  
ClubFloyd Transcript:
The idea behind ClubFloyd is that each
week at a pre-arranged time, a group of
people meet online to cooperatively play
a game of interactive fiction.
|
|
ClubFloyd Transcript:
The idea behind ClubFloyd is that each
week at a pre-arranged time, a group of
people meet online to cooperatively play
a game of interactive fiction.
|
|
ToyShop & Floyditorium
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#ClubFloyd Discussion
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| Jacqueline asks, "So. What're we thinking? 18 Rooms: 15?" | ||
| DavidW says, "I'm not sure what people want to play today, but I have not played the latest 18 Rooms, nor any of the recent IntroComp games." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "I would be good with either of those." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Oh, we also have a Roger." | ||
| DavidW says, "Who's here today? I haven't looked." | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "What say you, Roger?" | ||
| Roger says, "hrm, I dunno" | ||
| Roger says, "18R was good enough in the last installment, I seem to recall" | ||
| genericgeekgirl arrives, full of fun and funk. | Jacqueline says, "I'd like to play that one too." | |
| DavidW says, "Let's go for it then, please." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "load sleepmask 18rooms15" | ||
Floyd ] Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | 18 Rooms to Home (Room 15) Floyd | A serialized work of interactive fiction. by Carolyn VanEseltine Floyd | Release 1 / Serial number 150827 / Inform 7 build 6L38 (I6/v6.33 lib Floyd | 6/12N) Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | 18 Rooms to Home is a serialized game that begins at the end. Floyd | Floyd | As each update is released, the story will move further back in time - Floyd | so the first release includes room 18, the second will include room 17 Floyd | and 18, the third includes 16, 17, and 18, and so on. All released Floyd | rooms are available at [LINK] Floyd | Floyd | This release is Room 15. This is a long way into Yesenia's journey, Floyd | but it's just a short way into yours. Floyd | Floyd | Please press SPACE to continue. | ||
| Jacqueline presses the yellow enter button. | ||
| Jacqueline pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | By the time the school group winds into the gift shop, Yesenia feels Floyd | like she's hidden around every corner in the entire zoo, and a fog of Floyd | irritation completely obscures her worry. It's easy to be irritated Floyd | with Rachel under any circumstances, but Rachel's really outdone Floyd | herself with this wild goose chase. Floyd | Floyd | In short order, the school group emerges from the gift shop and heads Floyd | toward the parking lot. Yesenia trails at a safe distance, rolling her Floyd | suitcase along. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | This secluded part of the parking lot is reserved for buses and other Floyd | oversized vehicles, such as the Washington Elementary school bus Floyd | parked near a red-flowered bush. A thin curtain of trees separates the Floyd | black asphalt from the train tracks and Highway 101 beyond that. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia parks herself and her suitcase behind a convenient minivan, Floyd | where she ought to be fairly well hidden from the school group. Floyd | Floyd | The most important little girl in the whole world is here. Floyd | Floyd | The second graders mill around the parking lot, herded rather Floyd | ineffectively by a bespectacled teacher. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "So this should be getting onto the bus, I guess." | |
| Jacqueline says, "Yeah" | ||
| DavidW says, "I've forgotten some of the backstory, particularly everyone's names." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Yeah, it's been awhile." | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "x girl" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > X GIRL Floyd | Floyd | Brigit is shorter than most of the other second graders, but no less Floyd | rambunctious, as reported by the grass stains on her pants (and who Floyd | but Rachel would dress a second grader in seashell pink pants?) Her Floyd | huge black eyes match Rachel's, and the shape of her mouth is Floyd | Gerald's, but that never mattered to Yesenia. Floyd | Floyd | Brigit remains oblivious to her mother's presence. Floyd | Floyd | The kids scatter forward across the parking lot, laughing and shoving. Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline asks, "I forget - are there special commands?" | |
| DavidW says, "Focus, I think." | ||
| DavidW says, "We focused sunlight on a mailbox to warm up, warp the metal to open it, iirc." | ||
| Jacqueline nods. | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "i" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > I Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia glances to the side and confirms that she still has her Floyd | suitcase. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher says, "This way to the bus!" Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW asks, "Is Brigit our daughter?" | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "x rachel" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > X RACHEL Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia can't see any such thing. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "x teacher" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > X TEACHER Floyd | Floyd | The teacher's bright red cat eye glasses might correct her vision, or Floyd | they might just be for fashion's sake. If the first, Yesenia can Floyd | sympathize, though her own vision is perfect these days. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher says in a harried tone, "The sooner everyone gets on the Floyd | bus, the sooner we get home." Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline asks, "Rachel is Brigit's mum, and Brigit remains oblivious to her mother's presence, and Brigit is here, but her mother is not?" | |
| DavidW says, "I think *we* are Brigit's mum." | ||
| DavidW says, "But someone named Rachel is her guardian, step-mom, grandmother, who-knows." | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "I thought that for a second, too, except that her 'huge black eyes match Rachel's'. Hm, maybe Rachel is a sibling?" | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "who is rachel" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > WHO IS RACHEL Floyd | Floyd | That's not a verb I recognize. Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline says, "Anyway, yeah. I'm down with her being Yesenia's kid." | |
| DavidW says, "Rachel could be our mother." | ||
| DavidW says, "Or maybe our sister" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Yeah." | ||
| anjchang arrives, ready to play with the toys. | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "x glasses" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > X GLASSES Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia inspects the bright red cat eye glasses, but there's nothing Floyd | unusual about them. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher finally corrals her students into some semblance of order. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "x students" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > X STUDENTS Floyd | Floyd | The kids are far more interested in playing hide-and-seek between the Floyd | cars than in getting onto the bus. Floyd | Floyd | Led by their teacher, the kids approach the bus. Floyd | Floyd | The red-flowered bush on the edge of the parking lot rustles sharply. Floyd | Yesenia recognizes it as a firebush, and she has just enough time to Floyd | think Do those even grow around here? before a woman dressed Floyd | in white and lilac spandex steps out of the red-flowered bush. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia recognizes the new arrival at once, though Eichhornia Cress - Floyd | aka The Hyacinth - rarely leaves Florida. As she braces for trouble, Floyd | Yesenia takes back everything she's been thinking about Rachel. Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline says, "Hi, ac." | |
| anjchang says, "hi everyone!" | Roger says, "Trying to marshal the bits of narrative exposition like this is always a technical pain in the ass. Not too bad, here." | |
| Jacqueline says, "We're playing 18 Rooms to Home: Room 15. You can type @recap #toyshop 500 and probably see everything so far." | ||
| DavidW says, "Can I just say I'm glad my parents didn't name me Eichhornia." | ||
| anjchang says, "thanks! that's handy! :) my son just started kindergarten and he rode the bus for the first time Thursday" | ||
| anjchang asks, "nickname would be Eichy, maybe?" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "So, right. We're about to get into a fight and save Brigit." | ||
| DavidW asks (of anjchang), "oh wow. First day of school?" | ||
| Roger says, "She was just taking a pee back there" | ||
| DavidW says, "I'm guessing the firebush will be helpful for either us or the Hyacinth." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "That's Roger. Always assuming the best about people." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "x bush" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > X BUSH Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia glances at the red-flowered bush, but there's no help to be Floyd | had from that direction. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth positions herself between the school group and the bus. Floyd | There's nothing particularly scary about her white and lilac costume, Floyd | but her body language is clear enough. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher halts, extending an arm to keep her students back. "Excuse Floyd | me," she says. "You're in our way." Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline says, "Hm. We're supposed to do something. But what..." | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "intervene" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > INTERVENE Floyd | Floyd | That's not a verb I recognize. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW asks, "Do we want to try talking to Hyacinth?" | |
| Jacqueline says, "Sure." | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "talk to hyacinth" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > TALK TO HYACINTH Floyd | Floyd | Abandoning the cover of the minivan, Yesenia says to the Hyacinth, Floyd | "I'm warning you. Leave these children alone." Floyd | Floyd | The teacher's gaze flickers toward the zoo gates, and Yesenia looks Floyd | back to see the other school group approaching. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth pulls a translucent ball from somewhere in her cloak and Floyd | brandishes it. It doesn't look threatening, but her stance says it's a Floyd | weapon. Floyd | Floyd | Brigit exclaims, "Mommy! What are you doing here?" Floyd | Floyd | The teacher claps her hands sharply for her students' attention. Floyd | "Everyone on the bus, NOW!" Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "take ball" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > TAKE BALL Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia reaches for The Hyacinth's translucent ball, but The Hyacinth Floyd | pulls it quickly out of reach. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher raises a hand, signalling the other school group to stay Floyd | back. Floyd | Floyd | One of the students pulls out a smartphone and starts filming the Floyd | action. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth whips around and hurls the ball at Yesenia. It strikes Floyd | the ground at her feet and explodes into yellow smoke. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia throws up a protective aura automatically. Sunlight blazes Floyd | around her, and the yellow particles veer away harmlessly. Floyd | Floyd | Brigit claps her hands for joy. "Get her, Mommy!" she shouts. Floyd | Floyd | A second grader protests, "We can't get on the bus! The door is Floyd | closed!" Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "Yes, we're definitely Brigit's mother." | |
| Jacqueline says, "Yup" | ||
| DavidW asks, "We can make 'protective auras'?" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Totes." | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "Should we focus on Hyacinth?" | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "Or open the bus door?" | ||
| DavidW says, "I really don't know." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "focus on hyacinth" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > FOCUS ON HYACINTH Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia seizes the sunlight and translates the energy into force. She Floyd | clamps that force around The Hyacinth, paralyzing the other woman. Floyd | Floyd | The teachers with the other school group retreat to the zoo gates. Floyd | Yesenia breathes out; she won't be juggling a second set of civilians. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher pushes through her students to hammer on the bus door. Floyd | "Open up!" she shouts through the safety glass, jolting the driver Floyd | into wakefulness. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "I think we're strong. We could just hit her." | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "hit hyacinth" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > HIT HYACINTH Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia can't keep the Hyacinth pinned in sunlight and attack her at Floyd | the same time. If the Hyacinth were more amenable to being pinned, it Floyd | would be one thing - but she's actively fighting Yesenia. Floyd | Floyd | Outside the zoo gates, one of the other teachers raises a cell phone Floyd | and starts filming the action. Yesenia grits her teeth. Floyd | Floyd | The yellow smoke dissipates. Floyd | Floyd | The bus driver pulls the bus door handle, and the bus door swings Floyd | open. Floyd | Floyd | Brigit hesitates at the bus door. "Are you going to be okay?" Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia says, "I'm going to be fine. Do what your teacher Floyd | says, now. I love you always." Floyd | Floyd | The teacher orders, "Everybody in! Find a seat quickly and sit down." Floyd | It's clear from her tone that she means business. Floyd | Floyd | The second graders form a ragged line at the bus door and then start Floyd | piling in. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth's cape emits an electric snap, and Yesenia's focus drains Floyd | away. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth says, "I've seen your face, Sun Queen. And I've seen the Floyd | face of your daughter, Brigit Bhalla. I will make you more sorry than Floyd | you can imagine." Floyd | Floyd | > | Roger says, "totally Bhalla move" | |
