saveourearth | We shall rebuild [mingle]

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We shall rebuild [mingle]

Date: 2/1/19
Characters: Open

With the festive season well and truly over, and most wallets smarting from the festivities, Mossgate has, as usual, been extremely quiet through January. The last of the sales are still lingering in the stores, hoping to entice any shoppers who aren't desperately holding out for that first January pay day at the end of the month, and the seafront is empty of all but the hardiest dog walkers, wrapped up against the cold winter winds. At least the evenings are finally starting to ever so slowly get a little bit lighter, but that's small compensation for the otherwise grey and dull month.

It seems as though it will drag on this way all the way through to February, but on the afternoon of the 20th Mossgate is shaken awake. Literally. A 4.5 magnitude earthquake hits the town just after 3:15PM, with the epicentre located at the mouth of the Moss River. The shaking lasts for a couple of seconds, and sends a couple of chimney stacks flying, but there's very little real damage done around town. As earthquakes are extremely rare in the UK, most people are unsure what is happening, and most report it to the media as assuming that a bomb had gone off, or a lorry gone past, or something similar.

Almost immediately the internet lights up with the usual British response to such events, and it's headline news on the local papers and TV for the next few days. Initially they cover the event and the clean up, and then the social media response to it.

However, those who have numbers will not just be subjected to the initial scare and then the following ridicule. As the shaking fades, an unsettled feeling starts to rise; subtly at first, but increasing as the days go by. They are left feeling anxious and uneasy, but also curious and excited. In particular, they will find themselves drawn to the earthquake and the information about it, perhaps checking the news or social media about it more than they usually would, or easier to draw into conversations about it. Whatever they can find just doesn't seem to be enough, and they're drawn to discuss it and the other unusual events (such as the appearance of the poppies in November, or the strange gifts over Christmas) of late more, and to find out more about them. It can be ignored, but as any niggling annoyance it won't disappear if it is.

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Sadie blushes alongside Ben as Walter manages to sneak up on them both, but she greats Walter with her usual smile and disengages with Ben to go and give Walter a big hug.

"Thank you Walter! It's a relief to know that things are safe to go, and your help will be invaluable for this!" She takes the harness from Ben, "Let's do this!"

Internally cursing himself for ruining the moment (why are these two teens so cute? No one could truly explain it, he thinks), Walter deposits the supplies by the rest of Ben's things after returning Sadie's hug.

"Never hurts to tackle these things as a team," he points out.

"Did you want two anchor points, or should I just stay on watch?"

Moments have their place, and it had been shared. Now is time for work to get closer to answers.

Harness taken to Sadie to give to her without the lines attached yet, he’ll wait for her to pull it on and cinch it snug along the sections. Similarly, he’ll step through the leg holes of his belt and tighten it firmly against his hips. Once set, he checks her then begins connecting the main line, the lateral line, and finally the bobber line alone at her shoulder while he speaks to answer Walter, “It is quite effective.”

“If you could mind the lateral line? You don’t need to anchor anything, just make certain it doesn’t snag or slide off into the water, especially in her first dive. Sadie will start at the point where we connect and float her way down river with me slowly walking up the bank so she can do an initial scan. Once she’s at the end, then you can pull to get her ashore so she can warm up and we can review the footage before she goes back to any specific site with the weights at her ankles.”

Edited 2019-02-09 22:05 (UTC)

The harness is easy to get on herself, although it felt odd over the thermal wetsuit, and when Ben checks only one of the straps needs a little extra tightening. The Go-Pro gets strapped on next and then Sadie is ready to attach herself and get in the water.

"Hopefully those two times will be all it takes, but we've allowed for a total of four dives today. If we don't get anything in those four then we'll have to try again at a later date."

She goes and stands next to the line, "I'm ready, let's do this!"

Walter nods, eyeing the indicated line carefully.

"Considering it may not be anything easily obvious without, say, digging, a maximum of four trips is a fair plan."

He'll keep close monitoring on that line as Sadie gets ready to dive.

