bumfuckidaho | TEST DRIVE MEME, FEBRUARY 2017.

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TEST DRIVE MEME, FEBRUARY 2017.

TEST DRIVE MEME

There was an accident. That's basically the only thing you know for certain. Maybe a car wreck - metal and broken glass everywhere, and the sirens and the screaming. Or maybe there was an explosion. Maybe your bike hit a rock and you careened uncontrollably off a mountain path. You can't can't quite make out the details, not who was at fault or why. Try as you might, the chaos is all you can remember.

It's also the last thing you remember from before you wake up here.

When you open your eyes, the accident is gone. Instead, you're in a hospital bed – the nursing staff greets you with a cheerful smile.

Welcome to Wayward Pines, they tell you. You'll make a full recovery here.

option one WELCOME TO WAYWARD PINES

The hospital staff had seemed very friendly, but ultimately unhelpful when it came to answering your questions, insisting you shouldn't worry about such things, and that it was smarter to just rest until you'd fully recovered.

That was some time ago. You've since managed to leave the hospital – either via escape, or simply by waiting patiently and filling out paperwork until they finally agreed to release you. Now you've found yourself in the small but hearty town of Wayward Pines, Idaho. It's a charming little place, and the people there are all friendly enough, more than willing to greet you on the street, or give you directions if you need them.

Unless you're asking for directions out of town, of course.

Some will simply smile and give you a hearty pat on the shoulder and ask why you'd ever want to do a thing like that? Others will get quiet for a moment, and direct you to the nearest sign posted near the doorway of every building.

Don't bother taking the road, either. Whether you walk or get your hands on a vehicle, you won't get anywhere. The road simply takes you away from town for a short while before looping around and bringing you right back in.

There's no use questioning things, and it seems pretty useless to try to leave. So really, why not stay a while? Everyone's convinced that you'll find something to love in Wayward Pines.

(For the purposes of this test drive, you're welcome to handwave the existence of basically any local business or activity.)

option two INTO THE WOODS

You've just heard a scream from the woods.

I mean, it could've been an animal. There's bound to be some kind of wildlife amongst the trees, right? But then again, it did sound awfully... human.

Though all of the locals nearby conceal a flinch at the sound, they'll assure you it's nothing, if you ask them. Why, you're probably just hearing things! (But with an anxious undertone of stop asking questions.) If you're curious, though, and brave enough to go see, they won't make any move to stop you from going into the wooded area surrounding the town.

The trees are tall, and their branches are thick enough to block out a significant amount of sunlight from breaking through the canopy, leaving the forest floor a little dimmer and cooler than the streets of town.

Whatever the source of the scream was, you won't be able to find it out here. An experienced hunter might notice some signs of a struggle, and a few faint boot prints, but they don't really seem to lead anywhere in particular.

What you will find, if you walk far enough, is a fence. A big one - at least 30 feet tall, made of metal and concrete. It goes on quite a ways in either direction as well; follow the wall far enough, and you'll see that it connects with the steep, sheer cliffs that surround the rest of Wayward Pines, effectively boxing the town in.

In actuality, you'll probably feel it before you see it. A full 500 yards from the wall, when it's hardly a shadowy smudge through the trees, you start to feel a little bit tired, a little bit weak. Trouble is, the closer you get, the weaker you feel - like the wall itself is sapping the strength out of you, and the closer you get, the worse it feels. Any powers you may have had grow weaker in kind as you make your way to the fence, but even ordinary humans will find their strength sapping away. By the time you're close enough to read the signs and to feel the crackle of electricity radiating from the thick wires criss-crossing the wall's metal surface, you're too weak to stand.

Do you crawl closer still and risk electrocution, or do you crawl away and assess the situation once you're far enough from the fence to be able to stand?

option three IT'S A COUPLE OF FLAKES

There's nothing particularly insidious about the inch of snow that settles over the town one night while everyone sleeps. Kids run outside to have snowball fights and make snow angels, neighbors wave across to you as they shovel their driveway, the local coffee shop runs a 2 for 1 deal on hot cocoa. Snow crunches under your feet at your walk down the street and the cold bite in the air is revitalizing.

The next morning, there's a few more inches of snow. And then a few more the day after that. By the end of the week the snow is a good three feet deep and the entire experience has lost its novelty. Wayward Pines only has a single street plow to its name, and even when the streets are clear, surprise patches of black ice make travel downright dangerous if you aren't prepared. No special sale on hot cocoa can possibly be worth trudging through knee high snow drifts (even your most consciences neighbors can't keep up on the shoveling anymore).