| DavidW says, "I hate fighting." | ||
| anjchang asks, "ask why?" | ||
| DavidW says, "I suppose in other runs, we can focus on the smartphones, burn them out, perhaps. But I don't know what to do about Hyacinth." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "If this were a real Bhallawood game, we'd be fighting *and* singing." | ||
| DavidW asks, "Also, perhaps we can get the bus door open earlier. Driver was asleep?" | ||
| DavidW says, "And if it were a Balsawood game, we'd be fighting and floating." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Maybe." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "In prior playthroughs, though, people know about us... oh wait, not from the smartphone videos but through the paper? Or am I misremembering." | ||
| DavidW says, "I don't remember exactly what happens with the news in subsequent scenes." | ||
| DavidW says, "There was report of the fight." | ||
| Roger says, "Thank the good lord for parental permission forms" | ||
| anjchang says, "burning sounds like a good idea" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Yeah, I'm just not sure we care about burning out the smartphones." | ||
| DavidW says, "I'm not worried about the phones for now." | ||
| anjchang asks, "how about driving away?" | ||
| DavidW says, "We're not on the bus, nor in the driver's seat." | ||
| anjchang says, "any way to run her over" | ||
| Roger says, "Mock her red bush" | ||
| DavidW says, "Maybe focus on her cape? I don't understand how she drained our focus. Or maybe just hit her." | ||
| genericgeekgirl disappears through an invisible gap in the MUD. You think you may have heard the sounds of chatting before the gap closed again. | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "hit hyacinth" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > HIT HYACINTH Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia pivots toward The Hyacinth and reaches out to throw the other Floyd | woman. The Hyacinth dodges out of the way with reasonable grace. Floyd | Floyd | The air brightens around Yesenia - not a full protective aura, which Floyd | would quickly exhaust her, but enough to give her confidence. Floyd | Floyd | There's a small crowd growing by the zoo gates, probably drawn by Floyd | Yesenia's pyrotechnics. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth starts to say something else, but her words are cut off Floyd | by the sudden blast of the bus horn. Floyd | Floyd | Brigit tries to run toward Yesenia, but The Hyacinth intercepts, and Floyd | the girl has to retreat. Floyd | Floyd | > | Roger says, "get to the choppa I mean bus" | |
| Jacqueline says, "Brigit, get on the damn bus." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "talk to Brigit" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > TALK TO BRIGIT Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia calls to Brigit, "Listen to your teacher!" Floyd | Floyd | The bus driver hits the horn again and waves his cell phone at The Floyd | Hyacinth, who responds with language most parents wouldn't want their Floyd | second-graders to use. Floyd | Floyd | > | Roger says, "Maybe we can just grab Bridge" | |
| Jacqueline says, "I was thinking that." | ||
| DavidW says, "I think the Hyacinth is between us, though." | ||
| DavidW says, "But I don't know what to do." | ||
| anjchang asks, "burn the fire bush?" | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "ask hyacinth about brigit" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > ASK HYACINTH ABOUT BRIGIT Floyd | Floyd | (To speak with someone, use the command TALK TO.) Floyd | Floyd | The school bus starts with a rumble as the students continue to board. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth moves forward, but the students are too close to the bus, Floyd | and she can't cut between them. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher moves to block The Hyacinth. "Please don't come near the Floyd | children," she raps out. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "get brigit" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > GET BRIGIT Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia steps in front of Brigit, shielding her from The Hyacinth with Floyd | her own body. Floyd | Floyd | The bus driver leans out the door to shout at Brigit, "Come on, you Floyd | got to get on the bus!" Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth scowls, "The Sun Queen in California?" Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia says, "They have sunlight here too." Floyd | Floyd | Brigit starts moving reluctantly toward the bus. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "focus on hyacinth" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > FOCUS ON HYACINTH Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia focuses the sunlight around The Hyacinth again, trapping her Floyd | like a bug in amber. Floyd | Floyd | Brigit clambers hastily onto the bus. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "focus on hyacinth" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > FOCUS ON HYACINTH Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia focuses more sunlight on The Hyacinth. Floyd | Floyd | The second graders finish piling into the bus. Brigit climbs in last, Floyd | followed by the teacher, and the closing bus door cuts off Yesenia's Floyd | view. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth's cape emits another electrical snap, and Yesenia loses Floyd | control of the sunlight around The Hyacinth again. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "focus on hyacinth" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > FOCUS ON HYACINTH Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia focuses sunlight around The Hyacinth again. Floyd | Floyd | The school bus shifts into gear and pulls out of its spot. Floyd | Floyd | Sirens sound in the distance, rapidly growing closer. Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline asks, "I'm thinking we need to bail before the cops get here, maybe?" | |
| DavidW says, "yeah" | ||
| DavidW says, "Ideally knock her out, I suppose." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "release hyacinth" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > RELEASE HYACINTH Floyd | Floyd | That's not a verb I recognize. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "Hard to run away with a suitcase." | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "hit her" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > HIT HER Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia can't keep the Hyacinth pinned in sunlight and attack her at Floyd | the same time. Floyd | Floyd | The sirens are getting louder. Floyd | Floyd | The school bus pulls out of the parking lot, and Yesenia laughs with Floyd | relief. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth's cape crackles and snaps, and the sunlight drains away. Floyd | But The Hyacinth isn't interested in fighting - she flees across the Floyd | parking lot, heading for a snow white Camaro. She's gone seconds Floyd | later. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia doesn't pursue. She's not supposed to be doing this any more - Floyd | and she doesn't want to be around when those sirens arrive. Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline says, "Oh, there we go." | |
| Roger says, "fly, you fool" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "heh" | ||
| DavidW asks, "go any direction?" | ||
| Jacqueline clears the save counter. | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "SAVE" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "cf1" | ||
Floyd | > Floyd | > SAVE Floyd | %% Enter a save filename to write: Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > SAVEOk. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "s" | ||
Floyd | > Floyd | > S Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia doubles back to grab her suitcase and then takes off. Floyd | Floyd | Palm trees shadow Yesenia as she heads south toward Ninos Drive. Floyd | There's a bus stop at the zoo entrance, but the sirens are closer Floyd | every second, so she keeps moving south until she reaches Cabrillo Floyd | Boulevard. Floyd | Floyd | The 14 Montecito arrives across the street - but she can't cross the Floyd | street until the traffic clears, and by then, the bus is pulling away. Floyd | She comforts herself with the thought that it wasn't the right bus Floyd | anyway, and she trots across the crosswalk to join the tourists. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Please press SPACE to continue. | ||
| Jacqueline pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
Floyd ] 20 to Carpinteria Floyd | Tourists move down the steps toward Cabrillo Pavilion in long waves, Floyd | unconsciously mimicking the ocean beyond. Yesenia loiters awkwardly at Floyd | the sidewalk's edge and pretends to be fascinated by the fat little Floyd | palm trees, the blue sign reading ZOO with its arrow, or anything else Floyd | that will keep her face away from pedestrians. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia turns at the distant roar of a bus. The familiar white body Floyd | with its upper yellow stripe comes around the bend, and she reads 20 Floyd | Carpinteria with relief. The crowd at the bus stop shuffles around, Floyd | and Yesenia queues up to board, hauling the flowered suitcase behind Floyd | her as she climbs the steps. Floyd | Floyd | 20 to Carpinteria Floyd | It's like any other MTD bus: bluish-gray plastic seats crowded with Floyd | passengers, huge windows, and an array of silver poles and black Floyd | straps for standing passengers. No one's standing right now, though. Floyd | Floyd | The driver taps the fare box and gives Yesenia a meaningful look. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia braces her suitcase against her leg. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "pay" | ||
Floyd ] 20 to Carpinteria Floyd | > Floyd | > PAY Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia digs hurriedly through her pockets and comes up with two Floyd | crumpled singles. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia flattens the two singles against the fare box and then feeds Floyd | them into the machine. The fare box chimes its approval. Floyd | Floyd | The driver says, "No change," and points at the sign that says the Floyd | same thing. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia says, "That's fine," and she hefts her suitcase and moves Floyd | further in so the next person can pay. There are still a few seats Floyd | free: one at the front behind the driver (occupied by a newspaper), Floyd | one in the middle across from the rear door, and one at the very back. | anjchang asks, "pay fare?" | |
Floyd |
Floyd | >
| Jacqueline says, "So, avoid the coming scene by sitting at the back" | |
| Jacqueline asks, "?" | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "Or get the newspaper?" | ||
| DavidW says, "I forget how we did this last time. I would tend towards very back." | ||
| anjchang asks, "sit by the door so you can escape?" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "take paper" | ||
Floyd ] 20 to Carpinteria Floyd | > Floyd | > TAKE PAPER Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia picks up the folded newspaper. Floyd | Floyd | The last two passengers pay and board. Floyd | Floyd | > | anjchang asks, "or maybe where you sit says something about cowardice/bravery?" | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "sit at the back" | ||
Floyd ] 20 to Carpinteria Floyd | > Floyd | > SIT AT THE BACK Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia takes the back seat. Floyd | Floyd | The bus pulls away from the curb. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "hide behind newspaper" | ||
Floyd ] 20 to Carpinteria Floyd | > Floyd | > HIDE BEHIND NEWSPAPER Floyd | Floyd | That's not a verb I recognize. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "x paper" | ||
Floyd ] 20 to Carpinteria Floyd | > Floyd | > X PAPER Floyd | Floyd | It's a folded copy of the Santa Barbara News-Press. Yesenia could see Floyd | the articles if she unfolds it. Floyd | Floyd | The bus picks up speed as it chugs along. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "unfold paper" | ||
Floyd ] 20 to Carpinteria Floyd | > Floyd | > UNFOLD PAPER Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia unfolds the newspaper fully and holds it in front of her face. Floyd | Since she's sitting in the back, she only has to angle her body and Floyd | raise the newspaper to hide her face entirely. That worked out well. Floyd | Floyd | A portly man in his mid-forties opens up his iPad and starts listening Floyd | to the news. Yesenia can tell that he's listening to the news because Floyd | he's not using headphones, in clear violation of the bus policy sign. Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline says, "Oh, right. This is how it goes down." | |
| Jacqueline says, "THIS is why people need to not violate the bus policy sign." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "read paper" | ||
Floyd ] 20 to Carpinteria Floyd | > Floyd | > READ PAPER Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia skims the newspaper, but she doesn't really want to read about Floyd | the Relay for Life fundraising success. It's too depressing. Floyd | Floyd | The iPad says, "There was a disturbance today at the Santa Barbara Floyd | Zoo, when a masked woman confronted a group of schoolchildren. KEYT Floyd | reporter Vanessa Ellis is on the scene. Vanessa, over to you." Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia's heart drops like a brick. If there's footage.... Floyd | Floyd | The bus rumbles through a pothole. Floyd | Floyd | > | Roger says, "zap ipad" | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "focus on ipad" | ||
