|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 11:04 am
Quote: On the fourth night of the aurora, it changes from dancing lights to a strange, swirling maelstrom. A cold wind picks up, swirling wildly. Near midnight, the wind is strong enough to topple lighter bushes and knock branches from trees. No major damage has been done, but it is still a storm no one wants to be out in. Suddenly, the colors in the sky seem to explode. A distant echo, like thunder, rolls through the town. The aurora is gone, and so is its strange spell. The only thing that lingers are the small, colorful beads that fall from the sky like hail. They sparkle in all colors of the aurora and are never any larger than a marble. Most of them seem safe, but if you hold too many at one time you are met with the same sleepless affliction the town was suffering under the aurora. Derrick shuffled around slowly, taking a lot longer to actually get what he needed to get done, done. Four days. Four days of no sleep. Derrick wasn’t how he was awake still. It had been a couple of hours since the store had closed, with no customers at all, which was a blessing and a curse. If there were no customers, that meant not money, but if there had been customers, then that would have meant that Derrick would have to try and actually help them, which meant less time trying to fall asleep at the register, trying to make up for all of the sleep he was currently missing due to this strange aurora that didn’t seem to be wanting to go away anytime soon. He had decided to stay out, to see if he could stay awake with all of the piercing cold. Or maybe to see if he sat down he would freeze to death and this would all be over. He sighed, finding himself near a bust stop, standing under the cover, wondering what he should do next, before something caught his eyes. There was a lot of snow swirling around. Too much. And then he felt a huge gust of wind and suddenly, everything was chaotic. Strickenized ride out the storm, it explodes, they go wtf?
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 11:17 am
Lovi long since lost her bubbly personality to days of missed sleep. She was really starting to consider her cousin's offer to go out to the neighboring town and stay with them for a while — see if a change of scenery would help. See if anything would help, really, since Lovi was about as useful as a wagon with two busted wheels at this point. She couldn't even concentrate well enough to write a coherent text message. Or go shopping. Or really do much of anything besides yawn and try to sleep more.
But whenever sleep arrived, it left just as quickly. Lovi didn't understand it. If Derrick was right about the whole thing, then how were they gonna get through this? She felt so tired she could die. And that aurora in the sky? It wasn't going away anytime soon.
At last she decided to take a walk, maybe clear her head, maybe see if any of the pharmacies were open and offered over-the-counter sleep aids or something. Did those exist? She didn't know; she'd find out when she got there. So off she trudged through mudded slurry and new snows alike, her Ugg boots quickly caking over with flakes. It'd be a long walk for certain; she wanted to make sure she visited every pharmacy in a mile radius until she found one that had good ideas. Or wasn't picked over.
She passed one bus stop, two bus stops, three. Someone waited at the third, and that was the first person she'd seen all evening. Lovi paused at the intersection, senses dulled and waiting for the white man to lead her on her way. After a minute, realization struck her — she knew the guy at the bus stop! So backtracked she did, even though her legs felt burdened with lead weights.
"Hey again," she greeted tiredly. "Did you come up with anything for getting rid of that aurora? Or at least sleeping," she muttered with a yawn.
