A Bizarre New World, Chapter One: Cat’s In The Cradle

[grampagen]

The man nodded with a grunt, having busied himself picking out shards of glass from various parts of his exposed skin.



"..." Debra looked at Gula for a moment, much in the same way she did Vivian earlier. The fact this girl was flaunting that she could provide transportation to wherever reliably and yet hadn't up until this point visibly struck a chord considering what all they had gone through.

"Domo is... very stubborn when it comes to medical aid, being the stoic type and all. It'd be best if I take him to whatever is local."



The loud cracking of wood could be heard as Suzie seemingly tore the rooftop access door off its hinges. The August sunlight bathed the interior of the industrial-looking stairway hallway, including a faded painted arrow that indicated that the next floor below was 7th.

He shoulders cringed inward, and slowly Suzie processed this turn of events. She'd wanted to open the door, and the spectre made it happen. Exhaling slowly, she surveyed the inside.

"...there's no lift inside," she offered aloud to Debra and the company of those siblings she hadn't quite found the courage to make greetings with. "But it's not a long jaunt, about seven floors down. Maybe if we reach ground level, it'd be easier to determine what we can do...?"

It was so awkward to do this without names, but the fact remained they were injured in the first place because of all this family business.

Vivian darts past the strange ghost-lady with superstrength and offers her a nod of appreciation before disappearing down the stairwell.

Though there was a faint, it present hum that sounded like:

"foodfoodfoodfoodfoodfood"

"...eh...?"

Before she'd so much stepped inside, she'd found a beaming smile under a bobbing wide-brimmed hat chase down the stairway. She seems to be rather taking this in stride.

Suzie reached her right hand to her left shoulder. The pain that carried the fever days ago and had spiked seemed to be gone, at least for now.

Until we get to Johannes Joestar's place, we need to keep moving...

Maybe there would be some answers. For now, as she stepped into the darkness after Vivian, it seemed she had only her 「Jigsaw Feeling」for company.

[Yun Lao]

He shoulders cringed inward, and slowly Suzie processed this turn of events. She'd wanted to open the door, and the spectre made it happen. Exhaling slowly, she surveyed the inside.

"...there's no lift inside," she offered aloud to Debra and the company of those siblings she hadn't quite found the courage to make greetings with. "But it's not a long jaunt, about seven floors down. Maybe if we reach ground level, it'd be easier to determine what we can do...?"

It was so awkward to do this without names, but the fact remained they were injured in the first place because of all this family business.



"...eh...?"

Before she'd so much stepped inside, she'd found a beaming smile under a bobbing wide-brimmed hat chase down the stairway. She seems to be rather taking this in stride.

Suzie reached her right hand to her left shoulder. The pain that carried the fever days ago and had spiked seemed to be gone, at least for now.

Until we get to Johannes Joestar's place, we need to keep moving...

Maybe there would be some answers. For now, as she stepped into the darkness after Vivian, it seemed she had only her 「Jigsaw Feeling」for company.

Dimly lit, the stairway descended each floor, leading to a doorway to said floor. It was only when one descended to the seventh floor proper that the signs on the wall would depict an elevator, along with the general directions of the laundry room and ice machine. Still, the easiest way door would be the continue down the staircase to the main floor.

Those stepping out into the individual floors would find themselves greeted with, although outdated, relatively clean and intact hallways of pale cream painted walls and green carpets. The various sounds of life could be heard from music, television, children, and of course, growing concern over what had just occurred.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

He shoulders cringed inward, and slowly Suzie processed this turn of events. She'd wanted to open the door, and the spectre made it happen. Exhaling slowly, she surveyed the inside.

"...there's no lift inside," she offered aloud to Debra and the company of those siblings she hadn't quite found the courage to make greetings with. "But it's not a long jaunt, about seven floors down. Maybe if we reach ground level, it'd be easier to determine what we can do...?"

It was so awkward to do this without names, but the fact remained they were injured in the first place because of all this family business.



"...eh...?"

Before she'd so much stepped inside, she'd found a beaming smile under a bobbing wide-brimmed hat chase down the stairway. She seems to be rather taking this in stride.

Suzie reached her right hand to her left shoulder. The pain that carried the fever days ago and had spiked seemed to be gone, at least for now.

Until we get to Johannes Joestar's place, we need to keep moving...

Maybe there would be some answers. For now, as she stepped into the darkness after Vivian, it seemed she had only her 「Jigsaw Feeling」for company.