Floyd ] 20 to Carpinteria Floyd | > Floyd | > FOCUS ON IPAD Floyd | Floyd | If only she could! But the man's holding his iPad out of the sunlight, Floyd | to avoid glare on the screen. Floyd | Floyd | The iPad says, "Thank you, Brandon! I'm at the Santa Barbara Zoo, Floyd | where a group of schoolchildren were about to board their bus when a Floyd | masked woman attempted to take them hostage." Floyd | Floyd | The bus slows down before entering a traffic circle. Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline says, "Nicely done, Carolyn." | |
| DavidW says, "At least we know now it wasn't us attempting the hostage taking." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "I thought that was cleared up before..." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] 20 to Carpinteria Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | The iPad says, "Witnesses describe the woman as five-five, dressed in Floyd | white and lavender, with a crown of flowers in her hair. The pending Floyd | catastrophe was averted when a hero in street clothes intervened, Floyd | giving students and teachers a chance to escape." Floyd | Floyd | The bus swings majestically out onto Coast Village Road. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] 20 to Carpinteria Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | The iPad says, "One of the teachers, Katie Edwards, captured part of Floyd | their encounter. We'll show you that footage now." Floyd | Floyd | The bus pulls to a stop in accordance with traffic regulations. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] 20 to Carpinteria Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | The iPad marvels, "Will you look at that!" Floyd | Floyd | The bus rumbles back into motion. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] 20 to Carpinteria Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | The iPad says, "It's quite an impressive sight." After a pause, it Floyd | continues, "Judging by the sunglow, this was Soleil the Sun Queen. But Floyd | she's never been seen on the west coast, and her unmasked appearance Floyd | has never been captured on film. The Sun Queen is one of the Rain Floyd | King's protégés, but his press secretary has not yet released a Floyd | statement." Floyd | Floyd | The bus picks up speed as it merges onto the freeway. Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline says, "Okay, yeah. Burn ALL the smartphones." | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] 20 to Carpinteria Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | The iPad says, "Anthony Torres was here with his daughter, and they Floyd | saw the entire exchange. Anthony, were you able to identify the Floyd | villain?" Floyd | Floyd | Despite the air conditioning, several of the windows are cracked open, Floyd | and there's enough wind to whip Yesenia's hair across her face. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] 20 to Carpinteria Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | The iPad says, "It was The Hyacinth. I'm sure of it. I study these Floyd | things. She normally stomps around Miami, but she's come to California Floyd | for some reason." Floyd | Floyd | The bus exits the freeway and turns left over the bridge. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] 20 to Carpinteria Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | The iPad says, "What about the woman who stopped the attack?" Floyd | Floyd | The bus stops to pick up a few more passengers and then rumbles back Floyd | into motion. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] 20 to Carpinteria Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | The iPad answers, "She was the Sun Queen. I'm sure of it. I bet she Floyd | followed The Hyacinth here from Florida. There must be something big Floyd | going down." Floyd | Floyd | The manicured lawns of Toro Canyon pass the bus windows and vanish Floyd | again. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] 20 to Carpinteria Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | The iPad says in a little kid's voice, "It was pretty scary." Floyd | Floyd | A recorded voice announces, "Real and Sandpiper," and the bus stops to Floyd | let the heavyset woman off before lurching back into motion. Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline asks, "I guess the other thing is we could try to leave the bus early next tim?" | |
| Jacqueline says, "er, time." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] 20 to Carpinteria Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | The iPad says, "Thank you, Anthony. Brandon, back to you." Floyd | Floyd | Yucca and palms and carefully clipped shrubbery yield to the Floyd | fantastically painted bridge railing outside Kim's Market. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] 20 to Carpinteria Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | The iPad says, "Let's look at the current state of the Santa Barbara Floyd | County oil spill." Floyd | Floyd | The bus has reached Carpinteria proper, and the bus begins to empty as Floyd | more people get off at each stop. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "This bus has the best passing scenery." | |
| Jacqueline says, "Which is our stop? Hoping this will be automatic." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] 20 to Carpinteria Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | The iPad says, "Kevin Reese Dolman, aka Surgical Strike, has publicly Floyd | repented his act of terrorism and joined the cleanup efforts alongside Floyd | Angelina Manatee. More than 44% of the coastline is now clear, thanks Floyd | primarily to the efforts of regular volunteers." Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia sees her stop coming up, and she presses the yellow strip. The Floyd | bus chimes and announces, "Stop requested." Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline says, "Bingo" | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | The iPad says, "When asked about the experience of working with her Floyd | former nemesis, Manatee said...." but the bus rolls to a stop, and Floyd | Yesenia misses the sound bite as she heads for the door. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia hefts her suitcase down from the bus. It's about three minutes Floyd | from the bus stop to her apartment, and she takes the distance Floyd | briskly, stopping only once to shove windblown hair out of her eyes. Floyd | Floyd | About halfway there, she realizes that she doesn't have her purse. Floyd | ¡Carajo! She tries to think back to when she last had it, and Floyd | she realizes it must have been in the restaurant office. She'll have Floyd | to ask Camilla for a ride once she gets home. Floyd | Floyd | There's an easy cut across the grass, but Yesenia takes the sidewalk Floyd | instead, with the suitcase rolling along behind her. She rounds the Floyd | corner of the building and starts up the front walk. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Please press SPACE to continue. | Jacqueline asks, "So eventually we'll have a room in the restaurant where we'll need to remember to grab our purse?" | |
| DavidW asks, "maybe?" | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "Do we want to keep going, or restart and try things?" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Like burning out the smartphones." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "I'm assuming we can't, honestly." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "But we could save here and then go back to see." | ||
| DavidW says, "I think we should keep going if only to remind ourselves what happened." | ||
| DavidW asks, "Also 'white Camaro'?" | ||
| DavidW asks, "Was that car that the Hyacinth drove off in also in the scene coming up?" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Can't recall" | ||
| anjchang says, "it was a white camaro that hyacinth drove away in" | ||
| DavidW says (to anjchang), "I just said that." | ||
| anjchang says, "ah, i'm lagging a bit" | ||
| DavidW says, "I want to know if a white Camaro is at our destination too." | ||
| Jacqueline pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | Floyd | Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | A wide concrete walkway leads around the three-story building and up Floyd | to the front door, flanked by ground lights on both sides, which shine Floyd | in response to the setting sun. On the right, regimentally spaced palm Floyd | trees provide an illusion of privacy for the west-facing windows. On Floyd | the left, there's a parking lot for the apartment, but since the Floyd | divider is all of six inches wide, the parked cars in the first row Floyd | rest their noses against the walkway. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia parks her suitcase beside the building's front door. Floyd | Floyd | There's a bank of resident mailboxes set into the outer wall, just to Floyd | the right of the front door. The doorbells are on the other side. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "Which is one reason I want to continue." | |
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "x cars" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > X CARS Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia briefly scans the cars with an uninterested eye. She notes Floyd | Camilla's battered white coupe parked two rows back. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "x camaro" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > X CAMARO Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia can't see any such thing. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "A white car, but not the same one." | |
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "open mailbox" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > OPEN MAILBOX Floyd | Floyd | The mailbox is locked. Yesenia will have to unlock it first. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "focus on mailbox" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > FOCUS ON MAILBOX Floyd | Floyd | Shielded from sight by the building and a palm tree, Yesenia stretches Floyd | her awareness to the setting sun. The orange light warms her, just as Floyd | it warms the mailbox. Floyd | Floyd | The sun has power over the mailbox; its heat can make the metal Floyd | expand. Its absence can make the metal shrink. And she has Floyd | power over.... Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia focuses. The tumblers click into the unlocked position, and Floyd | she pulls it open. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "take all from mailbox" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > TAKE ALL FROM MAILBOX Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia pulls the mail out of her mailbox. Among the advertisements Floyd | and junk mail (promptly discarded into a convenient recycling bin), Floyd | she discovers three white envelopes. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "x first envelope" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > X FIRST ENVELOPE Floyd | Floyd | According to the postmark, this envelope was mailed from Santa Barbara Floyd | three days ago. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "open it" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > OPEN IT Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia rips open the first envelope, revealing a letter. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "read letter" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > READ LETTER Floyd | Floyd | (the first letter) Floyd | Yesenia unfolds the first letter. Floyd | Floyd | It's typed in simple serif letters. Floyd | Floyd | We need to talk. Call me - Floyd | Floyd | and a number that Yesenia doesn't recognize. There's a 305 area code, Floyd | though, and that's the Miami area. Floyd | Floyd | > | anjchang says, "ooh we've got mail!" | |
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "x second envelope" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > X SECOND ENVELOPE Floyd | Floyd | According to the postmark, this envelope was mailed from Santa Barbara Floyd | two days ago. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "open it" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > OPEN IT Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia rips open the second envelope, revealing a letter. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "read second letter" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > READ SECOND LETTER Floyd | Floyd | (the second letter) Floyd | Yesenia unfolds the second letter. Floyd | Floyd | It's typed in simple serif letters. Floyd | Floyd | I'm trying to help you. You don't have to hide from me. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "x third envelope" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > X THIRD ENVELOPE Floyd | Floyd | According to the postmark, this envelope was mailed from Santa Barbara Floyd | one day ago. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "open it" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > OPEN IT Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia rips open the third envelope, revealing a letter. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "read third letter" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > READ THIRD LETTER Floyd | Floyd | (the third letter) Floyd | As Yesenia unfolds the letter, a playing card falls to the ground. Floyd | Floyd | At the sight of it, Yesenia's stomach clenches, and goose bumps Floyd | prickle across her shoulders. Floyd | Floyd | It's typed in simple serif letters. Floyd | Floyd | Call me, or I'm coming to see you. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "take card. x it" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > TAKE CARD. X IT Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia picks up the playing card. Floyd | Floyd | It's a standard playing card: paper coated with plastic, with a blue Floyd | design on the back. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia turns it over. As she expected, it's the Jack of Spades - Floyd | which means the Jack of Shadows. Floyd | Floyd | Chris, she thinks, and glances around apprehensively. Is Floyd | Chris already here? She always drives, because she hates the bus Floyd | > | Jacqueline asks, "Search the cars again?" | |
