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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Damon finds any moment he can with Elena, when not keeping a close eye on her. Unfortunately, for the both of them, the reality of living in Pines means in public they can never be more than family-in-laws of sorts, and that gets old. Speaking in code is one thing, even pretending to be married is something, but pretending to not want to kiss this woman all day, every day, that gets exhausting. He finds smaller, private moments they can steal.

He could bring her the baked goods he was contributing for the bake sale (the PTA bake sale for which he has no kid, god he hopes a kid doesn't materialize), but instead he waits patiently for her to take someone's money. He nods to that person, waits for them to depart. When she turns to him, she'll see him smiling, innocently, just happy to have her in this town.

"I have something for you."

There have been little memories surfacing since Elena had woken up at the hospital, glimpses of a life that didn't fit with the one she was supposed to have here. A life full of lost loved ones and people constantly trying to kill her, but also a life full of Damon. Someone she'd began by hating and then completely fallen in love with. She didn't remember everything about their eventful relationship just yet, but she remembered that love, and it made her want to wring Katherine's neck every time she thought of this charade they had to follow.

She didn't hear him approach the way she would have before, didn't know he was there until she turned and saw that amazing smile - but she was okay with that. A human life was the one she'd wanted, and she wasn't going to regret that decision.

Tilting her head at him with a teasing smile, she replied skeptically, "You bake? This I've gotta see."

It was the most maddening part of living here now, pretending to not be head over heels in love with Elena Gilbert. But, it was still better than it was. It made everything easier. All the strange discoveries, secret affairs (that he'd all killed), all of them were worth it because his girl was here now. And not before. He needed to make that clear. They couldn't have all grown up in this town. New people cropped up every week as if they were off screen entirely until they weren't. Like Elena, and everything else that came with her arrival.

Including the Shakespearean discovery of who his brother ended up with.

But, Elena was nothing if not resilient. Going from the blank slate who loved Damon Salvatore (which Damon did not like one bit, she was so much more than what she was to him. yes, she was everything, but she was herself) and as much as it reminded him of her first year in college, with every day she gained something else. Another facet to the personality he could never get enough of, a clearer picture of woman he'd gotten to know. And had always loved.

"I resent that. You don't think, oh, in the decades of years I lived, that I haven't perfect dozens of skills?" Not that baking was one of them. Baking was precise and it required a patience Damon didn't have. Cooking, however, he had perfected. When it mattered. Stuck in 1994 for those few months definitely impacted his cooking ability. Bonnie did need to be fed. Lagomarchino's had donated. Damon and Stefan were quite the patrons there. "Can anyone else mind the table?"

He implied everything with his eyes, but to an onlooker, he was being friendly. Dropping off the next round of baked goods that would be sold. But, this was Damon Salvatore and this was Damon Salvatore's secret girlfriend/soon-to-be fiancee because he knew when she did gain everything back, he'd propose. Somehow. He never once doubted this was who he'd wanted to live his life with. She'd wake up, he'd take the cure and they'd live their human life together. But, now they were here. And it wouldn't behoove any of them to give up their gifts so easily. Not when their biggest weapon against the unseen enemy is an ability he'd lose.

Oh, she had absolutely no doubt that Damon Salvatore had so many hidden talents that it would take years for her to uncover them all, but she very much doubted that baking was one of them. He could cook, she'd seen that in action and heard about it from Bonnie, but baking? That was something entirely different. Patience had never been one of his virtues, of that she was all too aware, and probably the only thing he'd ever be able to properly bake would be one of those mug cakes you popped in the microwave. (And even that might be giving him too much credit.)

Narrowing her eyes at him suspiciously, playing up the part of a woman who was fond of her brother-in-law but didn't actually want to jump his bones right there in the middle of the very public park, she studied him for a moment before shaking her head and smile. "Fine," she agreed, turning away to tap an older woman on the shoulder, asking Mrs. Hanson to watch the table for a few minutes. Relieved from her duties, she gestured for Damon to lead the way and informed him, "I'm expecting some sort of miracle pastry now, I hope you know. You'd better not be getting me excited for nothing."

