thisonetime | 1. (video)

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1. (video)

[The feed comes on, but at first, everything's dark.]

The hell is this?

[Then there's a shot of Ellis's gray eye, and then it pans back out to his face. He's covered in a layer of dirt and various bodily fluids, and beyond that, he's tired and bruised in a few places. The stone ceiling of his barracks room can be seen in the background, and Ellis looks quite perplexed.]

Hello? Anybody out there? This funny little book's talkin' about worlds bein' unmade and records bein' kept and whatnot, but it ain't makin' much sense.

Like, how'm I here if everythin's not made anymore? And hell, you can't unmake shit! My friend Keith tried to unmake a car once, cause he thought it was haunted, but all he got was a broken car and a face full'a burnin' oil. He quit messin' with it after that, mostly 'cause he went blind for like six months. Don't know if it was really haunted or nothin', but I guess anything can happen, after the zombies an' shit...

[Ellis just trails off, then looks around the room. With his free hand, he rubs the space between his shoulder and neck and winces. Getting pounded into the ground by a charger sucks, and he's still aching.

Then, he turns back to the camera and smiles, though it's a little uneasy.]

So, hey, m'name's Ellis. I'm lookin' for Nick, Rochelle, and Coach, if any y'all out there.

[And they had to be, didn't they?]

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Well, there's a few places to get yourself cleaned up or rest, if that's what you need.

None that I can think of, but you might find other things here.

[Well he's seen the bed and he's seen the mini-shower in his room, so he'll do that... eventually. But that other bit there? He's curious now.]

Like what? Vampires? Aliens? Hell, is there a werewolf 'round here? 'Cause that'd be bad-ass.

There might be a few aliens, but don't take my word for it. Not too sure about the classic horror monsters though.

I knew it!

[Whoops. Sandrath, you just made Ellis's day.]

I knew it, I knew it! Man, I can't wait to tell Nick! He never should'a doubted me on that one.

So what y'all seen here so far?

I've been told this place has a tendency to mess with you. You weren't here for the Halloween craziness with screaming pumpkins and moving scarecrows.

[Not mentioning he was one of the few who were scarecrows.]

Also with the 'bloody' Valentine's event with live hearts in a jar.

[A small pause.]

Who's this Nick you keep going on about?

Woah, woah, hey, back up--

Hearts in jars?

Yes.

Wh-- you can't just go all yes on me, y'gotta tell me 'bout that one!

Do you think I know how that happened? I woke up to find one beside me, nothing really more to say on that.

Well I ain't askin' how, [except that is part of the question] I'm just askin' what happened after! Did they break outta the jars an' start, like, floppin' around, or didja get really cool autopsy scars from when they pulled heart outta you, or what?

No, none of that, although some people seemed to be real moody for some reason. It was rather lame.

Well, huh. Guess that is kinda boring.

[Ellis is not one to favor safety over excitement anyway.]

Anythin' fun ever happen 'round here? Like, I don't know, somethin' that's not a zombie invasion or a heart-in-a-jar sort'a thing?

Yep.

There was a tournament about a month ago, that was fun.

Shit, wish I could'a been here for that! Would'a been fun, I reckon. Who won?

There wasn't a single winner, but one team. That one happened to be red and I was a part of it.

[There might have been a bit of boasting behind that sentence.]

Aw, I can get behind that, teamwork's pretty awesome.

[He'd have died ten times over if not for his teammates!]

So, what'd y'all win?

[He switches the function to video and holds up the golden booty shorts with 'winner' on the butt.]

These and everyone else got something else. I ended up with a microwave.

[Ellis snorts, then falls into a fit of laughter. Considering his recent beating, it hurts, but that is just too much. This keeps up for about a minute straight, and then Ellis wheezes before the laughter dies off.]

Aha, ow, heh, ow... goddamn, that's good.

[He lets out another chuckle, then wipes his face and sighs.]

What's with the microwave, though, that don't seem like much of a prize. S'it super fancy or somethin'?

[He raises an eyebrow at the sudden fit of laughter and the wheeze.]

Slight issue there?

[There was a slight head tilt before glancing over his shoulder at the microwave.]

From what I can tell, it is a normal brand.

Nah, 'm fine.

[And he is! Just, ouch.]

S'a pity though. Seems like y'oughta get somethin' fancier than a microwave. Like, I dunno, a flat-screen teevee, or a go-cart, or somethin' like that.

Well, there is a few doctors here if you need them.

[He gave a small shrug before leaning back on his chair. A smirk on his lips.]

It doesn't matter since I don't need anything. I doubt any electrical device would last long without something to keep it going.

[HE DON'T NEED NO DOCTORS, he's Mister Invincible!]

Well no, but we got outlets an' shit, don't we?

[And as sure as he sounds about his own immortality, Ellis does not sound so sure about that. He hasn't seen any outlets yet - in fact, he's only seen candles and torches...]

I've been told there's a few but I haven't seen them.

[Ellis sniffs thoughtfully and looks around the room a little more closely.]

So if we ain't got outlets, and we ain't got electricity, what do we got?

What the medieval ages gave us. To most people, its not much.

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