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "search cars" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > SEARCH CARS Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia can't see inside, since the parked cars is closed. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "x cars" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > X CARS Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia scans the parking lot again, taking her time. She doesn't know Floyd | what Chris is driving these days, but she knows it'll be a cut above Floyd | the norm. Floyd | Floyd | And it is - a sleek, matte black car with a T-shaped logo on its nose, Floyd | sitting three cars down and barely a centimeter off the walkway. The Floyd | large black crystals hanging off the rearview mirror seal her Floyd | suspicions. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "focus on crystals" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > FOCUS ON CRYSTALS Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia considers the black crystals. The sun is touching them, and Floyd | she's in the sunlight, but... what could she do with them, except Floyd | damage the car? There are easier ways to damage the car. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "This is getting to be one complicated story with Jack and Camilla and Hyacinth and Rachel and Gerald and Brigit and Rain King." | |
| DavidW says, "We've never known what to do with the black crystals." | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "x bin" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > X BIN Floyd | Floyd | The convenient recycling bin is full of advertisements and junk mail. Floyd | Floyd | In the blue recycling bin are some advertisements. Floyd | Floyd | > | anjchang asks, "can you take the crystals?" | |
| DavidW says, "I don't think so. We'd need to open the car first." | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "open black car" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > OPEN BLACK CAR Floyd | Floyd | It seems to be locked. Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline says, "I think we just screw with the car to make Jack come out." | |
| anjchang asks, "what type of advertisements are in the bin?" | ||
| DavidW says, "I remember we kicked one of these cars." | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "x ads" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > X ADS Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia glances at the top advertisement in the recycling bin, but she Floyd | doesn't need half-off the second kid's sundae after purchasing one at Floyd | full price. Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline says, "Yeah, I think we set the car alarm off on the black car." | |
| anjchang says, "yeah, lets make some noise!" | ||
| DavidW asks, "Who's doing the honours?" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "kick black car" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > KICK BLACK CAR Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia takes a deep, centering breath and then slams her foot into Floyd | the black car's front bumper. She's reserving her strength; after all, Floyd | there's no need to punt it across the parking lot, and there would be Floyd | awkward questions if she did. Floyd | Floyd | The car launches an strenuous protest, flashing its lights wildly, Floyd | shrilling an alarm, and honking its horn - not polite little beeps, Floyd | but bewildered, angry blares. If Chris is anywhere around, that should Floyd | get her attention. Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline says, "Oh wait. Chris, not Jack? I'm having trouble remembering who's who." | |
| DavidW says, "Chris = Jack." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Oh, right. Jack of Shadows is the moniker." | ||
| DavidW says, "Chris might be genderqueer for all I know." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | The sleek black car flashes its lights, honks its horn, and shrills Floyd | for help. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "oh, wait, no. The game says 'her attention'." | |
| Jacqueline says, "Yeah" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | The sleek black car flashes its lights, honks its horn, and shrills Floyd | for help. Floyd | Floyd | There's a sudden clatter from the apartment building, and then Chris Floyd | explodes from within. Floyd | Floyd | Chris is tall and well-coiffed, as always, but her brown eyes are wide Floyd | with rage, and if she has a perfect manicure today, it's concealed by Floyd | her clenched fists. "What the hell are you doing? What the Floyd | hell are you doing to my car?" Floyd | Floyd | "Getting your attention," Yesenia says. "It seems to have worked." Floyd | Floyd | (To speak with Chris, TALK TO CHRIS.) Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "talk to chris" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > TALK TO CHRIS Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia says, "What are you doing here?" Floyd | Floyd | Chris says, "You don't belong here. I came to bring you back." Floyd | Floyd | The sleek black car flashes its lights, honks its horn, and shrills Floyd | for help. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "talk to chris" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > TALK TO CHRIS Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia says, "You're not welcome, Chris. It's time for you to go." Floyd | Floyd | Chris shakes her head. "Jack. Call me who I am, and remember who you Floyd | are." Floyd | Floyd | The sleek black car flashes its lights, honks its horn, and shrills Floyd | for help. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "talk to chris" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > TALK TO CHRIS Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia says, "Sending creepy letters is not the way to open a Floyd | conversation. Especially when I've been gone for a week." Floyd | Floyd | Chris says in a reasonable tone, "Well, I didn't know you were gone." Floyd | Floyd | The sleek black car flashes its lights, honks its horn, and shrills Floyd | for help. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "talk to chris" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > TALK TO CHRIS Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia says, "You need to leave. Now." Floyd | Floyd | Instead of answering, Chris glances west to the setting sun. It's so Floyd | familiar a gesture that it makes Yesenia's heart ache, and for a Floyd | second she even forgets what it means. But Chris is the Jack of Floyd | Shadows.... Floyd | Floyd | The sleek black car flashes its lights, honks its horn, and shrills Floyd | for help. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "talk to chris" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > TALK TO CHRIS Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia says, "I gave enough of my life away. I'm done." Floyd | Floyd | Chris says, "You can't ever be done. That's what it means, to be what Floyd | we are." Floyd | Floyd | The sleek black car flashes its lights, honks its horn, and shrills Floyd | for help. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "talk to chris" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > TALK TO CHRIS Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia says, "The eastern seaboard got by for some two hundred years Floyd | without me. It can do it again." Floyd | Floyd | Chris says, "Those were more innocent times. You can't turn your back Floyd | on responsibility." Floyd | Floyd | The sleek black car flashes its lights, honks its horn, and shrills Floyd | for help. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "talk to chris" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > TALK TO CHRIS Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia says, "If you did something to Camilla, you will regret it. I Floyd | mean that more than I have ever meant anything." Floyd | Floyd | Chris says, "So that's her name." She smiles faintly. "Pretty." Floyd | Floyd | The sleek black car flashes its lights, honks its horn, and shrills Floyd | for help. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "talk to chris" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > TALK TO CHRIS Floyd | Floyd | The sleek black car flashes its lights, honks its horn, and shrills Floyd | for help. Floyd | Floyd | The setting sun slips beneath the trees, and both women are immersed Floyd | in the shadows stretching across the parking lot. Floyd | Floyd | Chris says, "I'm sorry it had to be this way," and she thrusts a hand Floyd | toward Yesenia. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia dodges down the walkway, but she's too slow. The air itself Floyd | catches her in a vice grip, and she's dragged across the concrete to Floyd | fall at Chris's feet. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "talk to chris" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewind Apartments - Front Walk Floyd | > Floyd | > TALK TO CHRIS Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia opens her mouth to snarl defiance, but Chris tightens her Floyd | invisible grip, and Yesenia's words abate into coughing and the Floyd | struggle to breathe. Floyd | Floyd | The sleek black car flashes its lights, honks its horn, and shrills Floyd | for help. Floyd | Floyd | Chris turns to stare at the damage to her front bumper. "That really Floyd | wasn't necessary," she says. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "talk to chris" | ||
Floyd | > Floyd | > TALK TO CHRIS Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia opens her mouth to snarl defiance, but Chris tightens her Floyd | invisible grip, and Yesenia's words abate into coughing and the Floyd | struggle to breathe. Floyd | Floyd | The sleek black car flashes its lights, honks its horn, and shrills Floyd | for help. Floyd | Floyd | The sound of conversation drifts up the walk, and Chris spins to look. Floyd | No one's in view yet, but someone's clearly coming. Floyd | Floyd | "We can't stay out here," she mutters, and the grip of air pulls Floyd | Yesenia upright like a doll. "In we go." Floyd | Floyd | As an afterthought, Chris grabs Yesenia's suitcase on her way into the Floyd | building. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Please press SPACE to continue. | ||
| Jacqueline pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
Floyd ] Tradewinds Apartments - Hallway Floyd | Tradewinds has always been Yesenia's refuge from the tourist-laden Floyd | town. Yesenia likes how her neighbors don't trade rumors, or complain Floyd | about odd noises, or speculate about Camilla's actual profession. But Floyd | right now, a little more nosiness would be nice, because there's no Floyd | one in the lobby and no one in the hallway. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia seethes as Chris hauls her into the elevator, and she Floyd | continues to seethe as Chris hauls her out again on the third floor. Floyd | Floyd | Tradewinds Apartments - Hallway Floyd | During the day, the hallway's cool shadows provide relief from the Floyd | California sun. But at night, it's simply dark, because the scattered Floyd | wall sconces aren't close enough or bright enough to provide decent Floyd | illumination. It couldn't be a better environment for the Jack of Floyd | Shadows if someone had planned it that way. Even by day, Chris's power Floyd | would wax in a place like this, and Yesenia tastes despair at the Floyd | thought. Floyd | Floyd | The door of Yesenia's apartment stands wide open. There's a folded Floyd | note taped to it. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia can also see Chris here. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "I seem to remember that if we focused on Chris when out in the sunlight, we could convince her to leave. But not inside here away from the sun." | |
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "read note" | ||
Floyd ] Tradewinds Apartments - Hallway Floyd | > Floyd | > READ NOTE Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia rolls her eyes toward the folded note. It looks rather odd Floyd | from this angle. Floyd | Floyd | Chris drags Yesenia across the threshold of her own apartment. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | *** As homecomings go, it couldn't get much worse. Floyd | Floyd | (This ending became available in Room 17. A better ending Floyd | exists.) *** Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, QUIT, or UNDO the Floyd | last command? Floyd | > | Jacqueline says, "Yeah, I just figured we'd play this out the passive way first to refresh our memories." | |
| Jacqueline says, "But there are quite a few things to try on replay." | ||
| DavidW says, "yes." | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "So, restart, not restore, I think. Right?" | ||
| DavidW says, "I don't think we directly examined Hyacinth, but the ipad reported mask and crown of flowers." | ||
| DavidW says, "restart, yes." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "restart" | ||
Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | 18 Rooms to Home (Room 15) Floyd | A serialized work of interactive fiction. by Carolyn VanEseltine Floyd | Release 1 / Serial number 150827 / Inform 7 build 6L38 (I6/v6.33 lib Floyd | 6/12N) Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | 18 Rooms to Home is a serialized game that begins at the end. Floyd | Floyd | As each update is released, the story will move further back in time - Floyd | so the first release includes room 18, the second will include room 17 Floyd | and 18, the third includes 16, 17, and 18, and so on. All released Floyd | rooms are available at [LINK] Floyd | Floyd | This release is Room 15. This is a long way into Yesenia's journey, Floyd | but it's just a short way into yours. Floyd | Floyd | Please press SPACE to continue. | ||
