bumfuckidaho | TEST DRIVE MEME, APRIL 2017.

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TEST DRIVE MEME, APRIL 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
PTA BAKE SALE

It's that time of year again. The time when everyone digs into their wallet, ignores their diet, and spends a little time supporting the local school bake fair. You know, for the good of the children. And it doesn't hurt that Linda's Blondie recipe is honestly to die for. The school PTA has pulled out all the stops this year in the hopes of encouraging a good community turn out, posters advertising the sale plastering every street corner and stuffed into every mailbox for a solid week leading up to the event, and today is finally the day.

There's at least two dozen different tables set up with all manner of delectable treats, even one or two offering vegan alternatives for those inclined, not to mention a few others catering to some of the townspeople's more... unique palates.

Maybe you've got your own table set up with your wares, or maybe you were simply lured to the park today by the appetizing scents wafting through the air. Either way it seems like the whole town has come out to show their support today and why wouldn't they? Children are our future, aren't they? Or maybe it's just Linda's Blondie recipe.

Yeah, that's probably it.

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 currently has two basic functions. The first is audio-only and can be accessed from the telephones in each character's home. If an audio-based medium doesn't suit your needs (or aesthetics), be sure to take advantage of the Wayward Pines Message Board from your brand new laptop for the chance to communicate with your fellow townspeople in a text-based format instead!

( a few notes )

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

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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Less about games and more about letting the lady have her choice. He hadn't lied; he liked both. He also liked being gracious.

"Not so as I know. Seems like that's my whole first name."

Though it felt short, really, even to him. Incomplete.

"Seems like?" Elena was sharp and caught into his phrasing. "You are suffering the cases of memory loss too?"

She wondered if they had been acquaintances before and simply didn't remember. It was a strange unsettling feeling as if she wasn't in control of her life. It was odd but a familiar worry, one that sent a brief flare of anger through her chest. Anger, that she remembered, her temper was sometimes more than she could handle.

"Maybe we should focus on the pie. It'll be a sweet memory for later." She smiled easily, forcing comfort into the conversation.

That gets her a quick nod, and there's something in his eyes that says that this sits no easier with him than it does with her. He wouldn't call them journalistic instincts, considering his lack of knowledge of his past, but that's exactly what's tugging at him. Not to mention all those years as, oh, Superman.

He can spot a diversion as well as the next guy, and he watches her deal with that spout of anger somewhat curiously, unwiling to comment. Everyone had things they had to deal with, after all. He'd just do his best to help ease her out of it.

"The pie is worthy of a bit of attention," he points out as he dips his fork in to start, "and we can talk about the rest of it later, I'm sure."

Someplace less public.

Elena reached for the second fork, taking a small bite of the deep blue colored pie. It's consistency was perfect and as Elena brought the pie to her lips she felt as if she was inhaling a sugary blue berry field. A comforting smile touched her lips as she chewed and swallowed.

"I am pretty sure I could eat a full one of these on my own." She laughed taking another, much larger bite.

She liked the distraction as well as the option to talk more later. Working in journalism made her realize that she should always watch what she said but she felt as if she might be able to trust Kal. At least with the small measure of uncertainty that had begun to knot in her chest.

"Later." She agreed before inhaling her second bite of pie. "Time is something we have in abundance in our cute little small town."

"Though still not something to waste," he says easily enough in between bites. A few more before he takes the other drink to take a sip, wash it down.

"And if you really want one, I think they were selling the full pies for ten dollars. Definitely worth it."

He takes another bite.

"Whereas I'm feeling inspired. I haven't done much baking since I got back from the hospital."

Elena took a swig of her coke before grabbing another bite. "I don't think it's going to be wasted." At least not between the two of them.

Her head turned back to look towards the table. "Maybe before I head out. I still need to finish my story." Dark stormy blue eyes looked over at Kal curiously.

"You bake?" The most Elena could accomplish was burnt ginger bread cookies which was always a fun theme at Christmas. She liked them burnt.

"Cook too," he says with another sip of tea, "not to mention I know my way around home repair."

He can't help a smile over at her and he's not quite flirting, but he's certainly got a bit of playfulness in those too-blue eyes.

"It's like a triple threat, without having to learn to dance."

Elena laughed softly. "I think comparatively learning to dance isn't so hard." She could do enough to live on her own though her skills weren't impressive by any stretch of the word.

She placed another bite of pie in her mouth, no longer mindful of the amount that she ate. She swallowed and continued.

"I think you'd put my cooking to shame but I am very good at making pancakes."

"I never say no to pancakes," he agrees with a bite of his own. "Though if you decided to cook, I'd feel obliged to bring some of my homemade syrup. I've got a few of them back at the house."

He points towards the pie.

"My favorite's always been blueberry, but I've got strawberry, rhubarb, and an apple butter that I remember winning at least one fair ribbon. At least when my mother made it."

Elena felt her lips settling into a comfortable smile. She didn't know why she was so surprised, she worked for the paper, she was used to talking to people but conversation with Kal was easy and she found that she rather enough it.

"Homemade syrup? That sounds amazing. I think blueberry is my favorite too but I'd like to try them all." The thick sweetness of syrup was always a good reason to have pancakes.

"It'll be like desert for breakfast."

The smile he gives her is especially warm and it makes the corners of his eyes crinkle up in a way that actually makes him look a little bit younger instead of older.

"Then it sounds like we're making a plan, here. Pancakes from the master pancake chef and I'll bring the blueberry syrup and the-" He lifts his head a little. "Have you ever had fresh, homemade butter? I can bring some of the honey butter I make to go along with it."

Elena was trying to hide her smile and failing. They say that the way to a mans heart is through their stomach. Elena found this to be true no matter what gender you were and the promise of homemade treats was to good for her to pass up.

"That sounds heavenly. You're going to spoil me and I'll never want to eat anything else again." She teased while taking another long sip of her coke. The pie was almost gone with bits of crush and blueberry clumped on the plate. Elena made a note to buy a bit more before she headed home for the day.

"You should teach me how you do it. I don't think you'll want me to depend on you forever."

"Any time," he assures her, since he'd learned from someone else years and years ago himself. That was the sort of lesson that you paid forward.

"Though make sure you're ready to work out your arms, if that's the case." He can't help a teasing little smile. "Or you've got a blender. It's a lot simpler than you'd think."

Elena couldn't help but smile. "My arms are stronger than they look." She teased with a warm tone. "But I also have a blender." She had more appliances than she ever used. She'd buy things, think she'd one day use them and then they'd collect dust in her shelves.

"You're far to nice." Nice people are the only ones that Elena seemed to get along with.

"There's no such thing as 'too nice'," he says with a sip of his drink as he works on finishing his pie. "But I'll take the compliment for what it's worth. You're pretty nice yourself, though."

Elena shook her head. "I'm a reporter. I do what I need to in order to get the story." She was teasing though there was some truth to what she was saying. Elena knew that she could be difficult.

"And I'll be looking forward to those pancakes. For now I should get back and get this story written." She flashed him a smile while pushing herself up from the table. "It was nice running into you Kal."

Something about those words, about that attitude, shivers up and down along his spine, against the memories of something, someone he knows as well as he knows himself. It's in his eyes, because he's never been good at hiding things like that, but most of all because he doesn't want to.

"I'd never stand between a reporter and her story."

He waves his fork in a salute.

"I'll see you around, Elena."

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