But the winds picked up, blustering and billowing with new snows arcing around them. Lovi huddled into her puffy jacket as best she could, half-hoping Derrick would lend her a little warmth, while the snow picked up terribly. A branch cracked from one of the sidewalk trees and the wind carried it into a nearby car. If she wasn't so tired, she might have felt scared.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 1:34 pm
The wind was really starting to pick up now, but Derrick tiredly smiled at Lovina. "Hey... again." Was that okay? His sleep-deprived brain was making him second-guess everything he was saying. He shook his head slowly, almost feeling like he was going to get it stuck in one position if he did it too quickly. "No... unfortunately not. I've been looking it up, and everyone is asking the same thing. No one can seem to explain it, other than some conspiracy theorists. You would be surprised at how entertaining they can be when you haven't had a few days of sleep." He tried to make her laugh a bit, but while saying this he couldn't even smile himself. Though he had spent the last several, sleepless hours last night wandering around the internet, probably reading way more conspiracy theorist articles than he would have on his own. He yawned. "Still no sleep though." He said, pulling his hood up again when the wind knocked it down. Unfortunately if the wind was that strong, it would mean he had to use at least one of his hands to keep it up the entire time. Suddenly though, the wind stopped, and Derrick, when he could finally register what was going on, stepped from underneath the bus stop to see what was going on. The aurora was starting to look a little weird though, and suddenly, without any warning, the colors in it 'exploded'! Or at least that was the best word that could be used for it. Since suddenly the aurora was there and then it was as if a firework had gone off and colors went everywhere! Derrick blinked, feeling a lot more awake now, and with spots in his eyes. "Wha...?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 3:06 pm
"I dunno, I always thought conspiracy theorists were funny. Who really thinks the whole world is out to get them like that?" All her usual boisterousness left her tone, so she sounded pretty motonous and bland. Like the weather, or it would be like the weather if it hadn't picked up in a bluster all over again.
Lovi sighed dejectedly. "Ugh. This is totally awful. I can't stand it anymore —"
Her voice cut into a shriek at the sound of rippling thunder, and Lovi hunkered down with her palms against her ears. When Derrick hadn't moved, she slowly straightened back up again. He looked skyward. Why was that? Was it something going on with the aurora?
As she looked up, she realized the aurora was completely gone! Finally she'd get her wish and get some rest after this! And, while she watched the sky, colored beads rained down like all those Skittles commercials. Except they looked a lot more attractice than skittles — glittering stones that looked like they contained a part of the aurora struck the snow. "Wow!" She managed with the last of her energy. Stooping, Lovi collected a few in her hand. Doing so left her feeling panicked and continually exhausted, however, and upon remembering Derrick talk of pretty-but-poisonous fish, she dropped them to the ground.
Whew. "Um. I don't know what to say." With a breathless sigh, she collapsed on the bench with Derrick. "Does that mean we can sleep now?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 9:22 am
"They would be funnier if they didn't actually believe what they were saying." Sort of like The Onion. At least most people knew it was a comedic news website. He winced at the loud sound, but otherwise didn't move. Thunder wasn't too bad, at least he wasn't afraid of it. Unfortunately his ears were now ringing a bit. He watched as the colors rained down, but refused to try and touch some of them himself, opting to go back underneath the bus stop. Who knew what those things were made of, but they couldn't be good. He sat back on the bench, suddenly feeling like he was going to suddenly fall asleep. Lovina joined him after a bit. He thought about it. "Well, we can only try it out, right?" Though would it be okay to sleep at a freaking bus stop? "It might be better to get home before we just fall asleep right here though. You want me to walk you home?" And after that, if he could sleep, he would try to leave a message on the store's machine to tell them he wasn't coming in, before he slept the entire day away. Strickenized A post from you or from the both of us and we can call it finished?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2018 10:54 am
Lovi nodded at first, barely there enough to process what Derrick had said. It was only after he commented about sleeping at a bus stop that she snapped awake enough to respond. "Oh my god, yes, I totally don't want to fall asleep at a bus stop! Can you imagine how many creepers would come around? What if something happens to me? And you shouldn't be falling asleep at a bus stop either!" She smacked at his arm playfully, though the concern showed in her voice and features.
"So yes, I'd love if you walked me home." She stood, albeit reluctantly, and held out her arm with the intent of locking elbows with him. "My family's place is super cozy right now, and it's not too far away. They know what's been going on, too — I told them what you said about the aurora — so I'm sure they'll let you stay in the guest bedroom. Making you walk home after we've all been up for so long is just gross, you know? And my mom's pretty lit. You'll love her cooking…" Lovi went on at length, explaining the details of her home down to her family members' idiosyncrasies. They had a large family supported on her father's construction business — all information that Lovi was only too happy to provide.
And provide she would, up to the point where they would reach her front door. If nothing else, talking kept her awake. Talking kept her from not sleeping against Derrick's shoulder while standing up.
Talking would get her home, ultimately, without having to be carried.ssbrosb fin! thank you for your patience!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