| Jacqueline pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | By the time the school group winds into the gift shop, Yesenia feels Floyd | like she's hidden around every corner in the entire zoo, and a fog of Floyd | irritation completely obscures her worry. It's easy to be irritated Floyd | with Rachel under any circumstances, but Rachel's really outdone Floyd | herself with this wild goose chase. Floyd | Floyd | In short order, the school group emerges from the gift shop and heads Floyd | toward the parking lot. Yesenia trails at a safe distance, rolling her Floyd | suitcase along. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | This secluded part of the parking lot is reserved for buses and other Floyd | oversized vehicles, such as the Washington Elementary school bus Floyd | parked near a red-flowered bush. A thin curtain of trees separates the Floyd | black asphalt from the train tracks and Highway 101 beyond that. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia parks herself and her suitcase behind a convenient minivan, Floyd | where she ought to be fairly well hidden from the school group. Floyd | Floyd | The most important little girl in the whole world is here. Floyd | Floyd | The second graders mill around the parking lot, herded rather Floyd | ineffectively by a bespectacled teacher. Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline asks (of DW), "Want to drive this time?" | |
| DavidW says, "No, I want to watch someone else try first." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "You are, afterall, carrying the ClubFloyd car keys." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Oh. Fine. Give me the keys." | ||
| DavidW gives ClubFloyd car keys to Jacqueline. | Jacqueline says, "Thank you. (Heehee)." | |
| Jacqueline says, "Pretend that period was placed correctly, please." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "x girl" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > X GIRL Floyd | Floyd | Brigit is shorter than most of the other second graders, but no less Floyd | rambunctious, as reported by the grass stains on her pants (and who Floyd | but Rachel would dress a second grader in seashell pink pants?) Her Floyd | huge black eyes match Rachel's, and the shape of her mouth is Floyd | Gerald's, but that never mattered to Yesenia. Floyd | Floyd | Brigit remains oblivious to her mother's presence. Floyd | Floyd | The kids scatter forward across the parking lot, laughing and shoving. Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline asks, "What happens if we step out early, I wonder?" | |
| DavidW says, "If I drove, I think I'd want to stay hidden as long as possible for a run." | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "To see what Hyacinth does?" | ||
| DavidW says, "yes, for that" | ||
| DavidW says, "I want to understand Hyacinth better." | ||
| Jacqueline shrugs. "Okay, let's try that on this run-through." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher says, "This way to the bus!" Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher says in a harried tone, "The sooner everyone gets on the Floyd | bus, the sooner we get home." Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher finally corrals her students into some semblance of order. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | Led by their teacher, the kids approach the bus. Floyd | Floyd | The red-flowered bush on the edge of the parking lot rustles sharply. Floyd | Yesenia recognizes it as a firebush, and she has just enough time to Floyd | think Do those even grow around here? before a woman dressed Floyd | in white and lilac spandex steps out of the red-flowered bush. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia recognizes the new arrival at once, though Eichhornia Cress - Floyd | aka The Hyacinth - rarely leaves Florida. As she braces for trouble, Floyd | Yesenia takes back everything she's been thinking about Rachel. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth positions herself between the school group and the bus. Floyd | There's nothing particularly scary about her white and lilac costume, Floyd | but her body language is clear enough. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher halts, extending an arm to keep her students back. "Excuse Floyd | me," she says. "You're in our way." Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher's gaze flickers toward the zoo gates, and Yesenia looks Floyd | back to see the other school group approaching. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth pulls a translucent ball from somewhere in her cloak and Floyd | brandishes it. It doesn't look threatening, but her stance says it's a Floyd | weapon. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher says to the second graders, "I need you to go back to the Floyd | zoo gates. All of you. Right now." Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "Doesn't mean we have to z when we could x, y'know." | |
| Jacqueline asks, "Got things you wanna x?" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "x hyacinth" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > X HYACINTH Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia gives The Hyacinth a once over. The other woman is dressed in Floyd | white and lilac spandex, cut to expose her toned arms and well-shaped Floyd | calves, and there's a crown of water hyacinths woven into her long, Floyd | blond hair. She also, of course, has a mask. And a cape. With a Floyd | glittery flower pattern. Floyd | Floyd | This is hardly the first time they've been in the same place, but Floyd | Yesenia was always masked before. She doesn't expect Eichhornia to Floyd | recognize her. Especially since Yesenia's still hidden behind the Floyd | minivan. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher raises a hand, signalling the other school group to stay Floyd | back. Floyd | Floyd | One of the students pulls out a smartphone and starts filming the Floyd | action. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth says, "I'm here for Brigit Bhalla." Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia's heartbeat doubles its pace - but Brigit doesn't answer. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher says, "There was no authorization for anyone to be picked Floyd | up from the zoo. You'll have to go through the main office. Now, Floyd | please move." Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "focus on smartphone" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > FOCUS ON SMARTPHONE Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia can't do that. It would be stealing, or possibly destruction Floyd | of property. And then Gerald would have even more ammunition. Floyd | Floyd | The teachers with the other school group retreat to the zoo gates. Floyd | Yesenia breathes out; she won't be juggling a second set of civilians. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth says, "But you see, her mother sent me." Floyd | Floyd | The teacher says, "Please inform 'her mother' that she needs to follow Floyd | the proper channels next time. Brigit will be available after we Floyd | return to the main office." Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline exclaims, "!" | |
| Jacqueline says, "LAME" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "x teacher" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > X TEACHER Floyd | Floyd | (the young teacher) Floyd | The teacher's bright red cat eye glasses might correct her vision, or Floyd | they might just be for fashion's sake. If the first, Yesenia can Floyd | sympathize, though her own vision is perfect these days. Floyd | Floyd | Outside the zoo gates, one of the other teachers raises a cell phone Floyd | and starts filming the action. Yesenia grits her teeth. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth cocks her head to one side, sending long blond hair Floyd | cascading over one shoulder, and sighs a little. "Do I have to spell Floyd | this out? I'm here for Brigit Bhalla, and the consequences will be Floyd | quite severe if you don't hand her over." Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "Maybe Gerald is the Rain King." | |
| Jacqueline asks, "I wonder if we can focus on her from here?" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "SAVE" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "cf2" | ||
Floyd | > Floyd | > SAVE Floyd | %% Enter a save filename to write: Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > SAVEOk. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "focus on hyacinth" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > FOCUS ON HYACINTH Floyd | Floyd | Still hidden by the minivan, Yesenia seizes the sunlight and Floyd | translates the energy into force. She clamps that force around The Floyd | Hyacinth, paralyzing the other woman. Floyd | Floyd | There's a small crowd growing by the zoo gates, probably drawn by Floyd | Yesenia's pyrotechnics. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher shouts, "Now! Move!", and her second graders Floyd | scatter. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "focus on hyacinth" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > FOCUS ON HYACINTH Floyd | Floyd | Still hidden by the minivan, Yesenia focuses more sunlight on The Floyd | Hyacinth. Floyd | Floyd | Most of the kids head back across the parking lot toward the zoo Floyd | gates, but some of them run for the bus and start banging on the door. Floyd | The driver jolts visibly into wakefulness. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth's cape lets out an electrical snapping sound, and Floyd | Yesenia's power drains away around her like water draining from a Floyd | bathtub. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth says, "Cowering in the shadows, Soleil? You should be Floyd | careful. Someone will mistake the Sun Queen for her sidekick." Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW asks, "Chris was our partner?" | |
| Jacqueline asks, "Wait, what?" | ||
| DavidW says, "'shadows'" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "I mean, I suspected that, and that perhaps Camilla (a mortal) is now our partner, but." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Oh" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Hm, maybe." | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "Want me to keep on this track?" | ||
| DavidW says, "I mean partner in the vigilante business, not romantic." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Oh. See, I thought romantic." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "I think Hyacinth is actually saying more that we wouldn't want to be thought of as partnering with Chris." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "It's a jab." | ||
| DavidW says, "This is why I didn't want to drive. I knew we, as a group, can't keep focused on a single track." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Okay, cool, I'll keep going. Just checking." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "focus on hyacinth" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > FOCUS ON HYACINTH Floyd | Floyd | Still hidden by the minivan, Yesenia focuses the sunlight around The Floyd | Hyacinth again, trapping her like a bug in amber. Floyd | Floyd | The bus driver pulls the bus door handle, and the bus door swings Floyd | open. Floyd | Floyd | Kids start scrambling onto the bus. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "focus on hyacinth" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > FOCUS ON HYACINTH Floyd | Floyd | Still hidden by the minivan, Yesenia focuses more sunlight on The Floyd | Hyacinth. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth starts to say something else, but her words are cut off Floyd | by the sudden blast of the bus horn. Floyd | Floyd | A boy aboard the bus shouts, "Brigit, come on!" before Floyd | getting smacked by his seatmate. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth's cape emits another electrical snap, and Yesenia loses Floyd | control of the sunlight around The Hyacinth again. Floyd | Floyd | Scanning the parking lot, The Hyacinth turns a quick circle and spots Floyd | Yesenia behind the minivan. "There you are!" Floyd | Floyd | So much for staying hidden. Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline says, "Well, poo." | |
| Jacqueline says, "Can't burn smartphones, can't stay hidden." | ||
| DavidW says, "can't burn, can't stay, what do you do, ..." | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "I know, right?" | ||
| DavidW says, "yeah, but I was singing it." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "talk to hyacinth" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > TALK TO HYACINTH Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia says to the Hyacinth, "Leave her alone." Floyd | Floyd | The bus driver hits the horn again and waves his cell phone at The Floyd | Hyacinth, who responds with language most parents wouldn't want their Floyd | second-graders to use. Floyd | Floyd | Brigit exclaims, "Mommy! What are you doing here?" Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "I don't know which song I'm parodying since my music knowhow is so poor." | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "talk to Brigit" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > TALK TO BRIGIT Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia calls to Brigit, "Listen to your teacher!" Floyd | Floyd | The school bus starts with a rumble as the students continue to board. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth whips around and hurls the ball at Yesenia. It strikes Floyd | the ground at her feet and explodes into yellow smoke. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia throws up a protective aura automatically. Sunlight blazes Floyd | around her, and the yellow particles veer away harmlessly. Floyd | Floyd | Brigit claps her hands for joy. "Get her, Mommy!" she shouts. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "burn smartphone" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > BURN SMARTPHONE Floyd | Floyd | The student with the phone is too far away. Floyd | Floyd | The bus driver leans out the door to shout at Brigit, "Come on, you Floyd | got to get on the bus!" Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth says, "So Brigit Bhalla is your daughter. Isn't Floyd | that interesting!" Floyd | Floyd | A smile crawls across the Hyacinth's face. Floyd | Floyd | Brigit starts moving reluctantly toward the bus. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "huh. Hyacinth didn't know that." | |
