Announcement 001

[intercom_voice]

[Whether you're waking up in the clinic just now, or have already done so and are now wandering the halls, a sudden screech of microphone feedback blares over the speakers before fading back out.

A moment later, a woman clears her throat. Her voice is husky and mature, but still feminine, and overall she sounds very authoritative...if not a bit sarcastic.]

Good evening, and welcome to the new school year. I hope your arrival was a pleasant one, last year everybody threw-up from motion sickness, it was quite messy.

[There's a long pause as she seems to think, or perhaps just let any anticipated bustling chatter calm down.] Now, you're all intelligent human beings...for the most part. But I suppose I'll pretend I'm talking to the insipid uneducated masses for a moment; it shouldn't prove too difficult.

[She clears he throat again.] In every hall, you shall find a small intercom. You may use that to ask me any questions after my announcements and "privately" converse. Now, if you head North down one of the halls near the clinic in the Central Wing and keep going, you'll eventually come to either the West or East Dorm Wings, depending on which fork in the road you chose. There you'll find all necessary bunk beds and spare socks.

So, make sure you're all well rested for class in the morning; we wouldn't want to get a failing grade now would we?

[And with that, there's another burst of feedback before her announcement abruptly ends. Anybody who had been wandering the halls will notice a distinct lack of...well, anybody else aside from new arrivals, the Nurse, and the Lunch Lady.

The strange woman over the loudspeakers may have mentioned classes, but the school seemed completely devoid of any teachers to provide those classes. In fact, a lot of things seemed...off.]

---

Speak to the Voice
General Mingle

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Comments

[thatcatfrom101]

[This place was already stranger than anywhere he's been in his week out in the wastes. For one thing, it was clean. And it was big. He's positive the building he had entered was small and dilapidated, like every other building in the wasteland. Assuming he wasn't knocked out and dragged somewhere else, which would have explained waking up in that Nurse's office.

Maybe he should have questioned her instead of running away.

When the loudspeaker blares to life and the lady speaks, Roy assumes it's some kind of recording someone left on. That, or the psychopath who owns this building. But he'd rather believe the first.

Either way, there is a young man in a jumpsuit who looks to be very on edge, walking the halls with a gun clutched in his hands.]

[tunnelsnake]

[At least Roy had a gun, all Butch had were his whits. Which meant he basically had nothing.

He'd actually taken to cautiously checking each room he passed, but when he saw Roy from afar and that familiar blue jumpsuit he nearly cried.]

Hey--finally, somebody I recognize!

[thatcatfrom101]

[To say Roy is relieved to see a familiar face would be the understatement of the century. He doesn't even question why he's not in Vault 101 right away, instead he runs over and...well, it looks as if he's about to hug Butch but he totally refrains from doing so.]

Oh shit -- Butch! I thought I'd never see your greasy ass again.

[Despite his worn and messy appearance, he looks completely relieved.]

[tunnelsnake]

I'll take that as a compliment.

[Especially since you're still wearing the jacket he gave you before you left the Vault. Speaking of...]

So, ah... [Butch brings a hand up, shielding his eyes a bit from the light.]

Any idea where the hell we are? 'Cause this ain't the Vault, and I wanted to get outta there, sure, but I think I would have remembered doin' it, ya know?

[thatcatfrom101]

[Roy furrows his brows together at Butch.]

Ya mean you didn't leave in all the chaos and shit? [That's what he assumed, anyway.] Man, I ain't got a damn clue.

[He lets out a frustrated sigh and rubs at his eyes with his free hand.]

I don't fuckin' remember comin' here or nothin' either.

[tunnelsnake]

I couldn't, the Overseer's got the place under lock-n-key, and I don't even know where the fuckin' exit is.

[He scowls before crossing his arms and keeping up that pouty, spoiled look of his.]

You're lucky you got to leave when you did--everything's just been downhill since. But whatever, at least I'm outta that joint. Now we just gotta figure out where here is.

[thatcatfrom101]

Fuck that I wanna' go back.

[Well, no, he wants to find his father. So he can punch him in the fucking face! But if he had the chance he might actually run back in the Vault and beg the Overseer for entrance. Maybe. He's not even sure, really. All he's sure of is that he's scared shitless. And to top everything off he doesn't know where he is anymore.]

If it's even possible. This place doesn't show up on my map, and it looks nothin' like any of the other buildings I was in.

[tunnelsnake]

Go back? Why the hell would you wanna come back? It's even worse than before!

[But whatever, Butch dismissively shakes his head.]

You know what? I don't even care where we are. It's already lookin' better than that metal rat tunnel. All I need is a pair of sunglasses, and I'm set.

[thatcatfrom101]

It can't be any worse than what's on the outside!

[Roy takes a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves as he runs a hand through his hair. He takes a moment before responding.]

We don't even know if it's safe in here. Besides, I gotta find the way outta here.

[tunnelsnake]

The place is infested with radroaches! [That's the worst thing, Roy. The absolute worst.]

Besides, it looks safe enough to me! And if it's so bad outside, what the hell am I supposed to fight with? My pocket knife?

[That was just there for cool points, he couldn't actually use it; it's too short range! And there was no way he was punching a radroach to death.]

[thatcatfrom101]

[Roy releases a frustrated sigh.]

You don't get it, Butch. Everything everyone's ever said about stayin' in the Vault for our own good? They were fuckin' right.

[He glances down the hall, momentarily worried that their talking might attract unwanted visitors.]

There's gotta be a gun around here somewhere. And if it really is safe in here, you can stay. But I've gotta go. I have to.

[tunnelsnake]

Who cares--I'd rather be outside than livin' in that hole for the rest of my life. You're the one who doesn't get it!