It was said in a completely innocent tone, but of course the words were anything but. She knew exactly why he was luring her away from the crowd, and she was looking forward to the stolen moments where they could just be themselves, with each other. They wouldn't be enough, nowhere close, but they would be better than none at all. It made her physically ache that she couldn't be close to him whenever she wanted, because that was what helped her more than anything when she started thinking about this place and her missing memories. Even just sitting beside him made her feel calmer, more settled. It's where she was supposed to be. But she couldn't. Not yet.

"For the record, if the tape is played back, all I said was that I had something for you. You surmised it was a miracle pastry." He looked back to her, speaking, as he led them further away from the bake sale, rounding the corner of the building. "How goes the non-parent to parent bonding. Did you bake anything?" Elena Gilbert, selling her baking wares. He wouldn't wish that on his worst enemy. Sorry, Elena. But, he remembered your chili. And everything else you've attempted. You were always pretty, and forthright and loyal! Wasn't that something?

He fought the urge to link arms, to put his arm around her neck, to get any closer to her as he eyed the final camera pointing away from the back of the school. He and Stefan had spent weeks scoping out the town. Stefan had found this parking space smack in the middle of the edges of two vantage points. If he parked at the perfect angle, then once he rounded the car and led her to the driver's side back seat, he was out of dodge.

They both were.

Turning back toward, he rested an arm on the top of the car.

"Courtesy of, whomever is working at Lagomarchino's this morning. I didn't catch their name." Inside, through the window, she'd see a covered box - brownies, and a few clear trays with various cookies, including snickerdoodles. Sue him, the name made him snicker. "I was told they had to cool down. They came right out from the oven."

Oh, so that's how he was gonna be. Playing dirty by asking about her own contributions when everyone in Mystic Falls had known she couldn't bake to save her life. Or cook. But she hadn't had a century and a half to learn those skills, thanks very much. Give her a few decades, her chili might be edible by the time they were grandparents.

She took note of the cameras as they passed, still finding it extremely unsettling that they were always being watched. Even in their home, they were being recorded - there were no closed doors to hide behind where they could talk or even just hold each other without someone knowing about it. But places like this, the in-between spots that perhaps no one had yet realized existed, gave them the moments they needed to make it through everything else. At least, that's how she chose to look at it, focusing on what they had so she could concentrate on getting herself back together.

"You know, this might count as cheating," she pointed out, leaning her hip against the door and peering inside at the various goodies. "Since you didn't actually bake them yourself. But I suppose I can let it slide this time, since you know I didn't bake anything." The first step to making friends with people in a creepy town was not to give them all food poisoning.

Glancing back to him, a small smile crept onto her lips as she inquired, "How long does it take cookies to cool down, again?" Since she obviously had no idea what she was doing in the kitchen, she'd just have to defer to his good judgment on the matter.

"Since I know you shouldn't?" he teased. "I could lie and say your skill in the kitchen will come back," he half-offered out of the side of his mouth.

"I just picked them up. Benefits of small town life." He leaned in. "Even smaller than a certain town you can't remember." Leaning close, like this, reminded what it should be like. "How lucky am I that of the things you remember, I made it up there." He hand came up, fingers lightly touching her forehead, moving into her hair, thumb grazing near her ear. He moved from leaning down, to leaning in, bringing his lips close to hers. "To answer your question from before," he said quietly. "Not long."

She gave him a comically offended drop of her jaw at that, but she couldn't hold the expression for long when he moved in closer. With each inch of space closed between them, her heartbeat sped up and she knew he'd be able to hear it. Knew he'd hear the breath hitching in her throat when he touched her, brushes of his fingers that were not enough and too much all at once.