Edited 2019-02-10 02:38 (UTC)

It may be unnecessary, but he makes the slight adjustment to her harness without delay when he spots it, then assists with the GoPro as needed to be certain it will not fail to record. Having linked her harness and his belt along with the other lines, Benjiro gives Sadie a final once over with his mental checklist. Swim cap, gloves, footwear, and diving mask accounted for, he looks to the simple set up at the end of the river mouth prepared to receive a wet Sadie and warm her. He had checked the reported water temperature before leaving her house, and roughly estimated safe limits for dive times with her help, relying on her perception of her tolerance for the cold to adjust. The initial sweep would be key and could not be rushed, but starting dry and warm allows this to be a longer dive, and his position acting as her counterweight will limit her fatigue.

A nod of agreement given to Sadie outlining the overall plan, Benjiro hopes it will not come down to blind searches under mud. There is a slight pause as Benjiro looks to Walter expectantly, but with nothing further to discuss, he follows Sadie's lead.

With a passing touch to her gloved hand, Benjiro separates from Sadie and Walter to walk to the end of the river while she positions up it and Walter remains between. Slack in the line already exists to allow for the movement out from this side of the shore before he has to contribute, however, Benjiro finds it hard not to brace with muscles in his legs twitching in anticipation. He calls up the distance, "Ready! Go for it, Sadie!"

Edited 2019-02-10 02:39 (UTC)

Sadie is more than happy to let Ben take as long as he needs to check her harnesses, smiling at him as he adjusts the harness and the Go Pro. "I couldn't be in better hands." Her words quiet as he pulls away, just between the two of them as Walter positions himself.

Making her way to the start point, she braces herself, "Going in!" She calls down to him, and steps into the water, hissing loudly, "FUCK this is going to be chilly! In I go!" She steps out further and dives under, fighting back the instinctual need to hold her breath and forces herself to breathe like normal, grimacing at the chill.

Time to search.

Sadie won't find anything interesting for a while... until she circles closer to the bottom of the mouth of the river, coming near the centre of the echo boundary and skimming along the murky floor of the river, just where the sea begins.

It's not something she hears. It's something that sounds in her bones, swells and diminishes in her very physical being. A kind of... rumble, a vibration perhaps. A bit like the faintest of pressures in her chest, and there is a strong urge to align her breathing to the rhythm of the sensation.

Which would probably be a bad idea because it is a very, very slow swelling and diminishing. Not even in her sleep should Sadie breathe that slowly.

The feeling of being in the river was starting to edge on uncomfortable; between the still unsettling feeling of breathing underwater, and the slow chill from the winter tempurature river, Sadie was rather hoping she'd find something soon. Luck is clearly on her side as the in and out vibrations hit as the water starts to become brackish.

Sadie freezes, eyes wide behind her diving mask as the thrumming builds and then releases, and it takes her a moment to realise that her breathing is subconsciously trying to match it. Shaking her head to clear it of the dangerous compulsion, she pulls herself away and kicks towards the surface,breaching with a gasp.

"I'VE FOUND SOMETHING! PULL ME BACK IN!"

Walter, as expected, is the first to react by sheer speed-of-reflex alone, and starts pulling her in.

Questions can wait until she's back on the ground - and drying off.

Well, except for one:

"Are you all right?"

Watching over his shoulder as Sadie enters the water, he cannot help but chuckle once at her exclamation over the cold as she encounters it. She wades out and the slack follows, while Benjiro remains stationary until the line becomes taut. By then, she’s nearly under the water, and he begins the timer in his head to track the seconds spent in the frigid river. Then she slips beneath entirely.

Anchored at the back side of his belt to play to his greater strength, Benjiro takes a step backwards every so many seconds to ease her in the same direction that the river flows. Her search pattern will be more of a swinging curve than linear, but it still allows her to make a thorough sweep, and while she seeks signs in the river, he keeps a close eye on the bobber to track her progress.

As he nears the limit where the anchor holds the pulley angling them, and similarly the time allotted for her first dive, Benjiro notices the bobber wash further suddenly as Sadie rises to the surface to call to return. Her words hasten him straight into action, and he uncouples the line from his belt only to lock the line down by hooking the carabiner to her side of the line. Walter is already pulling her sideways against the current to return to shore, and Benjiro runs back down the length of the river edge to join them. Rather than assisting Walter with Sadie nearly out of the water when he arrives, he snatches the mylar blanket and unfolds it as he meets Sadie at the water’s edge to throw it around her shoulders to block the wind and trap her remaining body heat. His arm follows the blanket around her shoulders, not hesitating to tuck her in close to his side and usher her towards the waiting blanket on the ground.

