IC Inbox (v1.0)

[jumpthegun]

You've reached Dr. John Watson. Please leave a message.

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[devoutish]

Is the socket infected? Does it hurt?

[jumpthegun]

It's not infected for the moment. I stitched my eyelids shut. It hurts like hell.

[devoutish]

Are you in danger from it? How does it look?

[jumpthegun]

I hate to put it like this, but Dr. Stein's a very good surgeon. It's a clean job. I'm not in any immediate danger. It's nowhere near as bad as the mess poor Charlie was in when Beckett got his eye.

[devoutish]

Why did he take it out in the first place?

[jumpthegun]

Because I was the only one in our group with the Prophet eyes. And he's a maniac who likes to pull people apart. [There's that, too.]

[devoutish]

Mm. Are you resting today, or walking?

[jumpthegun]

I dunno, yet. I need to find out where Sherlock is. I think he might've moved from the fire station. We're probably heading north. Didn't have much luck experimenting with the anomaly.

Are you and Duster splitting off from the girls?

[devoutish]

No, no.

[He sounds surprised by the suggestion, really.]

No, we're not.

[jumpthegun]

Do you have something to restrain them if this happens again?

[He's pretty sure he doesn't need to explain to Alfie how dangerous it might be.]

[devoutish]

I've got rope. They used it against me, last night.

[jumpthegun]

I'm sorry, Alfie. [It's not John's fault, but the guilt is there. He'd told Alfie he'd be dead before the morning.] Next time their eyes change, probably just best to tie them up before something happens.

[devoutish]

[That sends a chill through Alfie, maybe more than anything else since he'd woken up. Watson's assumptions about the future are usually reserved for good things - when Fiona wakes up, when we find the cure to the radiation sickness, when we figure out how to get home. Alfie doesn't like the sound of next time their eyes change.

But he doesn't berate, and his tone is almost gentle when he replies.]

Yeah. Yeah, if it happens again, we'll be prepared.

[Remember that it's only an if, friend.]

[jumpthegun]

Hopefully, it won't. We know what we need to do on our side, as well. [Cuffing and drugging himself had been the right choice.] Your Vicodin can help calm someone down, too. Or at least put them out of commission for fighting.

[devoutish]

Mm - the sleeping pills, too.

[jumpthegun]

This whole thing only started up since we got into Hsiaoke Pass properly. [John butchers the pronunciation on that a bit.] All of these bad things with the Prophet. I really don't understand. I thought they were meant to be helping us, that it was that little girl, Sam.

[devoutish]

You shouldn't have trusted them. People like that, they aren't to be trusted.

[jumpthegun]

People like what? The ones in our dreams. We've learned something from them, Alfie. I know we can't trust all of them completely, but a little kid?

[devoutish]

If it is a little kid, truly.

[He's not convinced.]

These people, right, they talk in half truths; they don't give straight answers.

[jumpthegun]

You think it's the Beast using all of them?

[devoutish]

Something like that. Yeah. I think it's a very strong possibility.

[jumpthegun]

Mm... I think Beckett was talking about that possibility with someone. It's looking more and more plausible. But it still feels like there's more to it than that. Like something's trying to fight whatever it is taking over the system--taking over us.

[There's some optimism for you, Alfie.]

[devoutish]

You think it's Winter?

[jumpthegun]

As the one fighting against whatever's destroying Norfinbury? Maybe. I just don't know, Alfie. She's not terribly trustworthy, but no one else is, either. We've gotten barely any information from her. But she's never come off as actively malicious.

[devoutish]

Well - you know how I feel about all of them by now, I expect. Yeah.