saveourearth | Baby it's cold outside [mingle]

Entry tags:

Baby it's cold outside [mingle]

Date: 23.12.2018-30.12.2018
Characters: Open!
Note: Timeline behind cut at the bottom of the post!

23-24th December
With the schools out for Christmas, and the last few days of Christmas shopping closing in, there really is no escaping it now. Everyone but the best prepared is rushing to finalise the last little bits. Excitement is gathering as the shortest day of the year comes and goes.

The weather reports for Christmas are standard: grey, with light showers and patches of sun. As usual, a high chance of snow was predicted at the beginning of the month, but as the day approaches it has changed back to the more seasonal and typical (if less picturesque) weather: rain. But, with days to go, that suddenly changes again, as the weather reporters talk about the sudden turning of an artic wind, bringing with it sub zero temperatures, and maybe, just maybe, a white Christmas. Temperatures drop to -5c during the day and -10c overnight, particularly cold for this part of the world. On the morning of Christmas Eve, with less than 24 hours notice, the snow begins, falling lightly at first, and then heavily. By lunch time, the south east, including Mossgate, is a foot deep in snow and chaos has spread. Just a covering of snow is enough to cause panic, with infrastructure and transport unequipped to deal with it, and this is unexpected and heavy, and there has been no time to prepare. The trains have given up, promised refunds, and stopped. The busses have also all but stopped, and in Mossgate town centre just one or two an hour are running to the villages to ferry home those still stuck in town. Gatwick airport, which is having it's worst year since the ash clouds in 2010, has also officially given up and closed, redirecting flights to Stansted or Birmingham. Just after midnight, even the motorways close, and the smaller roads are unpassable much earlier. Panicked shoppers, trying to grab supplies for the unexpected weather, are being shooed out of stores early so that coworkers have a chance of getting home before the last transports stop. And it's still snowing. By nightfall there's almost two feet of snow, an almost unprecedented amount, and the news is talking about the possibility of powercuts and disruptions to water supplies. Sure enough, around 8PM, a powercut hits Mossgate and the surrounding area, wiping out the last of the Christmas cheer in the town centre as the festive lights go black – along with everyone's houses.

Christmas Day
Christmas morning opens to fresh, white snow all around, picture post card beautiful, and small showers keep it fresh looking for most of the day no matter how many snow angels, snowmen and igloos are built. That's probably little compensation for those stuck: the news is full of heartfelt stories of the struggle to get home for Christmas, and of locals in towns and cities along the southeast welcoming people stuck into their homes for Christmas. While the power is back on in Mossgate town centre by about midnight, the surrounding areas, including Moss Manor village, are still without power, with the word from the electricity board that it's unlikely to be fixed anytime soon. Neighbours with gas cookers and stove tops suddenly become the most popular people around (but at least with the temperatures outside dealing with food from the fridge and freezer is relatively easy).

In Moss Manor, the church hall, which has both a gas cooker and gas heating, is opened up for those who are unable to stay in their own homes. People are invited to bring along what food they have to share and join in with a community Christmas. The community feeling is only shattered when the power comes back on at 5:20PM, just before the repeat of the Queen's Speech on BBC2 and Strictly Come Dancing on BBC1 start. A short but fierce battle ensues over which to show on the big screen. With moments to go, Pat Marsh puts her foot down and casts the deciding vote for Strictly, promising that she'll show the Queen's Speech from iPlayer directly afterwards.

As if that isn't enough, Mossgate and it's surroundings have one other surprise waiting for them on Christmas morning. Father Christmas has been through the entire council area, and apparently not one single person has been good. Every fire place has been decorated with traditional stockings full of neatly wrapped coal, one stocking for each member of the family. For those who don't have a fireplace, the oven has been selected as a replacement, and the stockings hang merrily from the oven door instead. If it's a prank, it's seen as bad taste, especially in homes with small children, but it's also generally agreed that given the weather it's rather backfired (not that anyone still has a coal fire but still).

