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.)
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.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
officialnotice) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
bumfuckidaho2017-04-17 06:22 am
TEST DRIVE MEME
into the woods
he doesn't pull up his hood like he wants because the entire point of traveling the streets and not getting caught escaping is that he looks like he belongs, which is laughable for some reason. that word. it sticks in the back of his throat and he narrows his eyes.
that girl, that voice. family.
a shrill scream rips him out of his thoughts and even when every bone in his body tells him not to, he goes running into the woods. he slows to a stop, measures his footfalls and crouches behind a tree, straining for another cry for help. what he gets instead is the crunch of twigs ahead of him and a young man that must be vaguely around his age. he scoffs, annoyed at first sight.
again, he doesn't know why, but he hates him. ]
Someone is. [ he announces and steps out from behind the tree. ]
yells softly
He whirls around to face the stranger with a voice that sounds so viscerally familiar. It's the tone and the cadence, the edge of a sneer in it like Percy's done something wrong - even though he's pretty sure they've never met.
Huh.
Casually: ] Hey, man. [ Yep. Super casual. ] I'm gonna guess you weren't the one screaming for help out here?
yells with you
unless it's some kind of trap.
luke narrows his eyes for a second, then covers for it. he tries for something a little more neutral. if this is a trap, the last thing he wants is to clue anyone in on it. play it smart, he tells himself. ]
Do I look like a screamer to you? [ real friendly. okay, luke, be charming. be.. anything else. literally anything. ] The bright side is that we both heard it and that means we aren't crazy, which is more than I can say for everyone else that ignored it.
im so happy you tagged!!11
[ Well, he's glad they can agree on that much at least. The way the people in the town reacted was a little shocking, to say the least. When someone screams for help it's pretty obvious that you're supposed to go out and help them, right? Isn't that what everyone does?
Percy gives his newfound company a quick glanceover, not entirely sure why something at the back of his mind suddenly itches. Like there's a cue he should be taking but it's all mixed up in a jumble of other stuff he should probably be focusing on and can't because every time he makes an attempt, it feels like a thick layer of fog has settled into his brain.
It's not a good feeling, whatever it is. It feels dark and sharp, like a warning. Maybe he should keep his distance; maybe he should be careful. ]
I think it came from there. [ He gestures towards some point ahead of him, into a cluster of dense, tall trees. He hasn't been here for very long, and he's definitely never set foot into these woods before, but something tells him dangerous situations aren't out of the norm for him.
He glances back. ] Plan of action: check it out, see what happens, hope the screamer's okay?
no subject
it's why he's still standing in the dark woods, making an uncertain alliance with someone he instinctively feels he can't rely on.
luke raises an eyebrow, but follows the gesture with calm eyes. he could be lying, but what does he stand to gain from it? ]
That's it? That's your plan. See what happens and hope for the best? [ can he try to be less critical? no. the answer is no. ] What if whatever's out there isn't an animal? What if they're armed? Unless you're packing a knife in your shoe, our odds are looking pretty crappy.
no subject
[ Percy doesn't remember a whole lot about his past, but one thing he does know is that he's got a knack for crossing bridges when he gets to them. Plans are better left to -- girls with blonde ponytails?
No. Well, someone else. Other people. Something like that.
It's true this is probably a whole year's worth of bad ideas, but standing around doing nothing would be worse than at least making some kind of attempt. He can pick up a branch and use it like a sword. And from the looks of it, this guy could probably handle himself in a fight too. ]
It's better than standing back and doing nothing. Whoever's out there probably doesn't have a whole lot of time.
no subject
Before or after you're incapacitated?
[ still, it's admirable. sure, his arrogance is also about as idiotic as it gets, but there's something to it that makes luke scoff and roll his eyes. ultimately,
resigning himself to seeing this through. there isn't a thing in his own pockets that he can use, he knows that for a certainty. he goes for the next best option. he scans their surroundings and picks up a decent sized rock. it's no dagger, but it'll do in a pinch. a rock's better than nothing at all. ]
Alright, hero. [ he performs a sweeping gesture with his empty hand, arm spread out, not quite bowing but the mockery is the same. there may even be a hint of a smirk on his lips. ] Lead the way.
no subject
[ This guy should really lay off the pep-talks; they're not exactly his strength. Percy's glad that he's willing to go along with this fool-hardy plan, however. Whatever happens up there, at least there will be two of them.
He snaps off a thick enough branch from a nearby tree, loosely testing its weight in one hand like he might feel the comfort of a blade. Satisfied with it, he gives the other boy a nod, decidedly ignoring any skepticism thrown his way, and starts towards his hypothesized rescue location.
They can do this. ]
So, you got a name?
no subject
like monsters that can imitate the voices of humans to lure in their prey.
wait, what? monsters??? whatever they drugged him with at the hospital must have been incredibly potent. ]
Yeah. [ it was a yes or no question, okay. he adjusts his grip on the rock in his hand, trying to find a more comfortable grip. ] Just call me Rocky. You can be The Amazing Stick-Man. [ no? don't worry, he'll be here all week. ] Branch Boy? One Hit Wonder? The Wooden Crusader?
no subject
Whatever.
[ Fine. If the guy doesn't want to give a name, that's totally okay with him. He's not going to force one out of him anyway; this is about the quest. No - no, not quest. Mission. Rescue mission.
He trudges forward through the foliage and dirt and broken twigs, every now and then poking the ground with his stick, finding that the dirt beneath them is actually pretty soft. It's good for hiking, if you're into that kind of thing. Percy feels like he's been in woods like these before, like they were a means to get to a place.
Home? No.
He's from here.
No, he's definitely not from here. ]
Hey. Rocky. How long have you been here?
[ Why does he keep trying? ]