Her eyes closed for a moment as she savored that closeness, wishing they could stay like this instead of having to go back to pretending they were other people, but she was wasting the precious time they had. So she looked into those blue eyes that she saw in her dreams and whispered, "I'll always find my way back to you, Damon."

Vivid memories of dancing in the street, the street where they'd first met, the street he'd compelled away fought memories he had of her here, but nothing could tamp down how he felt about her. Nothing could eradicate that. His heart hurt, knowing these moments were all they had until they came up with something. The group needed to come together. With Elena here, they were one step closer to being with who they were meant to be with. His brother still loved Caroline. Sure, that left Katherine in the cold. But, then again, neither Caroline nor Stefan had made moves in either direction. Stefan was up for grabs. How would the town handle a wive swap? Bringing his lips to hers, his eyes closed too, erasing everything else around them, breathing in everything he'd missed for months.

That she remembered that street as well was a miracle, one of many in her life. It was a memory she'd thought lost forever, her stupidity in grief having cost her their past. It was a miracle that she'd let herself find her way back to him the first time, letting go of the hate and disgust long enough to listen to her heart. But then the cure had given it all back, had given them hope for a perfect future, and it was a hope that she was clinging to in this place. She would fight for that future, whatever the odds, and through whatever this place threw at them.

The kiss lasted seconds that felt like hours, but even hours wouldn't have been enough. She wanted to drown herself in him but she couldn't be gone long, someone would come looking for her. So she broke the kiss, her heart breaking with it, and pulled back just enough to wrap her arms around him, desperately needing to remember what it felt like to be held by him.

His arms wrapped around her, holding her close, knowing they had moments to steal. Moments.

"We'll get through this." He kissed the top of her head, before resting his head on hers. Breathing her in for another moment longer, he made himself let go, disentangling himself from her grasp. Giving her a bittersweet smile, pushing back tears that he wouldn't let emerge, he opened the driver's side passenger door for her. "Like I promised."

It wasn't enough. These stolen moments would never be enough. But they had to be for now.

Fighting back her own tears, she gave him a brighter smile than the one he'd managed, because they both had to be strong. They would get through it, and they would do it together. "Our alma mater thanks you," she pronounced, preparing herself to play her part again, before leaning in to grab some of the trays from the backseat.

As she leaned in, Damon took the time to check out the ass he missed.

That's the tag.

As if she didn't know what he was doing. She has met you before, Mr Salvatore.

Pulling back with a few carefully balanced trays in hand, she studied him for a moment, taking note of the expression he wore before rolling her eyes in playful exasperation. "You're lucky I love you," she muttered, though her tone made it clear that the words were absolutely sincere.

"I love you, too." It was said more under his breath as he shut the door behind her. He followed her back around the building, persona emerging again. "Have you seen Stefan around here?"

Those words made her heart skip a beat, and she focused on that feeling of elation as she slipped back into the role of being married to a Salvatore brother, just not the right one. "He was around here earlier. I think he may have gotten shanghaied by some of the parents."

"It might be because of our oil change-slash-tire rotation promotion. Stefan's always been the face of S & D Automotive." Already, he was slipping back into his other skin, the skin married to her -- cousin was it? Family got convoluted in this freaking town. "That, or the ladies haven't seen the new ring he's sporting." He couldn't help but weave in what he shouldn't be saying. That, before this past week, Stefan wasn't married, much less to Elena. But, here Elena be - and there his ring followed. Funny how that worked in this town. He expected admonishing eyes, but whatever.

Admonishing eyes he certainly received. It was weird to think of the Salvatore brothers owning an auto shop; one of the many strange things she was having to get used to in this town, including the rules that Damon liked to flout. Elena didn't approve of that one bit, especially when he tended to do it so publicly.

"Are you trying to make me concerned, Damon?" she questioned as they neared the bustle of the bake sale. "I know my husband's well liked in this town, but I'm not worried about his fidelity." For so many reasons.

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