Act 2 Scene 1b - Seven of one thing half a dozen of another [Broken Memories]

[nobble]

[for Mark, Aaron and Jessica]


You wake up....


Your head feels like it is full of cotton wool.


The light burns as you open your eyes.


Looking around the room you find yourselves sitting in comfy arm chairs, you can see the other people who were sitting around your table and the waitress are also sitting in similar arm chairs. Though the waitress seems to be stil alseep.


There is wood panelling on the walls and a faded patterned carpet on the floor. A fire is roaring in the fireplace all of the chairs face and there are three ceramic flying ducks affixed to the wall above it. The room is lighted from warm sunlight that streams in from a large window. The only other exit from the room is a closed door, it is painted white, matching the walls.

 

[cyl]

***


Are they any improvised weapons that can be used ? like if there's a fireplace there might be a brand...


Feeling comfy doesn't stop Mark from being paranoid :wink:

 

[MisterComedy]

"This is getting tiresome." Aaron say shielding his eyes as he surveys the room. "Mark. Jessica. Are you both alright?"

 

[cyl]

Mark


Mark awakens in a second:


"Yes, I am... what happened ?"


His eyes go through the room searching for possible exits and weapons, even the ceramic ducks would do, or other abnormalities in the room.


When he feels confident enough he gets up and talk to the other people in the room.


"Okay, I am already sick of this, it's got to stop right now... who are you people ? Where are we, and why ?!"

 

[nobble]

There is both a coal scuttle and shovel by the fire, as well as a four piece fire poker set, poker, brush, tongs and pan each hanging from a four armed brass stand. Beside the poker set there is what appears to be a bongo drum. In the rest of the room there is a stack of occansional tables, a larger table with an oil lamp in the centre of it and a stack of books stand to its left. To its right is a strange set of cubes with numbers and letters on them, there are six of them and they spell out.


SUN DAY


3 1


NOV


Apart for these few items the room is bare.

 

[Arynne]

Jessica's eyes narrow. "I didn't tell you my name, let alone give you permission to use it," she says coldly.

 

[nobble]

"Unhnnnn..."


The waitress groans.


"Oh take your thumb out of your ass woman." She sits up in the chair she sits in.


"If anyone got any cause of complaint its me. Them sleepers were after you people. Teach me for getting involved, now lighten up and stop snapping at everyone."

 

[cyl]

Mark


Nodding at the waitress's comment with a smile


"Indeed, now's not the time to be bitchy about anything...


Or is it ?!


Awakes... Sleepers, our rooms the cafe, now here... When is this going to start making some ounce of goddamn sense ?"


Mark says, full of anger throwing a punch near the fireplace.


He grabs a long firm iron tool, and swings it to the back of his arm like he would have if he was trying to hide a shiv, and starts looking at the pile of books and reading their titles and summaries, memorizing precisely the name of their authors.


Then he stops looking at the cubes... 31 NOV... then he realizes.


Searching through his memories and pockets (hoping that everything is still there) he sees his ID:


Date of Birth: 29/11/3190


He frowns...


"This is getting better by the minute..." he says adressing to the waitress "what's today's date ? what year ?"

 

[nobble]

The books are:


A Thousand Plateaus by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattar


The End Of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas


The Book With No Name by Anonymous


The Order of Things : Archaeology of the Human Sciences by Michel Foucault


The Ladies of Grace Adieu: and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke


Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs


Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny


"Its the third day of Descending Fire" The Waitress comments from her chair. "Sleepers are trouble. I don't know much about them, my husband may know more. As for awakes it is the general term used for people rereleased into the city at the lowest level, be they crims or just disgraced others, high family or whatever. The only other awakes I know of to wake with no memories apart from that man last night, Fin, is my husband and his friends, John, Jack and Andrew. He told Fin last night they he, Fin, was different to my husband and his friends. That he was basically human with a lot of power in him. So I can only guess you are the same, though what you are I do not know. My husband or this Fin and his friends may be able to answer more."

 

[cyl]

Mark


Still frowning:


"3rd day of Descending Fire hmm ? What about about this 31 NOV, what's the link ?


Where are we now ? Did those sleepers take us to their camp ? How soon can we meet with these people you just spoke of ?" he says looking at the books.


He grabs one of them, the Order of Things thinking Might be useful to learn more about here later, and doesn't wait for the waitress's answer to go straight to the door trying to open it, without making it creek.

 

[MisterComedy]

"Forgive me then but I could not help but see your ID back in the room. What should I call you if not the name we know?" Aaron remarks smiling to soften any sting in his words.


With quiet deliberateness he walked the room checking the books and people alike while listening to Mark and the waitress speak. Sleepers, awakes, names, and dates flittered across his hearing and were dutifully locked away inside for future use.