And the power starts to fail in some of the houses. Sure, the repairman promises to stop by as soon as he can, but you're hardly to first person to call him today and he won't be able to pencil you in until tomorrow at the earliest, and what are you going to do about the cold until then? Maybe your neighbor's heat is still on, or maybe that trek to the coffee shop is looking more appealing by the second.

Either way it's time to layer your clothes, watch your step, and hope that Spring to comes early. And try to ignore that kid double dog daring you to lick a flagpole, it just won't end well.

option four ON THE NETWORK

Though it's not as high-tech as you might be used to (or hell, maybe you're ren faire and it's centuries beyond anything you've seen), but Wayward Pines does in fact have a network to accommodate its citizens.

Go ahead, post a network post! Just note that the network, at current, is audio-only and can only be accessed from the telephones in each character's home.

( a few notes )

Welcome to our second test drive here in The Pines! Just one important thing to note this time:

Upon arrival in Wayward Pines, characters find themselves struggling to remember entirely who they were or where they came from. Memories return progressively over the next two weeks. You're welcome to play with this mechanic in any of these prompts, but it's definitely not mandatory! For more details on this temporary memory loss, see our FAQ.

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Option 1: Wandering around the Town

Emerald green eyes blinked rapidly as the world pulled into focus. She tried to remember what happened and where she was but she couldn't. Clary looked over at the doctors around her, her confusion painted clearly across her features. "Um... where am I?"

The woman standing next to Clary was older but kind. She hushed her softly and told her to heal. A feeling stirred in her chest and Clary found it difficult to ignore. She was missing someone and she had to find her but try as she might the name and face escaped her. After a moment she tried a different question. "What happened to me?" The woman hushed her again and said that she'd be able to leave shortly.

Once she was out she was a little disgruntled. It was hard to say why except that she was wearing a hospital gown. This wasn't normal. Clary bee lined for the Sheriffs station after learning that her clothes where there. It was cold and uncomfortable and she wanted something else to wear.

Option 4: Network

[Her voice sounds very frustrated.]

Hi!

So I don't remember much but I do remember how a phone works so- go me. Anyway, if anyone has answers or at least something more than the people at the hospital staff.

I just want to say that this isn't okay.

(ooc: Is she TV canon? Alec is from the end of the books.)

[The voice and the tone are recognizable but Alec isn't sure why. It's not his sister. He's certain of that but he isn't sure who she is. Another frustrating detail that Alec can't figure out.]

I don't think anyone has answers. [He tries to sound helpful, unconsciously picking up the big brother tone that he doesn't remember using but knows he relied on regularly.]

You'll get in trouble for asking too many questions. [Despite his words, there's a hint of frustrating in the warning.] You should be more careful.

[For some reason that seems like something he's told someone, ore more than one someone, on a daily basis.]

[ooc: I take her from the books. Most likely the beginning of book 1 for the start of this game. So maybe while their at Magnus's party and Simon is a rat lol.]

[Clary can't say that she knows the voice but something in it bugs her.]

So not asking questions is better? Don't you want to remember? How can you think this is okay?

[She's frustrated, she can't help it. Clary knows she's looking for someone very important but she can't remember who.]

And what possible trouble could I get into?

[Even knowing that she's not the sister he can't help feeling like a family member was angry at him.]

I'm not saying it's okay but making demands isn't going to give any of us our memories back. If it worked that way, none of us would have amnesia.

[The thought of 'trouble' makes him cringe mentally, thinking of one of his few memories. He'd kissed Magnus in front of a group of people, not caring that he could be severely punished for it.]

The Law is hard.

[The phrase is incomplete but Alec knows it represents something important, dangerous. He almost shivers at the foreboding that creeps along his spine.]

I don't know, but I think whatever could happen would be terrible.

Fine.

[On some level, Clary understood that what he is saying makes perfect sense but it is a struggle to simply accept it. She chews on her lower lip allowing for silence to lengthen the gap between them.]

But the Law isn't going to stop me.

[Maybe she'd find a way in a less vocal manner but she isn't interested in giving up so easily.

Bit by bit Clary feels the tension in her shoulders relax. She still doesn't like the situation but she gets the sense that she isn't allow. She wishes she could sketch, anything to get her thoughts out of her head and down somewhere tangible.]

What do you remember then? Is everyone like this?

[Maybe he is related to this girl since the tone sounds just like the huffy responses he'd get from his siblings.]