[Of course, Butch didn't know what he was talking about, but he knew he was sick of the Vault. He wanted out, and in its current condition it was just...hell.]

I don't wanna stay in here either man; look at it. It's just another Vault with different wallpaper. It's just a prison--we Tunnel Snakes need some room to stretch our legs!

[He crosses his arms, leering a bit at Roy. Who the hell did he think he was, anyway, just trying to leave him here?] What're ya in such a rush for anyway?

[thatcatfrom101]

[Roy's not even looking at Butch anymore. He's standing off to the side with his hands on his hair, trying to figure out his next move.]

I gotta find my dad. He's out there.

[He finally turns to look at Butch, his expression both somber and scared. Truth be told, if it weren't for the fact that he really wanted to know why he left...he would just say to hell with it all.]

Man, there's some crazy shit out there. Fuckin' worse than radroaches, Butch. Just...shit man.

[leanonstuff]

[The longer Norman wanders the halls of this strange institution, the more he comes to accept that he isn't having some awful college dream after all. No, this is far too real to be a dream, or even a hallucination. So when he turns down another hall and sees a nervous young man clutching a gun in his hands, his instinct is to dart back behind the wall he'd turned and draw his own pistol, holding it close to his chest.]

Hey, you! Put down the gun! This is the FBI!

[thatcatfrom101]

[Roy startles at the sudden shout, raising his gun and pointing it every which way before it settles for aiming where the voice came from. He thought at first it was a raider, but he sounded too...authoritative.

That doesn't calm him down any more, though. FBI?]

I ain't puttin' down shit! Just...stay away from me, all right?

[He sounds more nervous than threatening.]

[leanonstuff]

[Norman has never been in this sort situation before, so he's nervous himself. This kid really seems on edge.]

Listen... I went through school too, I know how tough it can be. You don't have to do this. Just put down the gun and we can talk it over, all right?

[It's a good sign that the kid sounds more nervous than threatening. It shows that he must still have doubts about what he's doing. That he can still be talked down from it. Norman hasn't seen any other students on this campus so far, but that doesn't mean they aren't there.]

You don't wanna do anything you'll regret.

[thatcatfrom101]

[Roy's brows knit together and for a moment he sounds genuinely confused.]

The hell are you talkin' about?

[Did this guy think he was some psychopath or something? Or maybe he thought Roy was the raider?]

Stop talkin' to me like I'm fuckin' crazy and back off!

[leanonstuff]

[He sighs quietly, wishing he could call for backup right about now. Norman is a profiler, not someone who responds to these sorts of emergencies.]

I can't do that until you put the gun away. I don't want anyone here to get hurt!

[He glances around the corner again, getting a better look over the situation. Strange outfit the kid's wearing, but who knows with these nutjobs?]

What are you hoping to accomplish?

[thatcatfrom101]

[Roy scoffs, getting a little more frustrated. Sure, the guy sounded reasonable, but he wasn't going to go putting his gun down for anyone out here, whether they sounded reasonable or not.]

I'm hopin' to accomplish not gettin' shot. Who are you anyway? You ain't a raider, don't sound nearly batshit enough. So tell me who you are.

[leanonstuff]

...Huh? A raider?

[What exactly is this guy expecting to be confronted with wandering these halls? It is difficult for Norman to ignore the mysterious circumstances surrounding his arrival here, and as such he finds himself uncertain about whether he has the right idea talking to a stranger in these halls in that manner. There might be more to, well, everything, than seemed immediately apparent.]

Agent Norman Jayden. Who are you? Why do you think you'd be shot around here?

[thatcatfrom101]

[Roy's tempted to move closer to where the voice is coming from, around that corner, but only takes about half a step before freaking himself out at the thought of getting shot.]

[He hesitates.] Roy.

[Even though his voice shakes a little with that nervous edge, he manages to sound incredulous.]

What're you new here? [Which is kind of funny coming from Roy, considering he's only been wandering the wastes for about a week.] Everyone either wants somethin' from you, or they just want to shoot you. Which one're you?

[leanonstuff]

[Norman also stands his ground. This is a delicate situation, even if only because he made it so. It's starting to seem more and more likely that this Roy isn't what he thought.]

Yeah, I'm new.

[He considers adding that he has no fuckin' clue where he is or how he got there, but decides against it for now.]

Seeing as the last thing I want to do is shoot you, I'm not the second one. All I want from you is for you to lower your weapon. No one's gonna take well to a guy walking around a school with a gun drawn, y'know?

[thatcatfrom101]

[Roy has no idea where he is either, but he assumes it's somewhere in the wasteland.]

Figures.

[He very slowly lowers his weapon so that it's pointing more towards the floor, but his grip on it doesn't loosen and he still seems to be on edge, if only slightly more calm.]

If you can just tell me where this buildin' is, I'll be on my way, dig?

[leanonstuff]

[He glances again around the corner, noting how Roy's gun is no longer pointed directly ahead. In response, he decides to finally step away from that cover and face the stranger directly. Norman's own gun is held similarly, gripped tightly in both hands but pointed toward the floor. The suit he's wearing must appear in much better shape than Roy is used to seeing on the wasteland.]

I, er... don't know, actually. I was in D.C. before I got here, so I doubt it can be too far from there.

How did you get here?

[thatcatfrom101]

[Roy takes notice right away of the stranger's put together appearance, finding it a little odd. Though if he's from a vault, it wouldn't be surprising. Then again, he's not wearing a vault suit. His mind swam with loads of questions, but when Jayden speaks he snaps himself out of it.]

I don't know, guy. I was in D.C too, just...I got surrounded by a group of those big yellow bastards and ducked into a building. [He pauses his story momentarily, realizing how silly it sounds.] Then I woke up in a nurse's office.