Dimly lit, the stairway descended each floor, leading to a doorway to said floor. It was only when one descended to the seventh floor proper that the signs on the wall would depict an elevator, along with the general directions of the laundry room and ice machine. Still, the easiest way door would be the continue down the staircase to the main floor.

Those stepping out into the individual floors would find themselves greeted with, although outdated, relatively clean and intact hallways of pale cream painted walls and green carpets. The various sounds of life could be heard from music, television, children, and of course, growing concern over what had just occurred.

Sandra pulled out her phone and turned the flashlight. "****! My charger's in my fucking bag," she realized once she saw she had 70% power left. She could pick one up at any store, but she fucking liked that charger.

She sighed and followed Hat Witch and Pale Ghost down the stairs.

"Hey," she called out. "Either of you two got a name? I'm Sandra." She figured she might as well introduce herself to her "siblings", even though after the stupid will reading, she was never going to see them again.

[Yun Lao]

"You holding up all right?" Debra asked Domo, whose hulking figure rose above the woman as he stood up, "... of course you are. Still, we need to get you and the others some medical attention." A quick glance was given to her phone before she turned to the rooftop access, "Guess the first step is getting to the ground floor. We should probably follow those two... getting separated might not be the best idea right now."

Stepping in, first Debra, then Domo, the way was open for the others to make their descent.

[Tami]

Smiling comfortingly to Boris, Jamie lifted his right leg to hold the twin wounds above his heart to hopefully slow the blood loss. Holding the leg with one hand, she reached into her backpack and retrieved a pair of small scissors, which she used to carefully cut one side of his pants leg, letting the cut cloth open to reveal the gunshot wounds.

Setting the scissors aside, she then pulled out a couple of the t-shirts she'd pack in the bag, and letting the leg rest on her own leg to keep it elevated, she pressed the shirts firmly against the bullet holes, frowning slightly as she watched the two now-ruined shirts begin soaking up the blood escaping the wounds.

With a nod, Jamie asked "Has anyone managed to call the proper authorities, or at least an ambulance?"

"You holding up all right?" Debra asked Domo, whose hulking figure rose above the woman as he stood up, "... of course you are. Still, we need to get you and the others some medical attention." A quick glance was given to her phone before she turned to the rooftop access, "Guess the first step is getting to the ground floor. We should probably follow those two... getting separated might not be the best idea right now."

Stepping in, first Debra, then Domo, the way was open for the others to make their descent.

Jinny went over to Jamie and Boris, "Looks like we need to get downstairs. Boris, can you walk? Jamie, how bad is it?"

[KingofPie]

"You holding up all right?" Debra asked Domo, whose hulking figure rose above the woman as he stood up, "... of course you are. Still, we need to get you and the others some medical attention." A quick glance was given to her phone before she turned to the rooftop access, "Guess the first step is getting to the ground floor. We should probably follow those two... getting separated might not be the best idea right now."

Stepping in, first Debra, then Domo, the way was open for the others to make their descent.

Miguel followed the others down the stairs, looking more than a little disgruntled over the fact that he had left his bag on the bus. With no money to speak of, purchasing that equipment again would be....bah. He scratched his head in irritation, the annoyed scowl on his face deepening with every step down

[The Dog]

Jinny went over to Jamie and Boris, "Looks like we need to get downstairs. Boris, can you walk? Jamie, how bad is it?"

"Not terrible... Well, not terrible for two gunshot wounds to the leg. But they're still bad. Fortunately, it seems that the bullets avoided any major blood vessels in the leg, and I don't believe the femur was damaged. So he should be fine until we reach a hospital." Jamie explained as she tightly tied the blood-stained t-shirts around his legs to cover and keep pressure on the wounds.

Sighing, she added "I'd really rather you not walk on this leg, Boris, but I have the feeling you will anyways. So I would like it if you would at least lean on me or someone else to keep as much pressure off your injured leg as possible please."

[bruceleegreyhulk]

"That's... good to know, Boris." Jamie replied awkwardly, not sure to how to respond to that. Deciding to try to change the subject, Jamie asked "So, I heard you talking about your mother. Is she a nice woman?"

" Yeah, she's a nice woman. She was overprotective of me, though. She used her connections with the Ukrainian mafia to threaten anyone who bullied me. If that didn't work," Boris said.

" She used her connections to make the people who bulled me disappear, sometimes even their whole families. I only found out what she was doing last year. I had a falling out with her and my grand uncle because of it," Boris said.

" I still love her, though. I know she's a good person. I know my mother was just looking after me all those years, even if she went overboard. My mother suffers from the same genetic condition that I do," Boris said.

