'll have others flock to them. I'm hoping we can get enough that we can protect at least part of what's in here."
"FRONTLINE. That's a bit of a relief…" While some may vvier FRONTLINE as a way to put down the Evolved with their own kind, Quinn doesn't - and even if she did, this is a circumstances that changes things more than a bit. "An' Jaso-er, Eric? That… okay. That makes me feel a lot better, Ygraine. Jaiden too, I'm glad he's okay. Didn't really know he was stuck inside, unfortuantely…" Her eyes close s bit, grip tightening on the phone. "I jsut hope that that's enough."
"I hope so, too", Ygraine murmurs quietly. "And I'm sorry, truly I am, for worrying you. I just… I hope that I'm doing good in here. I'm so scared it's not enough, though, but…." She sighs heavily, then quirks a smile at the phone. "I love you, Robyn. Take care of yourself."
"Stop it," Quinn replies more sternly this time. "It sounds like you are. Don't ever doubt yourself, Ygraine. Just… know when it's time t' run." She falls silent for a moment,s miling on the other end. "I love you too. I'll- I'll be with Elanie, but I'll call you on Monday. Probably a time or two before. So be safe, okay? I don't want t' get voice mail when I call."
Another weak laugh. "I'm not always able to get a signal. It depends on where I am", Ygraine warns Quinn. "But I'll try, I promise. And…." She takes a deep breath. "Enjoy yourselves. I miss you. But I'm glad you're not in here with me."
As much as she would like to be able to, Quinn can't bring herself to say "I wish I was". So instead, she just smiles. "I'll keep that in mind, then," she replies. "I miss you. Dearly. Don't think that… just because Elaine's here that I've forgotten about you or anythin', okay? I love you, an' I can't wait t' see you again. Soon," she adds, like this is a sure thing.
Ygraine chuckles softly, inclining her head to the phone. "I certainly hope so, Robyn. And I'll try not to break anything when I grab you for a hug, I promise. Now… I should let you go and field all the phone calls your new rock star status should be generating. Have fun, love."