There was an accident. The details are hazy and obscure, but it's still the first thing you remember. Maybe a car wreck — metal and broken glass everywhere, and the sirens and the
screaming. Maybe your bike hit a rock and you careened uncontrollably off a mountain path. Maybe something less mundane, even impossible seems to have happened to you. You can't quite make out the details, not who was at fault or why. Try as you might, the chaos is all you can truly remember.
It's also the
last thing you remember from before waking up.
When you open your eyes, the accident is gone. Instead, you're in a hospital bed, and the nursing staff greet you with cheerful smiles.
Don't worry, they tell you. You'll make a full recovery here. Where is here? Why, home in Wayward Pines, of course!
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 | FOURTH OF JULY |
If there's one thing to be said for Wayward Pines it's the town's resilience and staunch refusal to give up on the image of a picturesque little town, and July 4th this year has the community putting it's best foot forward in this regard with its annual 4th of July picnic and fireworks spectacular.
To hear anyone (Linda) familiar with the town talk (complain), this year is a much more sedate affair than any of the years prior, but in a lot of ways today is a very good opportunity for people to reconnect with their neighbors; chat quietly at a table, share a recipe, play some catch, or argue with Jerry over the proper way too cook a burger. Jerry never listens, of course, but thankfully the whole event is a pot luck so there are plenty of other, far more edible options for those with a more... discerning palate.
The day passes pleasantly, and the night? The night brings the fireworks. A beautiful cascade of bright colors and lights in the sky. Sparklers are handed out like party favors while everyone is strongly encouraged to play safe by a long-suffering and weary looking sheriff. After all, the town has had quite enough excitement by this point, don't you think?
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), 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!
( a few notes )
Welcome to our fifth 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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bumfuckidaho2017-06-17 08:38 am
TEST DRIVE MEME
Natasha R. | Marvel Comics
[ Natasha's first instinct is to play along. She nods when the nurses wave off her questions, as if that's perfectly understandable, and smiles when they tell her they hope she'll be able to make a life here. It's an uncertain smile, the kind that wants to please, that worries about fitting in. Not the kind that questions. People will explain a lot to a woman who doesn't ask questions.
She continues like this, filling out her release papers, making small talk. They don't know who she is, Natasha realizes. She isn't sure if this is good or bad. On the one hand, it makes it easy to keep up the act. But on the other hand, it means she's dealing with a total unknown. Natasha doesn't like unknowns, as a rule.
In the hospital waiting room, with her patient bracelet still attached, she glances outside the window, as if absently. Her eyes scan the horizon, searching for some familiar punctuation. It doesn't come. She wonders if they have messed with her head. But what she says, to the stranger standing next to her, in a generic midwestern accent, is: ]
Nice weather, huh?
II.
[ Of course, the second she's thinks she hears something like danger, she drops the act. Not all at once, but in bits and pieces— the bland, Sears catalog expression washes off her face, her legs pick up a determined tempo once she doesn't think anyone is watching. Natasha wishes, not for the first time, that she had a gun, or her gauntlets, or something, but swallows those thoughts. She definitely heard a scream. Someone could be hurt.
Her determination carries her close enough to see the wall clearly, but she has to stop, breathe. Then Natasha hears a crunch, the sound of footfall. Without thinking, she turns towards the noise, and takes a fighting stance. It makes her tired, and she doesn't know why. ]
Who's there? [ Her voice doesn't falter, but her breathing is audible. ]
I.
There's no one else she could be talking to, nobody close enough it would make sense. And anyway, it feels right, talking to her. He squints, and the answer to her question comes tumbling out like a wrapped gift. ]
It'll be a shame when the freeze hits.
[ An odd thing to say. But the right thing, he thinks. The answer he's supposed to give. ]
no subject
James?
[ What the hell is he doing here? ]
no subject
That's what it says, [ he answers, amicably chagrined. He lifts his left arm to show off the wristband, Barnes, James tightened gently around the smooth metal plates. ] If you know that from my face, you're one step ahead of me.
[ Casually, he says this, like waking up not knowing his own name is just a thing that happens sometimes, common as a splinter. ]
Sorry, I don't know yours, but I'd like to.
no subject
I'm Natasha.
[ She lets go of his arm.]
No one else calls you James, you know. [ She's sure of that. And sure that he doesn't know. ]
ii
There's something wrong, though. Lois normally tears around in her fashionable, but sensible heels without breaking stride, but now she feels almost out of breath and a little wobbly. Weird. So weird that the woman she comes upon catches her off guard. Lois throws up her hands and wobbles a little precariously. ]
I'm Lois Lane. [ She almost says with the Daily Planet reflectively, her voice out of breath, but still with the same snap to it. ] Who are you?
no subject
Natasha Romanov. [ Natasha looks at the woman, trying to get a read, taking it all in. The way she wobbles in her heels, the fact that she's wearing heels in the first place. But enough of Natasha is missing that she doesn't know how to put the pieces together, just that she ought to be noticing things. ]
Do you know what made that scream?
no subject
I don't know. Just that it came from around here. [ She gestures to encompass the bulk of the shadowy forest and the wall looming in the distance. ] Do you know what's over there?