" My grand-uncle also has this condition. A thing noteworthy about my mother when it comes to talent. Is that she's the best ventriloquist in all of Ukraine. She designs her own puppets and puts on her own shows," Boris said.

" However ventriloquists hardly make any money in Ukraine. Because of this, mother became a glamour model for the money," Boris said.

[Tami]

" Yeah, she's a nice woman. She was overprotective of me, though. She used her connections with the Ukrainian mafia to threaten anyone who bullied me. If that didn't work," Boris said.

" She used her connections to make the people who bulled me disappear, sometimes even their whole families. I only found out what she was doing last year. I had a falling out with her and my grand uncle because of it," Boris said.

" I still love her, though. I know she's a good person. I know my mother was just looking after me all those years, even if she went overboard. My mother suffers from the same genetic condition that I do," Boris said.

" My grand-uncle also has this condition. A thing noteworthy about my mother when it comes to talent. Is that she's the best ventriloquist in all of Ukraine. She designs her own puppets and puts on her own shows," Boris said.

" However ventriloquists hardly make any money in Ukraine. Because of this, mother became a glamour model for the money," Boris said.

"Boris, can you walk? We need to get down those stairs before we can get your gunshot wounds taken care of."

[grampagen]

Dimly lit, the stairway descended each floor, leading to a doorway to said floor. It was only when one descended to the seventh floor proper that the signs on the wall would depict an elevator, along with the general directions of the laundry room and ice machine. Still, the easiest way door would be the continue down the staircase to the main floor.

Those stepping out into the individual floors would find themselves greeted with, although outdated, relatively clean and intact hallways of pale cream painted walls and green carpets. The various sounds of life could be heard from music, television, children, and of course, growing concern over what had just occurred.

Proceeding after Vivian's vivacious footsteps, echoing as they fell swiftly in pursuit of a bite to eat, Suzie's approach was a slight more measured. With a tight sigh, it was with the din from the various enclosures around them that she became rather conscious that this was a residential building.

...what they must think to see a tour bus screech its tires on the windows of their flat...

One flight down. With a good half of her belongings tossed thanks to Toby Keith, her suitcase was significantly lighter. All the same「Jigsaw Feeling」reached its long fingers out as if to offer its hands, which only prompted her hasten her pace.

Sandra pulled out her phone and turned the flashlight. "****! My charger's in my fucking bag," she realized once she saw she had 70% power left. She could pick one up at any store, but she fucking liked that charger.

She sighed and followed Hat Witch and Pale Ghost down the stairs.

"Hey," she called out. "Either of you two got a name? I'm Sandra." She figured she might as well introduce herself to her "siblings", even though after the stupid will reading, she was never going to see them again.

Miguel followed the others down the stairs, looking more than a little disgruntled over the fact that he had left his bag on the bus. With no money to speak of, purchasing that equipment again would be....bah. He scratched his head in irritation, the annoyed scowl on his face deepening with every step down

She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she flinched when she heard Sandra's voice. Even though they were altogether in the same lot, she'd been somewhat wary ever since she pulled in on that truck with the smoking engine at the truckstop.

Acknowledging her with a weak wave of her hand, Suzie suddenly became preternaturally aware that the shadow beside her was began to stir.

"Susan," she stammered. "My name is Susan...charmed, Sandra. Well, were we not so out of sorts right now, I guess."

The atmosphere became a little less heady at least...who knows what would have happened has she not spoken? Yet again she was alraedy at a loss for topics as they wound down the stairwells. Round the bend she looked behind her and nodded to Miguel as they pressed forward.

"You holding up all right?" Debra asked Domo, whose hulking figure rose above the woman as he stood up, "... of course you are. Still, we need to get you and the others some medical attention." A quick glance was given to her phone before she turned to the rooftop access, "Guess the first step is getting to the ground floor. We should probably follow those two... getting separated might not be the best idea right now."

Stepping in, first Debra, then Domo, the way was open for the others to make their descent.

Upon reaching the 7th floor, Suzie peeked her head through the stairwell exit.

"Look, there's a lift here on the Seventh," she said, "Suppose I'll call the car, and let Domo and the others ease their way down, yeah?"

Reflexively, she tapped two black nails onto the button and prepped to hold the elevator.

[Jcogginsa]

Jinny went over to Jamie and Boris, "Looks like we need to get downstairs. Boris, can you walk? Jamie, how bad is it?"

