seventeen | but when we start making fires we can't have a soul

[strike_you_out]

[ phone | filtered from: drones ]

Are there any flamethrowers in Mayfield? How do I get one?

Unrelated, someone who has killed their target and is willing to talk, I have a question...


[ filtered to: Pokey ]

Pokey.

...

Pokey?


[ action | Slugger never thought he'd see the day when he would have to use the gift Susan had given him at Christmastime. The surface of the wooden bat was still polished and smooth. He never thought he'd lose his real bat again, either, along with everything else the town had restored to him. Or perhaps the security of having his powers had gone to his head and he simply hadn't wanted to think about other possibilities. Now, with nothing left---not even his golden bat, he wishes he'd thought of it more. Better preparation could have served him well, but for the time being, he'll have to depend on improvisation.]

(A) Backyard at Home; 726 Anderson
[A gunshot rings out from behind the house. Minimal investigation will lead you to find Slugger standing in the yard with his back to the house and a revolver aimed to the ground. On his face is a sheepish look, eyebrows raised and cheeks puffed out. Somewhere, there's a bullet embedded in the dirt.]

(B) A Range of Accessible Public Buildings (school, hospital, dime store, etc.)
[A single swing of his bat shatters the glass casing around a fire extinguisher. Slugger, wearing a protective baseball helmet and an identity-concealing cloth over the lower portion of his face, bolts toward the nearest exit with the extinguisher under his arm. However, there is no indication of a fire in sight.]

Comments

A

[hungry-monster.livejournal.com]

[Curious, walking behind the house.]

Learning to use a gun?

[strike-you-out.livejournal.com]

[The fact that Johan loiters around his home on what might be a semi-regular basis comes as no real surprise to Slugger. Today he may seem a bit on edge, though, as Johan approaches.]

I thought it might be wise...

[Without raising it, he switches the revolver from one hand to the other to shake his wrist. That recoil was something to get used to.]

[hungry-monster.livejournal.com]

[Johan notices, but doesn't comment on that.]

It's a good skill to have.

Would you like some pointers?

[strike-you-out.livejournal.com]

[He replies eagerly.]

Sure.

[hungry-monster.livejournal.com]

Well first of all you hold it like this.

[Johan will take gun and demonstrate a grip.]

Also make sure to always be aware where you're pointing it.

[strike-you-out.livejournal.com]

Aim center mass. Not the head.

[Beside him, Slugger looks up at Johan and copies his grip.]

...Unless they're close.

[hungry-monster.livejournal.com]

The head is usually hard to hit.

If you want to kill them though, it's usually a good choice if you're close enough. Most people don't survive that.

[strike-you-out.livejournal.com]

[Reason number one why he doesn't care for guns or other methods of killing that don't involve a baseball bat. He vastly prefers the head as a target.

Slugger aims toward the yard and peers down the barrel of the revolver to align its sights.]

Did you kill your target?

[hungry-monster.livejournal.com]

I didn't get one.

[Otherwise they'd be dead by now and he'd be enjoying a nice game. But no. Give the sane twin the kill order.]

[strike-you-out.livejournal.com]

[That catches him by surprise and it shows as he glances away from the gun. Actually, it's a relief to hear.]

Me neither... Did your sister?

[hungry-monster.livejournal.com]

[There is a pause.]




Yes.

[strike-you-out.livejournal.com]

[Slugger seems to freeze a bit during that pause, keeping his gaze set forward toward the yard.]

You're watching over her...

[hungry-monster.livejournal.com]

Of course.

[So simple and straight forward. You see Slugger. Johan care about ONE thing in this world. That is his sister.]

[strike-you-out.livejournal.com]

[Easy guess. In a weird way... he understands more than he would like to.

After a moment Slugger lowers the pistol toward the ground again and peers up at Johan, curious.]

Have you ever been shot?

[hungry-monster.livejournal.com]

Oh yes.

I've been shot in the head four times now. Twice here and twice at home.

[strike-you-out.livejournal.com]

[A blatant look of shock. Come to think of it, Edward had shot Johan once but he hadn't known where. Of course, Mayfield does a lot to "fix" its residents. But still, the other two times weren't in Mayfield...]

How did you live?

[hungry-monster.livejournal.com]

The times here I didn't.

The times at home....

[He falls silent for a brief moment.]

A doctor saved my life both times.

Well...I'm still in a coma back home at the moment, but still alive.

[strike-you-out.livejournal.com]

[He's still quite stunned, but now the morbid curiosity is beginning to set in.]

...

What was it like? Did you feel it?

[hungry-monster.livejournal.com]

I don't remember much of the first time. It was...quite a while ago.

It was like a sharp pain to the forehead, but I fell unconscious soon after that.

[strike-you-out.livejournal.com]

[Don't mind him; he'll just be focusing quite heavily on your face, Johan, trying to find any signs of where the bullet might've hit.

...

For someone who was shot in the head so many times, your head looks remarkably free of dents.]

[hungry-monster.livejournal.com]

[Just looks back at you with a smile.]

[strike-you-out.livejournal.com]

[Perfect as always. He gives up and practices opening the revolver's chambers.]

Edward killed his target...

[hungry-monster.livejournal.com]

Mmm...that doesn't surprise me.

[Goes back to watching Slugger.]

[strike-you-out.livejournal.com]

They gave him a new target.

[Idly spinning the cylinders. They're empty, he just likes the sound.]

[hungry-monster.livejournal.com]

Is that so?

They must be going for last man standing.....

[Johan does not like the sound of that.]

Is he out killing his new target now?