25th-30th December
The snow finally stops overnight on Christmas evening/Boxing Day morning, but it remains cold, the temperatures only picking up at the weekend. Between the remaining snow and the ice formed where it melts, transport remains awful, with the connections to the villages particularly bad. Due to the Highspeed line, the trains from Mossgate to London are back up and running by the 27th, but other routes take days to be cleared. Likewise, the motorways are at least traversable by the 26th, but some smaller roads are still unaccessible until the weekend. Food supplies are slow to come through, and when the stores reopen on Boxing Day after Christmas closures, the shelves are immediately stripped bare again, especially of essentials such as bread and milk (although anything and everything is subject to panic buying, up to and including shampoo).

All of this chaos doesn't stop some people going out to the Boxing Day sales, with queues forming outside Next, which has advertised it's traditional early opening times of 6AM, despite the cold and the snow (and the fact that they don't actually manage to open until almost 7 due to lack of staff).

But as the temperatures rise back to a seasonal temperature in the single figures, things start to return to normal in time for the count down to New Years.

Timeline:

24th: Heavy snow starts unexpectedly in the morning
Transport is badly affected
A powercut hits the Mossgate area at around 8PM
Power is returned to Mossgate town by midnight, the villages including Moss Manor won't have power until well into the 25th

25th: Stockings appear overnight for each member of the family in every home containing coal
Moss Manor church hall is opened to the community
Moss Manor and the other villages have no power until 5PM

26th-29th: Panic buying and lack of supplies affects food availability
The snow continues to affect transport

30th: Temperatures return to normal for the time of year (0-10c)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He's been messing around online, wrapping up a few last gifts, and getting off the phone with his mum. They'd had plans to meet up with his mum the next morning, for presents and breakfast and some general family time, but those are going on pause until they're sure the snow will slow enough for the roads to be plowed.

And then the lights go out, accompanied by the solid silence of fridge and computer fans and other electronics going quiet together.]

Ughhhh. Hey, Walter?

[Russell cracks his door open, glances out into the hall.]

Is there any chance you've got too many things on, and it tripped the circuit breaker?

[Slim chance, he knows.]

[Russell just gets this face as a response. And then, eventually:]

No.

[Internally, he's trying to make himself focus on emergency procedures - don't open the fridge except for necessities, though the cold temperatures do help, ways to improvise battery charge-

But he's still floundering, and that's equally clear in how Walter's holding himself.]

[It's a bit dim to make out the features of Walter's face, but his tone says plenty. Russell grimaces sympathetically, and rambles reassuring:]

I guess that was too much to hope... Well, it was bound to happen, with this snow. I'll be right back, then we can take stock.

[He ducks back in long enough to pulls on a jumper, anticipating that the flat's going to get colder and colder, grabs his phone, then heads out into the hall with the screen lighting his way.]

I think there's a proper flashlight in under the sink, better get that so I don't waste the phone too fast... Huh. D'you think the network's still working, with this...? It's more magic than electrical, right?

I'll wait.

[Somehow, his own voice feels too loud now.

Going for layers seems like a good idea, though, so Walter ends up searching for an extra sweater himself.]

It should, but do you really expect anyone who can access it is better off than we are right now?

[Talking might be reassuring, but even magic doesn't seem to be lending solutions this time.]

I'll fetch the flashlight.

They might have heat... And live only a block away.

[Anything further than that wouldn't be worth risking, with the still-falling snow, and not wanting to risk burying a bike or scooter in a snowdrift somewhere.

Russell holds his phone up to faintly light the surroundings as he approaches the kitchen as well, and starts thinking aloud.]

Uhh... We don't want to open the fridge, I remember that much. And something about the pipes, don't want them to freeze with water in. Think we're supposed to set them dripping - and collect the water, so we've got something to drink.

[Walter's tone is doubtful.]