"Miss?" He says hardly looking up from the Book With No Name. "Should we continue to refer to you as our waitress or in vague non-descriptive terms? I'll go first. My name is Aaron - at least that's the one they gave me - and it is my very great honor to make your aquaintance."

 

[nobble]

"Nov 31 if I remember correctly stands for November, a month from where my husband is from, and his birthday. Though he did say November only had 30 days."


She shrugs before taking her glasses off and breathing on them and wiping them clean with her dress.


"I don't know where we are."


The door opens, without a creak, out into a hallway with 3 more doors, one in the same wall as the door Mark stands in,though a little to the left, and one at either end of the hallway. All but one of the doors are the same white gloss painted, the one at the end of the hall to the left is red gloss painted with a stained glass patterned round window in its middle at roughly head height. There is also a stair opposite the door Mark opened, it runs left to right. The hallway itself is carpetted with the same carpet that is in the room you awoke in. Though this carpet is a strip running down the centre of the hall leaving a deep brown wooden parquet floor visible. A grandfather clock tick tocks immediately to Mark's left and a small table with a telephone sits to the left of the red door.


The waitress smiles at Aaron as he introduces himself. "Oh sorry, yes my name is Sinastra Black. Or it should be Close really, but no matter. It is a pleasure to meet you." She holds her hand out.

 

[Arynne]

Jessica


"Look, I don't know who any of you are, OK? I just want all this to be over. I want to...to wake up, and find things are normal."

 

[cyl]

Mark


Apparently annoyed at Jessica's comment:


"Look, woman, stop complaining, how would you know the difference between normal and right now, anyway, you don't even remember who you are !"

 

[Arynne]

"Normal?!?" Jessica's voice rises an octave. "One thing I know for certain: this is not normal! And you've got a pair of brass ones, telling me I don't know who I am!"


Qute suddenly, her face crumples inwards like a soggy paper mask, and she begins to cry, at first quietly, and then with great wracking sobs.


There is something about those noisy tears that causes even the most compassionate person to hesitate; they are both frightening and more than a little repulsive.

 

[nobble]

Sinastra's eyes rise to the ceiling as Jessica starts to cry. She then takes off her white apron and passes it to Jessica.


"Dry your eyes. Look you don't know who you all were, but that don't invalidate who you are."

 

[cyl]

Mark


Mark chuckles ironically and whispers while looking at his surroundings


"Yeah we couldn't invalidate that you're annoying even if we wanted to anyway..."


Then he sits back on the armchair he woke up into and starts reading the book thinking outloud:


"Well if they wanted to harm us they would've done it by now, so whoever owns this place, he's not a threat right now, better wait to know more... I say patience..."

 

[nobble]

"Well you can sit and wait for the world to come to you, but I'm going to see where we are." With that Sinastra reopens the door and steps through.

 

[nobble]

The door closes and foot steps can be heard moving odwn ther corridor. The room falls silent as the three remaining, Aaron, Mark and Jessica are left alone.

 

[cyl]

Mark


"Damn, I don't know if I hated it when people did that... but I know I do now..."


He gets up, took his improvised weapon and followed Sinastra.


"So I take it you've been helping awakes like us for some time now... but this is the first time that you've been dragged so far with them... this must not be an upgrade of your situation hmm ?"

 

[nobble]

Sinastra is opening what appears to be the front door when Mark catches her up.


"Well if you mean by helping that I have married one, am and was friends with two others and have met one other with similar situation to yours, apart for those that I have fed when they have been customers in my Cafe, I guess I have helped them." she throws Mark a wry smile.


"As for upgrade, no I don't like it, I'm a cook and I can imagine my husband is going out of his mind. Which to be honest is bad for everyone."

 

[nobble]

-----------


oops coyote wrong thread...

 

[cyl]

Mark


"Why, your husband is a violent man ?" asked Mark.

 

[nobble]

"Violent.. no far from it. Brian's the Nurse at the hospital come Health Centre in Sector 5. Its just that he's very powerful, and the more agitated he gets, the more powerful he becomes."


The front door Sinastra has opened reveals that the house they stand in is part of a beach front terrace. A small pavement sits a the bottom of a simple set of brick steps, the road beyond is tarmaced and has a single dotted white line in its center next to the rood is another pavement and beyond that a simple set of single bar metal railings. The beach itself starts just beyond the railings and sand has creeped beyond the beach itself to pile here and there on the road and in its gutter. Street lamps line the road, that can be seen to wind off to the left around the bay and to a small town that you seem to be in the outskirts of at the moment. There is no other people visible as you look across the beach and town.

 

[cyl]

Mark


The man seemed disappointed...


"Hmm... I suppose we are a long way from your café now aren't we ?


What should we do now ? Leave the house and go back to the city or search the house for more information on what has happened to us... ?"