"Not terrible... Well, not terrible for two gunshot wounds to the leg. But they're still bad. Fortunately, it seems that the bullets avoided any major blood vessels in the leg, and I don't believe the femur was damaged. So he should be fine until we reach a hospital." Jamie explained as she tightly tied the blood-stained t-shirts around his legs to cover and keep pressure on the wounds.

Sighing, she added "I'd really rather you not walk on this leg, Boris, but I have the feeling you will anyways. So I would like it if you would at least lean on me or someone else to keep as much pressure off your injured leg as possible please."

"I'll help him walk" John volunteered, "Name's John. It'll be most efficient for me to do it"

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Sandra pulled out her phone and turned the flashlight. "****! My charger's in my fucking bag," she realized once she saw she had 70% power left. She could pick one up at any store, but she fucking liked that charger.

She sighed and followed Hat Witch and Pale Ghost down the stairs.

"Hey," she called out. "Either of you two got a name? I'm Sandra." She figured she might as well introduce herself to her "siblings", even though after the stupid will reading, she was never going to see them again.

"VIVIAN." Came the shout from down the stairwell.

[The Dog]

" Yeah, she's a nice woman. She was overprotective of me, though. She used her connections with the Ukrainian mafia to threaten anyone who bullied me. If that didn't work," Boris said.

" She used her connections to make the people who bulled me disappear, sometimes even their whole families. I only found out what she was doing last year. I had a falling out with her and my grand uncle because of it," Boris said.

" I still love her, though. I know she's a good person. I know my mother was just looking after me all those years, even if she went overboard. My mother suffers from the same genetic condition that I do," Boris said.

" My grand-uncle also has this condition. A thing noteworthy about my mother when it comes to talent. Is that she's the best ventriloquist in all of Ukraine. She designs her own puppets and puts on her own shows," Boris said.

" However ventriloquists hardly make any money in Ukraine. Because of this, mother became a glamour model for the money," Boris said.

Well... this conversation seemed destined to be an awkward one that Jamie couldn't avoid. Because what could you say when your newly-discovered dwarfism-afflicted half-brother revealed that not only was he ex-Ukranian mafia, but his mother and grand uncle were Ukranian mafiosos with dwarfism too. And that his mother regularly threatened and killed those who bullied him, sometimes taking entire families for the actions of one.

And then she apparently became a glamour model because her chosen profession of ventriloquism didn't make enough money.

"I see..."

"I'll help him walk" John volunteered, "Name's John. It'll be most efficient for me to do it"

Jamie sighed, glad to have a way out of the incredibly awkward discussion about Boris' family and the murderous acts they engaged in, and turned to John with a smile as she said "Glad to have the assistance, John. My name is Jamie Valentine."

[Jcogginsa]

Well... this conversation seemed destined to be an awkward one that Jamie couldn't avoid. Because what could you say when your newly-discovered dwarfism-afflicted half-brother revealed that not only was he ex-Ukranian mafia, but his mother and grand uncle were Ukranian mafiosos with dwarfism too. And that his mother regularly threatened and killed those who bullied him, sometimes taking entire families for the actions of one.

And then she apparently became a glamour model because her chosen profession of ventriloquism didn't make enough money.

"I see..."



Jamie sighed, glad to have a way out of the incredibly awkward discussion about Boris' family and the murderous acts they engaged in, and turned to John with a smile as she said "Glad to have the assistance, John. My name is Jamie Valentine."

"Nice to to meet you Jamie...despite the trying circumstances"

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Well... this conversation seemed destined to be an awkward one that Jamie couldn't avoid. Because what could you say when your newly-discovered dwarfism-afflicted half-brother revealed that not only was he ex-Ukranian mafia, but his mother and grand uncle were Ukranian mafiosos with dwarfism too. And that his mother regularly threatened and killed those who bullied him, sometimes taking entire families for the actions of one.

And then she apparently became a glamour model because her chosen profession of ventriloquism didn't make enough money.

"I see..."



Jamie sighed, glad to have a way out of the incredibly awkward discussion about Boris' family and the murderous acts they engaged in, and turned to John with a smile as she said "Glad to have the assistance, John. My name is Jamie Valentine."

Boris looks at Jamie," If you're thinking my mother is a Ukrainian mafioso? She's not. The only person I know in my family that's a Ukrainian mafioso is my Granduncle," Boris said.

" My mother never cause any physical harm to anyone in her life. When I said my mother, threatening those who bullied me. I mean, she threatened to get my Granduncle to do something about them," Boris said.

" Now, let me ask you a question, who do you think runs Ukraine?" Boris said.