I don't recall any I've met so far to be our neighbors.

[Which, given his memory, probably isn't a good sign.]

I'll handle the pipes, you try the Network?

The network... Honestly, I don't know what to say.

[He'd been mostly musing aloud, rambling thoughts as they passed through to keep himself focused on the task at hand. Which he continues doing, as he glances around the kitchen for signs of other things that need doing.]

'Do you live on this street? Do you have heat? Do you mind visitors, if the power stays out too long?'

I think we're past the point where sharing addresses is a straight-up bad idea... still, might keep it to one-on-one Number contact rather than the 'public' channel.

[All this chatter as he sets the pipes to the way they 'should' be during this power outage.]

Asking after supplies might be a good idea, though; make sure everyone's clear on how to handle emergencies.

I've probably put up than I should have... Who knows how many weirdoes haven't spoken up, yet.

[What are the chances that the mystery bomb-touching guy, who seemingly set off an echo, isn't silently monitoring it... like Benjiro has been? Except, of course, more creepily.

Russell presses on the fridge door, making sure the seal is tight. Feels good. He spares a glance at Walter's work, glances off in the direction of the bathroom, and wonders - are the toilet, sink, and shower fed from the same pipe? Do they need to be set dripping separately? So many questions of home care in winter storms that he's forgetting.]

Let's settle our things first... then I'll copy a list. We'll be able to check it, even if the satellite coverage goes or the batteries die.

[Walter sighs.]

There's no way to keep track of all of us, is there? Apart from the strictly voluntary methods, anyway.

[Standing back up, he shrugs.]

And unless you want to check the hose pipe outside, that should be all we have to keep a direct eye on.

Not unless whatever's causing this has a list somewhere.

[Russell tilts his head, looking around at their dark surroundings, and pulls out his phone again. There's minimal cell coverage, but enough to - eventually - pull up some online checklist. He peers at it, and starts circling the flat to any windows to make sure the blinds are closed on them all.]

Do you have any candles? For light? I've some scented, decorative ones, but if we have any plain ones...

[And isn't that a thought! Walter fights the urge to roll his eyes in dismay.]

I have a few plain ones in my room - I'll go pull them out.

[It's not as if he's had reason to look for them for the past six months...]

Have you checked the thermostat?

Checked it for what, the power's out--

[Russell breaks off his annoyed confusion, as the word 'thermostat' pops out at him on the checklist, and he skims the point.]

...Ah. Right. One minute.

[The last windows can wait, as he heads over to make sure the temperature's set lower for whenever the power comes back on. Not that there's any hope of it returning soon, unless the landlord's seen fit to get a portable generator for the most basic necessities in the building... But that doesn't strike him as likely.]

[At another time, Walter might have rattled off the rest of the list, just to see how Russell would react; he'd had the high points more-or-less memorized even without any help from Echoes for the past five years.

As it is, he only gives a small smirk when it looks like Russell's verified what Walter's talking about, as he goes to pull out those plain candles.]

[Russell pretends not to see that smug expression and finishes getting the thermostat set, then gets the last of the windows covered over to reduce the cold air seeping in.

And with that done, even with Walter contributing plain white candle for light, he heads back to grab one of his scented ones - to add something comforting to the air.]

[While it's not as if Walter has any allergies or smell-sensitivities to worry about, he can't help a suspicious glance once they're both back in the same room.

He'd taken the time to grab another layer of clothes, as well, making himself leave the laptop alone to conserve power.]

Don't suppose you had anything you wanted to talk about while we wait?

[It's a perfectly mundane candle, one with a mild fragrance that adds a little extra warmth to the room. Nothing to be suspicious about.

Russell sets it up away from anything obviously flammable, lights it with another oc the candles, then heads to his ottoman to start pulling out backup blankets.]

The power's out, the night's getting cold, and it's a bit dark... What a perfect time to talk about everything with the echoes, huh.

