1st Cut -- [Audio | Cellphone] -- [Forward-dated to around 3:00am on the 4th]

[twopercent]

[Somewhere in a suburban neighborhood, there's two loud gunshots, one right after the other.]

[Less than five minutes after that (for those that might have heard it), there's a comment on the network -- and for those receiving voice, Jack sounds on edge. What the hell. If he's lost it, then maybe he should just give in and join the rest of the crazy crew.]

Some of you were talking about strange animals? If anyone's awake out there, you might want to check your doors and windows. All of them.

Comments

[secondcomingof]

Desperately wishing that I was.

[ But he knows he's not. ]

[twopercent]

I take it it's quiet on your end?

[secondcomingof]

For the moment, yes.

[ Other than the fact his heart is still pounding like crazy and he feels ready to collapse. Brain, stop. This is a really, really inconvenient time for a panic attack. ]

[twopercent]

[Jack's still high-tension, but there's been no further sign of bizarrely mutated animals... with the initial urgency out of the way, he takes note that Casval isn't quite his usual wordy self, and tries to tone it down a notch.]

I've got to say, raccoons and a few squirrels aren't really the most threatening home invaders. Startling, more than anything.

[secondcomingof]

[ Tone it down a notch. Don't worry. He's got this. Breathe. ]

I still don't like it. All of this... is it connected to the sudden appearance of the network, somehow?

[twopercent]

[Jack considers this briefly.]

I guess it's possible. As much as any of this is.

[There's another pause there, an involuntary odd noise from Jack's end. That thump. He's felt it before, but it catches him off-guard.]

[secondcomingof]

[ AlrightnoproblemstartingtoTHEFUCKWASTHAT. ]

Jack?

[twopercent]

Huh? [Jack sounds distant for a moment there, confused. There was a conversation he'd had a long time ago, with another man he doesn't know... it was important, somehow. But the content of the conversation is strange, out of context.]

Uh. Just thinking about it some more... 'There's no such thing in the world as absolute reality'. Do you think that's true?

[secondcomingof]

[ ...surprisingly, out of anything, that gets Casval to snap out of his flustered daze. When in doubt, philosophy's always a good distraction for a soldier born and raised upon it. ]

Reality is merely a matter of perception. What's black to you might be white to me, for example. [ Sucking in a steadying breath. ] So yes, I think that's true.

[twopercent]

Hmm.

[Most of it is still... odd. But maybe not completely irrelevant.]

I guess... maybe it doesn't matter if this is real or not then, huh?

[There was definitely more to it, more behind the conversation, but without everything surrounding it, Jack can't do more than scratch the surface of the words.]

[secondcomingof]

Real or not, it matters to me.

[ More importantly, though... ]

Why do you ask? Something on your mind?

[ Other than killing mutant animals, that is. ]

[twopercent]

[Jack does hesitate. But this is something he remembers, not something tucked away in the darkness to be forgotten. And against his initial expectations, he actually feels a little camaraderie with Casval. It's one of the things he genuinely misses about being in service -- everyone understood, because everyone had been through the same troubles.]

I just remembered talking with someone a long time ago. It doesn't make a lot of sense. I was confused then... and I'm starting to feel just as confused now, I think.

[secondcomingof]

[ For what it's worth, that budding feeling is mutual. Jack was a little above your ordinary rank-and-file soldier; he got that impression from their first meeting, from the hardness in his eyes that spoke of old wounds best left untouched. And he's getting that impression now, too, that there's a story behind this man. Something he's not telling. But he couldn't rightly call him out for it.

After all, it's the same story he's not telling himself. ]

We all are. That's why... you understand now, don't you? The meaning of my message earlier. To suffer this alone is— [ Awful. Unthinkable. ] —well, let's just try to keep our wits about us. Until we've acquired more pieces of the puzzle, it's the extent of what we can do.

[twopercent]

Yeah... yeah, you're right. [Jack sounds a little more assured, this time.]

We'll figure it out somehow. Someone out there has to know what's happening, with us, this network, and those things. We just have to find them.

bromance of the century right here dawg

[secondcomingof]

I'll find them, alright.

[ There's a touch of bitterness to his words now. ]

Nothing escapes the Red Comet's sights. You can rest easy on that much.

soldiers gonna soldier on, yo

[twopercent]

Heh. I still think I'm gonna save resting easy for another night if it's okay with you, Cap. I don't think I could sleep much tonight even if I wanted to. [Not that he ever does, with nothing but nightmares waiting for him there...]

.......Jack calling Casval Cap is adorable can this be a thing

[secondcomingof]

[ He should bristle at the pet name, but doesn't. Too distracted by the scent of blood. He's like a wolf on the hunt and those fangs won't be going away anytime soon. ]

I've got your back. Take my number— [ transmitting it to him directly ] —call at once if you've need of anything. Whatever this is, it won't be the end of us.

Forever and always~

[twopercent]

Got it. Same goes for you, too. Be careful out there.

Jack, over and out.