2009-10-29: Out of the Silent Planet

Starring:

Matt_V4icon.pngPortia_V4icon.png

Date: October 29, 2009

Summary:

Matt stumbles across a new and (eventually) enthusiastic ally during a brief absence from the safehouse.


"Out of the Silent Planet"

Stewart's Shop, Upstate New York

Between them, the group of fugitives has made a couple of supply runs since they 'borrowed' some cash. But between them, they still only have a rough idea of each other's tastes - some of them have barely known each other for a few days - and so they're overstocked on some things, short on others. It's late enough at night that Matt has decided to risk another trip to a nearby convenience store to help fill in the gaps.

And why is a sixteen year old girl heading into a convenience store at this hour? Who knows. But Portia is there, pushing the door open as she slips into the store, moving silently for the candybars. Chocolate craving, perhaps?

Matt squints at a bag of onion rings, sniffs at it, then shakes his head and puts it back. Too heavy on the artificial coloring and flavoring. With the risk of government pursuers still imminent, he's listening in on the thoughts of anyone else nearby… which mostly consist of a bored night-shift clerk listening to heavy metal. Not so bad, he likes heavy metal just fine.

Sure, there's the night-shift clerk. That's not so bad. But Portia's there too. She scans through the chips, frowning a little. Hm. Hard to pick. She shakes her head after a moment, deciding to find something else for a snack. Pretzels. Now that's the ticket. She picks up a bag, glancing at the price for a moment as she searches for the most economical purchase. The teenage girl, though, has more on the mind than pretzels. There's all sorts of things—practicing for a recital, homework, and sneaking past parents to get out and do things. While they seem like ordinary things, most people don't sneak past their parents while invisible.

Matt catches enough of that to safely conclude 'not a government goon', and is about to turn his attention elsewhere— wait, back up a step. Invisible? Okay, the snack foods just officially got pushed down to #2 on tonight's to-do list. After ducking just out of sight, he sends out a thought of his own: We could use your help. Find the Twinkies. You don't need to talk.

Portia hadn't even thought about Twinkies. She picks up the bag of pretzels, moving slowly down the aisle, looking around until she spots the section of delicious Hostess goods. The thought was odd, and it wasn't as if she wasn't used to that sort of thing, but she hadn't been expecting to run into anything like that while going out for study snacks. She proceeds to stand near the snack-cakes, awkwardly taking a moment to pick up a Twinkie box and examine it.

Standing on the other side of the display, Matt waves and speaks quietly. "Hey there. Kind of late for a school night, isn't it?" While his tone is casual, he presses harder with the inner voice, trying to make it less subtle. I think we have something in common. Either that, or she just thinks she can turn invisible because one of her friends found a book on the occult and thought it was the cool new thing. He's hoping it's the first option.

"Yeah, but I'm used to late nights. Lots of work." Portia glances over, noting the thought. Ah hah. So he was one of /those/. It's not the first time she's experienced that. She sets the Twinkies down and peers at the other snacks. Might as well browse. Maybe. Are you a friend?

Matt shakes his head. "That's college for you, everyone working you like a dog." Not that he speaks from personal experience, having gone straight from high school into the police force. I hope so. The government is kidnapping people like us.

There's a tiny frown. Portia proceeds to examine the HoHos. Chocolate fix, and all. "Yeah. They think we have all this extra time or something." I heard something about that.. guess we just have to be extra careful. I'm sure I'll be fine, though.

Faced with the first hints of a headache from carrying on two conversations at once, Matt falls quiet for a while, sticking to just the internal dialogue for a while. I don't know, they could still sneak up on you… One of us got kidnapped by someone else, too, we're gonna move out soon and try to get her back.

Portia frowns at the idea. Great, so now we have to be paranoid about everyone. She proceeds to poke at a box of cupcakes and actually seems contemplative. What do they want with us? Have you been able to get anyone else back?

Yes, they were moving some people by train but we got them out. Things have been tougher after that… Oh, there's where they're hiding the soup cans, next to the air filters for your car. Makes perfect sense. This woman— she's been working to keep children safe. I know it's asking a lot, but we can use all the help we can get.

Ah hah. Portia actually brightens. He doesn't even need to ask. Someone wanted her to help? That hardly entered her brain before she was already answering. I'll help however I can. Just tell me what I can do and I'll make sure it gets done. It's not asking a lot. I'd be happy to help.

Acting casual, Matt grabs a couple packs of cheese and peanut butter crackers and heads for the checkout stand, while sending Portia the number for the group's temporary cell phone. We'll call you from that number when we're ready to move.

Portia mentally replies with her own number, pulling out her phone to input it. Okay. Just keep me informed. I'll do what I can. And she'd be ready at a moment's notice too. Breaks from studying are always nice. Long, long breaks.

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