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
1
From a distance, the boy looked like Max. As he drew closer, Alec expected to find some detail that was wrong but instead, he had to stop, almost shaking as he realized that the child didn't look similar. He was Max.
Strange, incomprehensible thoughts kept him frozen. Demons and hearts' desires and... This can't be real.
Slowly, he moved toward the boy that shouldn't be Max but looked so much like him that Alec couldn't understand how it could be possible. Swallowing hard, he told himself to be calm. Keep his voice steady so that he didn't frighten the boy. "Is your name Max?"
no subject
So when he heard someone ask if his name was Max and he turned to see who it was, his expression lit up in hopeful recognition. "Alec! I remember you! You're my brother Alec, right?"
no subject
No matter how afraid he was to believe what was in front of him, he couldn't let his brother notice anything except how happy Alec was to see him. Kneeling down, he smiled at Max. "Yeah, I am. I remember you too, Max, but my memory's been fuzzy for a few weeks so I wasn't sure if it really was you." If Max noticed anything different, hopefully that would explain why Alec seemed so lost as he tried to comprehend how this could happen. "Izzy's here too."
no subject
no subject
Unless the memory wasn't real. Maybe it was like the nebulous ones that kept skittering through his consciousness that felt right and wrong at the same time. Maybe there'd been another reason for the grief Alec had felt every time he thought of Max.
"I was the same way when I woke up. We both had accidents but not at the same time. I just remembered you and Izzy and Jace." His smile wobbled slightly and he realized he needed to explain that quickly. Max had always been too perceptive. "I didn't think mom and dad would let me see you again." Robert. Maryse. "Are they here too?"
no subject
no subject
"I don't know how amnesia works. I couldn't remember them either until a few days after I was hurt." Alec assumed that if Max had been with their parents, the hospital would have released them together or told Max something about the eldest Lightwoods. Why was Max here and not Robert and Maryse? Maybe Izzy had brought Max with her and no one at the hospital had made the connections between the the three of them?
"Memories do come back. It'll take time." Pausing, he gave his little brother the look that he had shared with his siblings when they were trying to avoid their parents finding out that they'd done something they weren't supposed to. "We can figure it out back home."
no subject
no subject
"Mom and dad are in New York." That was a safe subject within the guidelines of the town's strange rules. Present tense, not past. "I live here now with Izzy and -" Pausing, he realized that Max didn't know that Alec had ran away with Magnus. At least that meant he didn't remember how their parents had reacted.
Despite how at ease he was in town, unafraid of who he is, Alec still tensed at the idea of telling Max, readying himself for the kind of hatred Maryse and Robert had aimed at him. Their parents hadn't taken it well but that didn't mean Max would react the same way. "I'm married. His name's Magnus. He'll want to meet you."
no subject
Then he gave a little shrug and said, "Okay." His reaction would be about the same even if Alec had said he had married a girl. It was more that he was married that had Max pausing for a moment than anything else. "Are Mom and Dad going to come get me or am I supposed to stay with you now...? Or somewhere else?" He looked a bit reluctant at the thought of staying with people he didn't know or didn't remember, but if their parents showed up, at least Alec or Izzy could confirm who they were, right? And he trusted Alec and Izzy.
no subject
Since Alec had come out of the closet after...
Maybe he should have Magnus look Max over and see if he noticed anything unusual since Alec was almost certain that he remembered Max being gone. "I'll check with the hospital to see if they're there. If they're not, you'll stay with me and Izzy." He didn't think they'd be there, but Alec had to be sure.
As he tried to concentrate on what had happened in New York, the memories became nebulous. Maybe he hadn't remembered a death. Maybe it had been leaving his family that had caused that much heartbreak. "Izzy doesn't remember much about why she came here but they might have sent you both here while they deal with stuff back home."
no subject
The last thing that Alec said diverted his attention before he could ask though, tilting his head to the side in slight worry now. "Deal with what...? Did something bad happen?" He wasn't sure if Alec was talking about dealing with some demon problem or if it was something less serious. He hoped it was the latter.