I think the Law is more than just the guys who work at the sheriff's office.

[It's an odd subject, like one that he quotes by rote and also something more visceral. For some reason he's wary of it, although he's not sure what exactly that means. He feels like it's somehow connected to the snarky blond and with Magnus but he doesn't know why.]

I remember I'm married. [That shouldn't be covered by the 'don't talk about the past' rule when it's something that's in the present.] I remember my siblings.

[There's a few memories connected to the strange marks that cover most of his body and the bow and quiver waiting at the sheriff's office but he's not going to discuss those with a stranger.]

I don't know if everyone is like this since I haven't talked to everyone. [Realizing how that sounded, he mutters a quick apology.] What do you remember?

[There is a familiarity to their conversation. It's just a feeling but one that she feels like she's replayed over and over again. It doesn't make much sense so Clary pushes it away to focus on it later.]

I don't see anyone else. Unless they are in hiding.

[For some reason that idea doesn't sound to crazy to Clary.]

Right.

[She huffs a breath of air before speaking.] I'm an art student and I was looking for someone named Magnus Bane. Not sure why but I still haven't found him so whatever I'm doing clearly isn't work.

[She's trying not to be so sarcastic about it but it's her bodies natural defense against weird.]

They might be.

[It doesn't seem like the right answer, but it's close. Something far away but is still something to be careful of. The nebulous 'Law' is important somehow, but Alec doesn't think that it's related to the rules posted everywhere.

The brotherly tone turns to something sharper when she mentions Magnus' name. He almost mentions that he's married to the person she's looking for, but he hesitates. Looking down at his hand, he twists it around so that the eye shaped mark on the back is in view, but he's thinking of the flames that had ran along his fingers when he'd reunited with Magnus. His husband's magic isn't normal. Some people want to destroy those who are different.]

Why do you want to find him?

I just said I didn't know.

[Her tone is short and audibly frustrated. She hates not knowing. It's something important, more important than her own life but she can't recall it. She feels like something is missing or maybe someone. She has to find them... no matter what.]

Look, I'm looking for something or him or someone but I know that he's the first step.

[Clary's voice lowers and the need and hopelessness seep into her tone.]

It's important. I need his help.

[Silence follows, stunned by her own words. She doesn't know where they came from or if it's true but it feels like he'd help her. Maybe with this place? Her memories...]

[Alec isn't sure why he's went from thinking she might be family to being defensive, ready to protect Magnus from her. There's no reason for it. She wants Magnus' help and he somehow knows that Magnus can defend himself but he's still cautious, feeling almost hostile.

She'll change everything. She'll get us all killed.

Unsure of where that thought came from, Alec looks over his shoulder to the other room where he knows Magnus is practicing the spells that he seems to instinctively remember.]

It's the other steps that I'm worried about.

[Taking a deep breath, he reminds himself that there's no reason to be frustrated or hostile. It's an irrational reaction.]

If he agrees to meet with you, it has to be a public place.

[He probably shouldn't be making arrangements for Magnus, but Alec knows that if he asks his husband to be careful, explaining the fears that he can't quite shake, he'll agree to the compromise.]

Oh it can't be that bad.

[As the words left her lips a sinking feeling gathering in her stomach. It can't be that bad. She has to find him in order to find...

The thought slips away like sand through her fingers. She grasps at it and reaches but there is nothing but the nagging sensation that she needs to do something important. She can't stop fighting.]

Wait! You know him? He's here? Yes. Please!

[She pauses.]

Except, I have no idea what I need help with... maybe he knows?

It could be.

[As he speaks, he absentmindedly rubs the Egyptian looking pattern on his arm. He should ask Magnus if he feels the same kind of dread when he thinks of the Law since he keeps thinking somehow it's connected to both of them.]

Yes, I know him. That's why I'm setting up terms for meeting with him. I'm not putting him in danger because you want to break the Law.

[His tone softens slightly. Wariness still edges his words, but he can understand her frustration since he only has bits of his past as well.]

He's lost his memory too.

[It's probably related to magic, but Alec's not going to mention that to someone he doesn't know.]

You'll have to talk to him. He might not want to meet you until he remembers more.

I'm not breaking anything.

[She pauses.]

Okay, maybe. Not exactly anyway. I'll find a loo-pool. [She hopes.]

That makes things more difficult. Well just tell him my name? It's Clary.

[For some reason she can't remember her last name.]

Let me know what he says?

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