Sadie waves back again, shouting across to the shore once more, "I'm alright! Bit chilly."

Getting into shore is so much easier than it would have been without Walter and the lines Ben had designed, especially as the river mouth is partially tidal,and she grins at Walter as she stands up as she closes in on the bank.

Ben swooping in with the towel like a knight is shining armour couldn't have been timed more perfect as the exposure to the wind and the tempurature difference set her teeth chattering. Happily letting Ben usher her to the blanket to fuss, she frees her hands just enough to pop her diving mask up fully.

"It's at the centre of the river mouth!" She tells them both, the words rushing out in an excited tumble, as she leans into gushing about what she felt. "Nothing visual this time, but! You know the thudding, heartbeat feeling of the Echoes?! It was like that except it started like the thrumming feeling that you get when standing next to a massive speaker or from old, huge CRT TV's! And then I realised that it felt like breathing and I'd been trying to match it and it's quite slow, like slower than sleeping sort of breathing!"

As she's verbal vomiting at the two, her hands have been tugging about the blanket as she starts gesticulating in her excitement.

While it's reassuring to hear that Sadie's alright, once she comes back to shore and starts explaining further Walter can feel a chill settle along his spine.

'You know the thudding, heartbeat feeling of the Echoes?!' Why yes, he knows that very well, and it's not all that comforting despite that one odd experience approaching that of a comforting embrace...

"It's a good thing you snapped out of it, then," he says, moving to clear any remaining line from near the riverbank for safety's sake. Once that's done, he comes back to provide an additional source of warmth.

"And does that mean we can safely conclude that whatever's the cause of the Echoes is tied to the water of Moss River?"

Her transition back to the shoreline has provided slack in the main line, so there’s no need to delay fighting with the links thanks to Walter minding the ropes to reach the warming station they had set. Once Sadie is seated on the waiting blanket, Benjiro kneels down beside her where he can block some of the wind. With the opening made by her removal of her diving mask, Benjiro will use the opportunity to stop the recording of the GoPro to limit stress on the storage or battery. Then he focuses entirely on listening to her recounting the experience with one arm encircling her shoulders.

Mild surprise raises his brows before they lower in contemplation as he considers the situation with one hand brought up to his chin. That she was responding to the rhythmic pulsing by trying to match her breathing raises concern that she could pass out should the influence strengthen for any reason. At the same time, that she found even perceptual evidence of something in the river mouth is promising.

Benjiro replies to Walter’s question without hesitation, “Or beneath the water. Either position should be maintained as a working hypothesis until it actually triggers Echoes reliably.” A thought that makes him visibly flinch with discomfort. Shaking his head to clear the notion before he can imagine too much, he turns to Sadie to ask her a set of questions with his hand dropping to gesture, “How close were you to the bottom? Was it centered out where you surfaced? And…do you think it’s worth going back to?” He may not be keen on her returning to it, but they want answers.

"Absolutely worth going back in." Her opinion immediate and steeled by determination. There was something down there, a new clue or even some answers. Neither of them will be able to talk her out of going back in, especially as she still has a few more dives left.

"It didn't feel like the water itself, if it was the water I don't think the location of it would be as clear cut because of the way water moves and the interaction between running freshwater and the tidally-influenced saltwater makes the area more chaotic than other places along the course." She explains her thinking to Walter. "I think it's either on or in the river bed, I was about a foot and a half off of the bottom so I need to get a closer look."

She points back at the river, "I breeched almost directly above it. Its at the dead centre of the river mouth, which is where you and Sam figured the epicentre of the bubble to be Walter!"

Edited 2019-02-13 17:32 (UTC)

Sadie.

If it wasn't for the fact that he does trust her at this point, Walter would be demanding she not do it. The problem is, there's really no one else who can get a good look down there - there aren't any professional divers, in or out of their Numbered group, who would be safe down there.

