curriculum_fictae | [PSL] time travel, time travel

[ Martin had always known that Lukas would kill him in the end. If not along the way, then surely at the end, once he'd gotten what he wanted out of Martin, whatever that turned out to be. When the Lonely rose up to swallow him, he'd accepted his impending death with ... what?

What did he have left, really? Numbness, mostly. A hallucination of Jon in the Lonely, looking for him, but - but that was impossible, ridiculous. His mind playing cruel tricks. He settled himself down in the frigid surf, knees drawn up close to his chest, unshed tears frozen to his cheeks and lashes.

And then. A door. A door that shouldn't exist, that couldn't exist. That he shouldn't take at all. The Lonely was terrible, yes, but it was quiet, and it was peaceful. Martin was aligned enough with it by now to very nearly enjoy it, in a strange and terrible way. The Spiral would be infinitely worse than this quiet beach.

But ... it was hope, too. In a strange way. Hope enough that Martin found himself turning the door handle and stepping through, leaving the false comfort of the Lonely behind him.

The transition was unpleasant. Long. But Martin couldn't remember it after; he only remembered stumbling out through the door of a supply closet somewhere deep in the Archives, blinking up at the dim bulbs that pretended to be sufficient. What time was it? Had he escaped? Where were Lukas and Elias now?

And where was Jon? ]

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From:

kayakking

Yeah. Me too.

...

All and all, I don't regret it.

From:

eyediot

...Good. That's... Good.

I think... [He's starting to get lightheaded going into tipsy now, sounding almost wistful.]

I think me and Georgie are almost back to friends.

From:

kayakking

From What the Ghost, right?

[There's a bit of a fond smile there.]

Watched a few of those... Now there's someone who seems to keep a level head. Or is that all an act?

From:

eyediot

Not an act.

[Oh, his smile is proud. For the problems he and Georgie had that led to their breakup, he's still proud to know her.]

That's just her. She's... always been good at that. Level head even in the worst situations.

From:

kayakking

Ehhh, should introduce me someday.

From:

eyediot

She's not your type.

From:

kayakking

[He presses his hand against his chest as if struck.]

I am wounded. Mortally. My intentions are pure.

From:

eyediot

I'm sure.

[The way he watches Tim from over his glass as he sips says otherwise.]

From:

kayakking

[No he can't help it.]

But, you know, if it works out that way...

From:

eyediot

I doubt it would.

[He trusts Georgie to have much better judgement. Tim's his friend. No one would date one of Jon's friends.]

From:

kayakking

You're just scared we'll exchange stories.

From:

eyediot

No--

[Okay he wasn't before but now he is.]

It doesn't matter anyway. [It's not what he came here about!!] What matters is treating this bourbon with the proper respect you didn't show the whiskey the other night.

From:

kayakking

Now that, is an ill that I am prepared to remedy.

... Don't tell me you poured the rest down the drain.

From:

eyediot

Hm? Oh, no. I had a glass and Algric ...

[Oh god he'd had the other three, hadn't he? Lord.]

Slept quite soundly, apparently.

From:

kayakking

[He swallows the urge to ask if that was how Jon found out. But GOD he wants to know.]

Yeahhh, that uh, that'd do it. Not going to lie, he looked like he needed it even before we got into the heavy stuff.

From:

eyediot

I think we all did, really. Probably should've prepared for everyone to sleep there. Or just done it here.

[Your house looks big enough, Tim.]

From:

kayakking

[Yeah, it uh. Sure is.]

God, honestly? I still do need it. Shit. Most of it doesn't even still seem real.

From:

eyediot

I know. It's... Who could have known?

[Elias.

And Jon, if he'd not tried to run and ignore what happened to him as a child.]

From:

kayakking

[Tim. But we're not going there.

Yeah. He's just pouring Jon another here.]

I mean, I guess it's a little on the nose to expect an occult research institute to be an evil horror monster itself. If only genre fiction had gotten us a bit more ready.

[Because humor is way easier than actually looking at the daunting problem of what next.]

From:

eyediot

Yes, if only.

[And if only Jon actually cared about horror fiction, he might have been a little more knowledgeable.

He finally moves his empty glass closer to the bottle. Ready for another glass now.]

I suppose there were warning signs. Not that I'd have recognized them.

From:

kayakking

[Yeah. It's a healthy splash for him.]

Uh huh. The first of which was the promotion in the first place.

From:

eyediot

What-- [Rude!!] I, I work hard! I'm not bad at it!

From:

kayakking

[TAKING A SIP.]

From:

eyediot

Plus I'm the only one that figured out Gertrude's filing system! [That's just called 'job security'.] And no one else seems to have any problem with it.

From:

kayakking

[Oh no, he's not throwing Martin under that bus just to prove a point. It can be just him that has a problem.]

You do realize that being good at research - which you are. And management - which you are not. Are totally different skills?