[Said sarcastically, but. He sighs, and nods, and settles himself on the couch.]

...I was thinking, since Sadie visited yesterday... Did I tell you about the skeleton?

No kidding.

[Is Walter's deadpan response.

The couch, at least, is still comfy, and so he takes a seat at the other end with no complaint.]

The one you found in one of the odd phone's pictures? Or is there a separate one I somehow missed?

[Which, given how Walter's Halloween ended, wouldn't be totally impossible.]

I don't... I don't think it's the same one.

[It might be worth comparing, and Russell considers the idea of going to get that phone.... and dismisses it. With the power outage, and its batteries already being a bit odd, no reason to risk plugging it in and getting overcharged whenever the lights kick back on.]

I had... an echo, a while back. In it, 'I' found a skeleton stretched out on some wooden table, as if it was taking a nap... and it was. Taking a nap. I'd woken it, yelling at it, and it... he... sat up, and joked at me. And, I remember being convinced...

[He hesitates, because this is the detail that's the most unnerving, but he's already said this much.]

...That he was my brother? I think this guy I'm getting memories from... might be some kind of necromancer.

[That scans with the summoning bones thing, right?]

[Oh. Oh.]

Or the both of you being skeletons, by chance?

Though that raises the question of if any necromancers were involved at all...

[Still, Walter looks no less unnerved. This 'source of memories does not look like you' matter seems to be somewhat common among the Numbered, if his own case and Sam Stone's descriptions of a dragon are any hint.]

[It's a leap of intuition that leaves Russell behind, and he's baffled. All his thoughts have been necromancer, like maybe this guy had somehow reanimated his brother's dead remains, or something. The idea there might have been two 'living' skeletons, moving around...]

That leaves the question of... how they were moving, at all! It just looked like bones.

[No skin, no hair, no muscles. Nothing holding the bones together, as they moved.]

And... a bit of light, in the eyesockets. Glowing with... magic, maybe.

You're assuming that, well, 'you' were the animator.

But if magic was involved, why assume it was you? Or him, or possibly even the skeleton you saw?

[He's thinking of the strange magic ritual Sadie said her other self went through, that enabled her to breathe underwater. Magical creatures...]

It's a reasonable conclusion, sure, but it's not the only possibility when we know so little.

Well... Okay, of course I'm assuming that I - that he was. I mean, just look.

[Russell gestures, and a triad of bones appear in the air. They float to the side, hitting the wall, and slide up it until Russell gestures down at them.]

Bones! Animated bones. That's the simplest explanation, isn't it?

[That, and it's a little more flattering to himself, to imagine that this other-him in these transplanted memories is the agent behind what he's seeing... as opposed to, he guesses, some skeletal zombie who goes for tea parties.]

Assuming they're even all memories from the same person. But, adding more characters to this story, when I haven't even seen them...

Not living bones, though.

[And Walter's well aware he's being pedantic, here.]

Still, you're right. Don't count our chickens before they hatch... if they ever hatch.

Er...

[It's a perfectly normal idiom, but it also reminds him of a fleeting meme... And if there's anything Russell does not want to focus on, it's the image of himself as an unhatched skeleton. Or one that's hatching. He clings to the pedantic argument, if only for the sake of something else to talk about.]

No, I don't care if a skeleton is moving or not, it's a skeleton, that's not living. That's as dead as it gets. Even if there's a... a spirit in it.

Baby it's cold outside [mingle]

24th - flatnanigans

Re: 24th - flatnanigans

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[Action] Keywords~

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i don't really want to write a network post right now, so

=P Fair.

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Anywhere else we could take this thread?

They could bundle up and hang out, chat about their mysteries & guesses?

Guess so! (Heh)

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I was half-expecting Russell to make a rhyme with 'dark', there. =P

he's not being that poetical yet, but maybe in time

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any thoughts on another topic? if no, we could let them tangent in peace

peace on earth and goodwill to men? (aka: no)