"At least the math is right," Walter says, wryness creeping into his voice. It's not enough to fight off the cold, though.

"How long should we risk spacing these out?" he hazarded to ask. On the one hand, it'd be better to get this done soon and get out of there before any hypothetical person sneaking on them could catch up - on the other, too much exposure too quickly, both to the water and to the source of the Echoes, could be bad for Sadie's health.

The mention of needing to get a closer look implies the use of the ankle weights with her next dive. Wading out with the ankle weights will require significant effort and time to maneuver to the position, and with how cold she has become from the first dive, time is critical. With that in consideration, he realizes he might be able to give her something of a head start in order to reduce exposure or increase her operational time at the center of the river mouth.

Benjiro follows where Sadie points visually, and using the length of the main line and the tracks at the edge of the water he runs a rough calculation of angles and distance in his head. He knows where to aim.

When Walter asks regarding the time between dives, Benjiro nods his head side to side slightly as he hesitates to nail down an exact window, “Given that Sadie has one spot to investigate and not multiple areas to turn over, we can limit the total number of dives she’ll undergo and stretch the coming dive with the assumption she’ll be done with only one more. If we do that, she needs to fully recover before entering again. When she feels warm and her fingernail beds are skin colored, I think she’ll be safe to return.”

“And when you do…” he begins with obvious uncertainty as he looks directly to Sadie for her consent, “If you think the pathway is clear to that center position with no large rocks jutting out of the river bed, then I think I can get you there faster. The main line needs to be locked down more securely, but since I won’t need to adjust your position along the length of the river mouth and can leave the main line as a safety, I’ll stay here to help. Which means, if you’re up for it, I can throw you out over the water some of the distance using the harness.”

Edited (Grammar) 2019-02-14 00:16 (UTC)

"The wonders of maths will never cease." She returns to Walter teasingly, looking even more excited and positive about the situation now that she is incrementally warming up.

Nodding in agreement with Ben, she looks up at him as he addresses her directly. Throw her? She glances back out at the river, figuring how long it would take to walk compared to being chucked...

Her gaze snaps back to Ben's, her tone serious as she responds, "It's clear. Do it. Yeet me for Science." This seriousness is completely ruined by the sheer size of her excited grin at the prospect of being lobbed into the river by her boyfriend.

First Ben suggests the plan... and then Sadie agrees to it.

The pained look on Walter's face is quite something.

"First of all, how dare you use 'yeet' and science in the same sentence; my sister would approve."

Shaking his head, putting first one then both hands to his head, he continues, "Secondly - as long as you're certain you won't get hurt!"

He knows Ben wouldn't suggest it if it had too much risk behind it, but the meme-tacular imagery is brutal all the same.

The consideration from Sadie is brief, and her approval follows. Immediately Benjiro breaks into a smile of his own with a sense of anticipation for the chance to put his altered muscles to work in a new way that benefits the effort to find answers. If her phrasing were not enough to nudge him towards laughter, then the look he spots on Walter is a shove right into it. Suppressing the laughter behind a hand as well as he can, he grins wide as their friend puts his head in his hands.

“Sorry, Walter. With the way I plan to toss her, risk of injury is exceedingly low given the depth. Especially if she cannonballs in, which should also shield the GoPro appropriately.”

Eager to make preparations, Benjiro shuffles his way out of the heavy coat his aunts had given him for the holiday and wraps that over Sadie on top of her mylar blanket to add to her warmth. Standing after leaning over to kiss Sadie on the cheek, he’ll head up the river bank at a jog to make the main line totally secure with removal of the pulley mechanism for a solid attachment instead.

Edited 2019-02-14 19:28 (UTC)

Sadie doesn't quite have the same self control as Ben and, in the face of their joint enthusiasm for the idea, Walter's exasperation sends her spiralling into a fit of giggles.

"Yeet is a perfectly valid scientific word to denote style and intensity of throw." She reigns in the giggles long enough to be serious with Walter, "It's pretty clear of rocks and I trust Ben. And it will be fun."

Mrrping happily as Ben pecks her on the cheek, Sadie spurs herself into action, ankle weights nabbed and attached before burrowing back into the blanket and the coat. "I am so jazzed about actually finding a hint of some answers."

Edited 2019-02-14 21:07 (UTC)

Walter pulls his hands slowly down his face - incidentally hiding the smile growing there despite his best wishes.

At least they're not commencing the yeeting right now.

"Answers would be useful," he settles on responding, and waits for Ben to return before touching the lines any more.

Anchor appropriately adjusted and checked twice for stability, Benjiro scans the surface of the river as he walks back to Sadie and Walter. Looking for any notable shifts in the currents that might hint to a sharp incline of stone beneath, he feels reassured when he sees no implicating patterns of motion around where he intends for Sadie to land.

When he returns, he sits beside Sadie and puts his focus to trying to ward off the effects of the pulse she encountered briefly before. Conscious will may be her best defense, as the cold will inhibit the effectiveness of tactile cues after a point, and keeping a song in her head with a fast pace is the best he suggests.

Only after Sadie has thoroughly recovered from her first dive with both hands checked, less at the nail bed due to the thickness of her claws and more from physical contact to gauge the warmth, does Benjiro stand up. He dons his coat after Sadie removes it to keep it warm for when she returns from the second dive. Rather than moving to the edge of the water, he’ll start back a few meters and motion Sadie to join him there. Looking to Walter, he checks, “Do you mind keeping a hold of the end of the lateral line? There should be more than enough length, but I don’t want to lose it with the momentum.”

As soon as Sadie is with him, he’ll check her harness then assist with turning on the GoPro as he speaks to her, “I’ll do my best to angle you upright before you go in, and avoid giving too much height in the throw, but are you okay with hanging facing down curled up?” Arms and legs tucked in from the start should keep her safe.

Sadie is practically vibrating with excitement by the time Ben deems her warm enough to re-enter the river, hopping up and almost skipping after him.

"I can absolutely manage that!" Going onto tip-toes she kisses his cheek, ready and raring to go.

Given one final confirmation from Sadie and a signal from Walter that everything is in order, Benjiro takes a hold of her harness as she sits on the ground. He lifts carefully to turn her forward so that he has her held at the side of his leg with each hand on a different strap. A count down from three, and he bursts forward as though to sprint into the water while twisting to move Sadie behind him. He stops short at the edge of the water, and burying his heels into the ground, he swings her around forward and out over the water in a low arc with a slight rotation to turn her upright. Playtime between the teenagers at the junkyard pays off as she sails a good seven meters over the water.

Claws digging into her harness as she remains curled, adrenaline rushes through her as her stomach rises and falls as she soars back out into the river, excited laugh-screams like those often heard at a theme park rollarcoaster drop ring loudly before she hits the water. The cold is a shock just like the last time but the ankle weights do their job and Sadie is quickly at the bottom of the river. The pull and flow of the river is a perfect guide, Sadie walking perpendicular to the flow and it takes a few minutes before she starts to feel that thrumming and the near-unconcious urge to slow her breathing. A quick pinch on the arm to stop herself from doing so, Sadie hunker down to the river bed as she closes in on the point she was before.

She desperately hoped there would be some answers here for them. They needed answers.

Edited 2019-02-15 18:41 (UTC)

Walter shakes his head. "I don't mind, no."

Here's hoping it doesn't fly through his hands, as this would be a really bad time for rope burn.

If he'd known in advance they'd been essentially training for something like this, well... he would certainly have wanted to say something about it!

It is far more likely, however, that he'd have been utterly wordless in his exasperation.

He tenses, watching Sadie soar into the water, keeping a steady hold on the line like Ben requested.

They really need answers. But what is the cost?

Walter was the real ninja all along

Well, my choral&drama teachers in high school thought *I* could be a ninja...

Similar story here. Invisible in crowds.

I am too dyspraxic to be stealthy XD

We can cover for you! Just say the word~ Or make the gesture, as case may be.

Or be your ninja operatives! >3

Attempt to complete tag No.3

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One can imagine 'Mad World' playing in the distance for this tag only.

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Moving right along...

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Well, my choral&drama teachers in high school thought I could be a ninja...