| Jacqueline asks, "I wonder how she knew to target her, then?" | ||
| DavidW asks, "She was here for Brigit but didn't know she's our daughter so, yeah, why Brigit?" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "We weren't allowed to stay hidden, but staying hidden for as long as we did provided useful info (or, rather, an interesting question)." | ||
| Roger says, "Maybe she's just working her way through young blonde girls" | ||
| DavidW says, "I have the suspicion that someone else told Hyacinth to grab Brigit without telling Hyacinth everything." | ||
| Jacqueline nods. | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "So, what now?" | ||
| DavidW says (to Roger), "But Hyacinth knew Brigit's name." | ||
| DavidW says (to Jacqueline), "well, if we can't know more about H in this run, maybe learn more about what's around us." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to DW), "Roger is just being Roger." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "talk to hyacinth" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > TALK TO HYACINTH Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia says to the Hyacinth, "Tell me who sent you." Floyd | Floyd | The yellow smoke dissipates. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth says to Brigit, "Brigit, you need to come with me." Floyd | Floyd | Brigit shouts, "No! You leave me alone!" Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "We've never examined the crown, cape, minivan, bus, driver, ..." | |
| DavidW says, "Possibly on another run, we can stay hidden and focus on the ball so it blows up in her own face." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to DW), "Ooh, true. I think we may be on a track for her to capture Brigit." | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "x crown" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > X CROWN Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia can't see any such thing. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "x cape" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > X CAPE Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia considers the lilac cape, but there's nothing special about Floyd | it. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth says to Brigit, "It's time for us to go. If you just come Floyd | along, all this unpleasantness can be over." Floyd | Floyd | Brigit shrieks, "You're a great big liar!" Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "x minivan" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > X MINIVAN Floyd | Floyd | It's a maroon minivan with a faux wood stripe along each side. The Floyd | license plate reads YAYDOGZ, and the bumper sticker reads, "I (heart) Floyd | My Groenendaels". It sounds like a medical condition, but apparently Floyd | it's a dog breed. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth advances on Brigit as she backs away. Floyd | Floyd | Sirens sound in the distance, rapidly growing closer. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "x driver" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > X DRIVER Floyd | Floyd | Due to the angle from one side and the tinted windows from another, Floyd | Yesenia can barely make out the bus driver, but if he can get the kids Floyd | to safety, then he's every bit as much a hero as she ever was. Floyd | Floyd | The sirens are getting louder. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth lunges at Brigit and grabs at her wrist. The girl dodges Floyd | and runs with an ear-piercing shriek. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "x children" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > X CHILDREN Floyd | Floyd | (the second grader) Floyd | The kids cluster near their teacher. Floyd | Floyd | The sirens are getting louder. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth snarls, "Brigit, you horrible little - " The language she Floyd | uses should never be addressed to anyone, let alone a second Floyd | grader. "You get over here right now!" Floyd | Floyd | Brigit clambers hastily onto the bus. Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline says, "Darn" | |
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "x me" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > X ME Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia isn't worried about her appearance just now. Floyd | Floyd | The sirens are getting louder. Floyd | Floyd | The second graders finish piling into the bus. Brigit climbs in last, Floyd | followed by the teacher, and the closing bus door cuts off Yesenia's Floyd | view. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth scowls, "The Sun Queen in California?" Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia says, "They have sunlight here too." Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline says, "s/me/Yesenia" | |
| Jacqueline says, "So, she gets away regardless." | ||
| DavidW asks, "I think it has to be a stalemate here, no?" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Well, I was thinking that there might be another ending here." | ||
| DavidW says, "I'm sure there is." | ||
| DavidW says, "And I think the exploding ball idea of mine is the most likely avenue to it." | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "Want to restart?" | ||
| DavidW says, "well, maybe. We can still try talking and examining." | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "talk to hyacinth" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > TALK TO HYACINTH Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia says to the Hyacinth, "Go back to Florida." Floyd | Floyd | The sirens are getting louder. Floyd | Floyd | The school bus shifts into gear and pulls out of its spot. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth says, "And you're not even properly dressed. So Floyd | that's what you look like without the mask." Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "g" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > G Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia says to the Hyacinth, "You're in over your head." Floyd | Floyd | The sirens are getting louder. Floyd | Floyd | The school bus pulls out of the parking lot, and Yesenia laughs with Floyd | relief. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth stares at Yesenia, her mouth twisted with hatred beneath Floyd | the mask. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "g" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > G Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia says to the Hyacinth, "Get away from her." Floyd | Floyd | The sirens are getting louder. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth turns and runs across the parking lot, heading for a snow Floyd | white Camaro. She's gone seconds later. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia doesn't pursue. She's not supposed to be doing this any more - Floyd | and she doesn't want to be around when those sirens arrive. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "hm." | |
| DavidW says, "That 'Get away from her' didn't seem quite right when the bus and Brigit are gone." | ||
| DavidW says, "ok, I think restarting from here would be useful." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "I'm fine with that." | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "Try out your ball focus theory?" | ||
| DavidW says, "yes, please" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "restart" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > RESTART Floyd | Floyd | Are you sure you want to restart? | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "y" | ||
Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | 18 Rooms to Home (Room 15) Floyd | A serialized work of interactive fiction. by Carolyn VanEseltine Floyd | Release 1 / Serial number 150827 / Inform 7 build 6L38 (I6/v6.33 lib Floyd | 6/12N) Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | 18 Rooms to Home is a serialized game that begins at the end. Floyd | Floyd | As each update is released, the story will move further back in time - Floyd | so the first release includes room 18, the second will include room 17 Floyd | and 18, the third includes 16, 17, and 18, and so on. All released Floyd | rooms are available at [LINK] Floyd | Floyd | This release is Room 15. This is a long way into Yesenia's journey, Floyd | but it's just a short way into yours. Floyd | Floyd | Please press SPACE to continue. | ||
| Jacqueline pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | By the time the school group winds into the gift shop, Yesenia feels Floyd | like she's hidden around every corner in the entire zoo, and a fog of Floyd | irritation completely obscures her worry. It's easy to be irritated Floyd | with Rachel under any circumstances, but Rachel's really outdone Floyd | herself with this wild goose chase. Floyd | Floyd | In short order, the school group emerges from the gift shop and heads Floyd | toward the parking lot. Yesenia trails at a safe distance, rolling her Floyd | suitcase along. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | This secluded part of the parking lot is reserved for buses and other Floyd | oversized vehicles, such as the Washington Elementary school bus Floyd | parked near a red-flowered bush. A thin curtain of trees separates the Floyd | black asphalt from the train tracks and Highway 101 beyond that. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia parks herself and her suitcase behind a convenient minivan, Floyd | where she ought to be fairly well hidden from the school group. Floyd | Floyd | The most important little girl in the whole world is here. Floyd | Floyd | The second graders mill around the parking lot, herded rather Floyd | ineffectively by a bespectacled teacher. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "It's possible there's a best-time to explode the ball, but for this run, I just want to explode it as soon as she's brandished it." | |
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "x girl" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > X GIRL Floyd | Floyd | Brigit is shorter than most of the other second graders, but no less Floyd | rambunctious, as reported by the grass stains on her pants (and who Floyd | but Rachel would dress a second grader in seashell pink pants?) Her Floyd | huge black eyes match Rachel's, and the shape of her mouth is Floyd | Gerald's, but that never mattered to Yesenia. Floyd | Floyd | Brigit remains oblivious to her mother's presence. Floyd | Floyd | The kids scatter forward across the parking lot, laughing and shoving. Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline says, "We don't actually get a big window." | |
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "x camaro" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > X CAMARO Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia can't see any such thing. Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline says, "She tosses it at us pretty quickly." | |
| anjchang asks, "anything in our suitcase?" | ||
| DavidW says (to Jacqueline), "You are mistaken." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Oh" | ||
| DavidW says, "She brandishes it even without us there." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Oh, well, true. If we don't reveal ourselves she doesn't toss it right away." | ||
| DavidW says (to anjchang), "We haven't been able to do much with the suitcase in previous runs, but I suppose it's possible." | ||
| DavidW asks, "But I do hope we won't get sidetracked and let me try out my idea, yes?" | ||
| anjchang says, "yes, please, go right on!" | ||
| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "give car keys to davidw" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > GIVE CAR KEYS TO DAVIDW Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia can't see any such thing. Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline says, "oops" | |
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "x gates" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > X GATES Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia can't see any such thing. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| Jacqueline gives ClubFloyd car keys to DavidW. | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "x bus" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > X BUS Floyd | Floyd | (the school bus) Floyd | It's a standard yellow school bus with WASHINGTON ELEMENTARY printed Floyd | along the side. The only person inside is the bus driver, and it looks Floyd | lke he's asleep. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher says, "This way to the bus!" Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "focus on driver" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > FOCUS ON DRIVER Floyd | Floyd | The bus driver is inside the school bus. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher says in a harried tone, "The sooner everyone gets on the Floyd | bus, the sooner we get home." Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "x bush" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > X BUSH Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia glances at the red-flowered bush, dismisses it, and then looks Floyd | back. She recognizes the tubular flowers and scraggly branches, but Floyd | not from anywhere around here. That's a firebush - and it belongs in Floyd | Florida. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher finally corrals her students into some semblance of order. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "look in minivan" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > LOOK IN MINIVAN Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia can't see inside, since the minivan is closed. Floyd | Floyd | Led by their teacher, the kids approach the bus. Floyd | Floyd | The firebush on the edge of the parking lot rustles sharply, and a Floyd | woman dressed in white and lilac spandex steps out of the firebush. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia recognizes the new arrival at once, though Eichhornia Cress - Floyd | aka The Hyacinth - rarely leaves Florida. As she braces for trouble, Floyd | Yesenia takes back everything she's been thinking about Rachel. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "x hyacinth" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > X HYACINTH Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia gives The Hyacinth a once over. The other woman is dressed in Floyd | white and lilac spandex, cut to expose her toned arms and well-shaped Floyd | calves, and there's a crown of water hyacinths woven into her long, Floyd | blond hair. She also, of course, has a mask. And a cape. With a Floyd | glittery flower pattern. Floyd | Floyd | This is hardly the first time they've been in the same place, but Floyd | Yesenia was always masked before. She doesn't expect Eichhornia to Floyd | recognize her. Especially since Yesenia's still hidden behind the Floyd | minivan. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth positions herself between the school group and the bus. Floyd | There's nothing particularly scary about her white and lilac costume, Floyd | but her body language is clear enough. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher halts, extending an arm to keep her students back. "Excuse Floyd | me," she says. "You're in our way." Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "open suitcase" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > OPEN SUITCASE Floyd | Floyd | Considering the contents of her suitcase, Yesenia really isn't Floyd | inclined to unpack in the parking lot. Besides, nothing in there would Floyd | help her now. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher's gaze flickers toward the zoo gates, and Yesenia looks Floyd | back to see the other school group approaching. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth pulls a translucent ball from somewhere in her cloak and Floyd | brandishes it. It doesn't look threatening, but her stance says it's a Floyd | weapon. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher says to the second graders, "I need you to go back to the Floyd | zoo gates. All of you. Right now." Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "focus on ball" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > FOCUS ON BALL Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia throws one hand skyward and one hand at The Hyacinth, and a Floyd | beam of sunlight lances from her hand to strike the translucent ball. Floyd | It's wasteful and flashy and easy to identify. Floyd | Floyd | Fortunately, it's also effective. The translucent ball explodes into Floyd | yellow smoke. The Hyacinth reels backward, protecting her nose and Floyd | mouth with her free hand. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher raises a hand, signalling the other school group to stay Floyd | back. Floyd | Floyd | One of the students pulls out a smartphone and starts filming the Floyd | action. Floyd | Floyd | Brigit exclaims, "Mommy! What are you doing here?" Floyd | Floyd | Most of the kids head back across the parking lot toward the zoo Floyd | gates, but some of them run for the bus and start banging on the door. Floyd | The driver jolts visibly into wakefulness. Floyd | Floyd | > | anjchang says, "awesome first strike!" | |
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "hit hyacinth" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > HIT HYACINTH Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia pivots toward The Hyacinth and then drops to execute a leg Floyd | sweep. The Hyacinth dodges out of the way with reasonable grace. Floyd | Floyd | The air brightens around Yesenia - not a full protective aura, which Floyd | would quickly exhaust her, but enough to give her confidence. Floyd | Floyd | The teachers with the other school group retreat to the zoo gates. Floyd | Yesenia breathes out; she won't be juggling a second set of civilians. Floyd | Floyd | The yellow smoke dissipates. Floyd | Floyd | The bus driver pulls the bus door handle, and the bus door swings Floyd | open. Floyd | Floyd | Brigit claps her hands for joy. "Get her, Mommy!" she shouts. Floyd | Floyd | Kids start scrambling onto the bus. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "g" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > G Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia steps into The Hyacinth and attempts a one-two punch to her Floyd | midsection. The Hyacinth parries. She's a bit less graceful now. Floyd | Floyd | Outside the zoo gates, one of the other teachers raises a cell phone Floyd | and starts filming the action. Yesenia grits her teeth. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth starts to say something else, but her words are cut off Floyd | by the sudden blast of the bus horn. Floyd | Floyd | Brigit tries to run toward Yesenia, but The Hyacinth intercepts, and Floyd | the girl has to retreat. Floyd | Floyd | A boy aboard the bus shouts, "Brigit, come on!" before Floyd | getting smacked by his seatmate. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "g" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > G Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia lunges for The Hyacinth and reaches out to throw the other Floyd | woman. The Hyacinth pants with effort as she counterattacks, driving Floyd | Yesenia back. Floyd | Floyd | There's a small crowd growing by the zoo gates, probably drawn by Floyd | Yesenia's pyrotechnics. Floyd | Floyd | The bus driver hits the horn again and waves his cell phone at The Floyd | Hyacinth, who responds with language most parents wouldn't want their Floyd | second-graders to use. Floyd | Floyd | Brigit starts moving reluctantly toward the bus. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "g" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > G Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia pivots toward The Hyacinth and throws an elbow toward her Floyd | face. The Hyacinth parries awkwardly. Floyd | Floyd | The school bus starts with a rumble as the students continue to board. Floyd | Floyd | Brigit clambers hastily onto the bus. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "g" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > G Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia steps into The Hyacinth and then drops to execute a leg sweep. Floyd | The Hyacinth slaps a hand against her own wrist, and a milky white Floyd | shield flashes into view, blocking Yesenia's attack. It vanishes as Floyd | quickly as it came. Floyd | Floyd | The second graders finish piling into the bus. Brigit climbs in last, Floyd | followed by the teacher, and the closing bus door cuts off Yesenia's Floyd | view. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "oo, white shield" | |
| DavidW says, "I guess my idea, while adequate, isn't enough on its own to be a knockout." | ||
| anjchang asks, "maybe focus + ball explosion?" | ||
| DavidW says, "Perhaps there is a best time to focus on the ball." | ||
| DavidW says (to anjchang), "I don't know what you mean." | ||
| DavidW says, "Focusing on the ball made it explode." | ||
| DavidW says, "Also, I tried to open the suitcase, and the game wouldn't let me. So no makeshift masks from that quarter." | ||
| anjchang asks, "maybe whenever hyacinth has an attack, you focus on the thing she's attacking with?" | ||
| DavidW says, "We've never actually seen her initiate an attack. She's threatened, but not gone first." | ||
| anjchang asks, "hmm.. how about after the ball explodes, focusing on hyacinth?" | ||
| DavidW says, "We might try a true-passive run, doing nothing." | ||
| anjchang asks, "or combine it with our attacks?" | ||
| DavidW says (to anjchang), "Well, we can't hit and focus at the same time." | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "I honestly think we've gotten what we can from scene 1 (at the zoo), and we've seen scene 2 (the bus) a couple of times if we count our previous playthrough. The trick is, how do we get to the new ending that likely becomes available only through this game?" | ||
| DavidW says, "I'm unclear if ball explode followed by body focus is any better than ball explode followed by hitting." | ||
| DavidW says (to Jacqueline), "Imagine if we could hit Chris with the ball of yellow gas." | ||
| anjchang says, "a part of me wants to just drive over hyacinth in the bus" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "That'd be cool, but doubt it's knickable." | ||
| anjchang asks, "but Jacqueline is probably right, we've probably gotten all that we can from this scene because Hyacinth has to come back later, right?" | ||
| anjchang asks, "could we hit her with the suitcase?" | ||
| DavidW says, "no, we haven't revealed a difference yet." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Hm. Possibly the suitcase could be used as a weapon. Not sure that it will change much." | ||
| DavidW says, "My best guess is still focusing on the ball, but by itself, isn't enough." | ||
| Roger says, "I want to see if we can just let the abduction go off successfully" | ||
| DavidW says, "I'd want to try a pure-passive-do-nothing run." | ||
| Roger says, "Yeah, that" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "I thought we kind of did that." | ||
| DavidW says, "No, we have not." | ||
| DavidW says, "We very much have not." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Well, I guess not. We still faught a little." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Fought, even." | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "Sounds fine. DW, are you going to do the honors?" | ||
| DavidW says, "I need a bathroom break." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Okay" | ||
| anjchang asks, "did you guys already play 18 rooms to home, 17 rooms, and 16 rooms to home...?" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Yes" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Back closer to when they were each released." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Unfortunately, I'm not that far on transcripts." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "And won't be until after I move." | ||
| anjchang asks, "was there anything that could be useful in the previous games about fighting?" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Mostly just focus." | ||
| anjchang says, "no worries about transcripts, playing with you guys is much more memorable than reading the transcripts" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Focus and talking." | ||
| DavidW says, "back" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Welcome back." | ||
| DavidW asks, "shall we do the passive run?" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Syre" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "er sure" | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "restart" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > RESTART Floyd | Floyd | Are you sure you want to restart? | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "yes" | ||
Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | 18 Rooms to Home (Room 15) Floyd | A serialized work of interactive fiction. by Carolyn VanEseltine Floyd | Release 1 / Serial number 150827 / Inform 7 build 6L38 (I6/v6.33 lib Floyd | 6/12N) Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | 18 Rooms to Home is a serialized game that begins at the end. Floyd | Floyd | As each update is released, the story will move further back in time - Floyd | so the first release includes room 18, the second will include room 17 Floyd | and 18, the third includes 16, 17, and 18, and so on. All released Floyd | rooms are available at [LINK] Floyd | Floyd | This release is Room 15. This is a long way into Yesenia's journey, Floyd | but it's just a short way into yours. Floyd | Floyd | Please press SPACE to continue. | ||
| DavidW pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | By the time the school group winds into the gift shop, Yesenia feels Floyd | like she's hidden around every corner in the entire zoo, and a fog of Floyd | irritation completely obscures her worry. It's easy to be irritated Floyd | with Rachel under any circumstances, but Rachel's really outdone Floyd | herself with this wild goose chase. Floyd | Floyd | In short order, the school group emerges from the gift shop and heads Floyd | toward the parking lot. Yesenia trails at a safe distance, rolling her Floyd | suitcase along. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | This secluded part of the parking lot is reserved for buses and other Floyd | oversized vehicles, such as the Washington Elementary school bus Floyd | parked near a red-flowered bush. A thin curtain of trees separates the Floyd | black asphalt from the train tracks and Highway 101 beyond that. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia parks herself and her suitcase behind a convenient minivan, Floyd | where she ought to be fairly well hidden from the school group. Floyd | Floyd | The most important little girl in the whole world is here. Floyd | Floyd | The second graders mill around the parking lot, herded rather Floyd | ineffectively by a bespectacled teacher. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | The kids scatter forward across the parking lot, laughing and shoving. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher says, "This way to the bus!" Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher says in a harried tone, "The sooner everyone gets on the Floyd | bus, the sooner we get home." Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher finally corrals her students into some semblance of order. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | Led by their teacher, the kids approach the bus. Floyd | Floyd | The red-flowered bush on the edge of the parking lot rustles sharply. Floyd | Yesenia recognizes it as a firebush, and she has just enough time to Floyd | think Do those even grow around here? before a woman dressed Floyd | in white and lilac spandex steps out of the red-flowered bush. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia recognizes the new arrival at once, though Eichhornia Cress - Floyd | aka The Hyacinth - rarely leaves Florida. As she braces for trouble, Floyd | Yesenia takes back everything she's been thinking about Rachel. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth positions herself between the school group and the bus. Floyd | There's nothing particularly scary about her white and lilac costume, Floyd | but her body language is clear enough. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher halts, extending an arm to keep her students back. "Excuse Floyd | me," she says. "You're in our way." Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher's gaze flickers toward the zoo gates, and Yesenia looks Floyd | back to see the other school group approaching. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth pulls a translucent ball from somewhere in her cloak and Floyd | brandishes it. It doesn't look threatening, but her stance says it's a Floyd | weapon. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher says to the second graders, "I need you to go back to the Floyd | zoo gates. All of you. Right now." Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher raises a hand, signalling the other school group to stay Floyd | back. Floyd | Floyd | One of the students pulls out a smartphone and starts filming the Floyd | action. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth says, "I'm here for Brigit Bhalla." Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia's heartbeat doubles its pace - but the most important little Floyd | girl in the whole world doesn't answer. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher says, "There was no authorization for anyone to be picked Floyd | up from the zoo. You'll have to go through the main office. Now, Floyd | please move." Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | The teachers with the other school group retreat to the zoo gates. Floyd | Yesenia breathes out; she won't be juggling a second set of civilians. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth says, "But you see, her mother sent me." Floyd | Floyd | The teacher says, "Please inform 'her mother' that she needs to follow Floyd | the proper channels next time. Brigit will be available after we Floyd | return to the main office." Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | Outside the zoo gates, one of the other teachers raises a cell phone Floyd | and starts filming the action. Yesenia grits her teeth. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth cocks her head to one side, sending long blond hair Floyd | cascading over one shoulder, and sighs a little. "Do I have to spell Floyd | this out? I'm here for Brigit Bhalla, and the consequences will be Floyd | quite severe if you don't hand her over." Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | There's a small crowd growing by the zoo gates, perhaps people warned Floyd | back by the other teachers. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth asks, "Well?" Floyd | Floyd | The teacher glances over her shoulder, but she doesn't spot Yesenia Floyd | behind the minivan, and no one else is close enough to help. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth hurls the ball. It strikes the ground at the teacher's Floyd | feet and explodes into yellow smoke. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher collapses onto the pavement, along with several of the Floyd | closest kids. Pandemonium ensues. Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline exclaims, "!" | |
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "x teacher" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > X TEACHER Floyd | Floyd | (the young teacher) Floyd | She's flat on the pavement, but her eyes are still open, focused, and Floyd | tracking. It looks like the yellow smoke was a paralytic. Floyd | Floyd | The most important little girl in the whole world dodges around the Floyd | minivan - and almost runs straight into Yesenia. Floyd | Floyd | The most important little girl in the whole world's eyes go wide with Floyd | astonishment. "MOMMY!" she shouts. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth whips around to look straight at Yesenia. So much for Floyd | staying hidden. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "So, hiding forever really is impossible." | |
| DavidW says, "Unless there's a makeshift mask somewhere." | ||
| DavidW says, "And at least now we know what the yellow smoke does." | ||
| DavidW says, "I wonder if it's at all possible to remove or damage H's mask. Maybe it's just skin-touch that does it, though." | ||
| Jacqueline shrugs. | ||
| DavidW asks, "Do we continue just z'ing?" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "I thought that was the plan." | ||
| DavidW asks, "or.... is it possible that Brigit can come with us into the next scenes?" | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The yellow smoke dissipates. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth demands of Yesenia, "Who are you?" Floyd | Floyd | The most important little girl in the whole world exclaims, "Mommy! Floyd | What are you doing here?" Floyd | Floyd | Most of the kids head back across the parking lot toward the zoo Floyd | gates, but some of them run for the bus and start banging on the door. Floyd | The driver jolts visibly into wakefulness. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The bus driver pulls the bus door handle, and the bus door swings Floyd | open. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth says to Yesenia, "Clearly, you don't know who you're Floyd | dealing with." Floyd | Floyd | The most important little girl in the whole world claps her hands for Floyd | joy. "Get her, Mommy!" she shouts. Floyd | Floyd | Kids start scrambling onto the bus. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth starts to say something else, but her words are cut off Floyd | by the sudden blast of the bus horn. Floyd | Floyd | "Mommy!" the most important little girl in the whole world shouts. Floyd | "Get her!" Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth sneers, "I hardly think your mom is going to 'get me'. Floyd | She looks like she could barely get the groceries." Floyd | Floyd | A boy aboard the bus shouts, "Brigit, come on!" before Floyd | getting smacked by his seatmate. Floyd | Floyd | The most important little girl in the whole world shouts, "Mommy, Floyd | help!" Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The bus driver hits the horn again and waves his cell phone at The Floyd | Hyacinth, who responds with language most parents wouldn't want their Floyd | second-graders to use. Floyd | Floyd | The most important little girl in the whole world shouts, "Mommy, we Floyd | need help!" Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The school bus starts with a rumble as the students continue to board. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth says to the most important little girl in the whole Floyd | world, "Brigit, you need to come with me." Floyd | Floyd | The most important little girl in the whole world shouts, "No! You Floyd | leave me alone!" Floyd | Floyd | The most important little girl in the whole world cries, "Mommy, Floyd | aren't you going to do anything?" Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline says, "heehee" | |
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The bus driver leans out the door to shout at the most important Floyd | little girl in the whole world, "Come on, you got to get on the bus!" Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth says to the most important little girl in the whole Floyd | world, "It's time for us to go. If you just come along, all this Floyd | unpleasantness can be over." Floyd | Floyd | The most important little girl in the whole world shrieks, "You're a Floyd | great big liar!" Floyd | Floyd | The most important little girl in the whole world stares at Yesenia Floyd | with a look of complete betrayal. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth advances on the most important little girl in the whole Floyd | world as she backs away. Floyd | Floyd | The most important little girl in the whole world shouts at Yesenia, Floyd | "Mama's right! You don't help people at all!" and bursts into Floyd | tears. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia's heart drops like a rock. "No - " she manages, but the most Floyd | important little girl in the whole world isn't listening. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW asks, "'Mama'? We're 'mommy' and is Rachel 'mama'?" | |
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth lunges at the most important little girl in the whole Floyd | world and grabs at her wrist. The girl dodges and runs with an Floyd | ear-piercing shriek. Floyd | Floyd | Brigit runs onto the school bus without looking back. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The remaining second graders scramble aboard the bus, and the driver Floyd | pulls the handle to close the bus door. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth says to Yesenia, "I am The Hyacinth" - the capital Floyd | letters are especially clear when she says it - "and if you don't get Floyd | out of here, I'll choke you like a waterway." Floyd | Floyd | Sirens sound in the distance, rapidly growing closer. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW asks, "Stay or go?" | |
| Jacqueline asks, "I'll choke you like a waterway?" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "I thought we said this one was passive." | ||
| DavidW says, "Must be a Florida thing." | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The sirens are getting louder. Floyd | Floyd | The school bus shifts into gear and pulls out of its spot. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth shouts at the bus, "Brigit, you get out here right now!" Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The sirens are getting louder. Floyd | Floyd | The school bus swings around, orienting on the Hyacinth. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth stares at Yesenia, her mouth twisted with hatred beneath Floyd | the mask. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The sirens are getting louder. Floyd | Floyd | The school bus picks up speed, bearing down on the Hyacinth. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth stares in open-mouthed astonishment before diving out of Floyd | the way. Floyd | Floyd | > | anjchang says, "i wish they ran her over!" | |
| DavidW says, "If we froze her, she probably would get run over." | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The sirens are getting louder. Floyd | Floyd | The school bus screeches to a halt (oh, those brakes need tuning!), Floyd | forming a barrier between the Hyacinth and the victims of her yellow Floyd | smoke. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "I really didn't expect the bus driver to do that." | |
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The sirens are getting louder. Floyd | Floyd | The bus driver throws open the door and lunges out. From this angle, Floyd | Yesenia can't see him very well, but she can tell what he's doing - Floyd | getting the fallen kids into the bus. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The sirens are getting louder. Floyd | Floyd | The bus driver grunts with effort as he heaves the teacher into the Floyd | bus. Once she's safely aboard, he steps back up and yanks the door Floyd | closed again. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The sirens are getting louder. Floyd | Floyd | The school bus pulls out of the parking lot, and Yesenia laughs with Floyd | relief. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth snarls, "You got in my way at the worst possible time. I Floyd | will see you destroyed." Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The sirens are getting louder. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth scowls at the distant road before looking back to Floyd | Yesenia. "I'll find you later, soccer mom," she promises. Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline says, "heh" | |
| DavidW says, "ouch. That 'soccer mom' ... hurt." | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The sirens are getting louder. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth turns and runs across the parking lot, heading for a snow Floyd | white Camaro. She's gone seconds later. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia doesn't pursue. She's not supposed to be doing this any more - Floyd | and she doesn't want to be around when those sirens arrive. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW asks, "Wanna stay for the police?" | |
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia considers her options. Floyd | Floyd | The sirens are getting louder. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia considers her options. Floyd | Floyd | The sirens are getting louder. Floyd | Floyd | The police will be here any second. Yesenia can't stay any longer. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia considers her options. Floyd | Floyd | The sirens are getting louder. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia doubles back to grab her suitcase and then takes off. Floyd | Floyd | Palm trees shadow Yesenia as she heads south toward Ninos Drive. Floyd | There's a bus stop at the zoo entrance, but the sirens are closer Floyd | every second, so she keeps moving south until she reaches Cabrillo Floyd | Boulevard. Floyd | Floyd | The 14 Montecito arrives across the street - but she can't cross the Floyd | street until the traffic clears, and by then, the bus is pulling away. Floyd | She comforts herself with the thought that it wasn't the right bus Floyd | anyway, and she trots across the crosswalk to join the tourists. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Please press SPACE to continue. | DavidW says, "That was interesting." | |
| Jacqueline says, "Just enough of a sense of danger without actually having to write the scenes where we're confronted by the popo" | ||
| DavidW says, "I bet we could get the bus to run H over if we focused on her at just the right time." | ||
| DavidW says, "also, I note that if we never use our powers, H has no clue who we are." | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "Yes, that's cool. Lower profile. We're not supposed to be doing this anymore, remember?" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Not sure that will change our ending, though." | ||
| DavidW says, "I'm not sure how it carries over either, but an injured or killed Hyacinth is significant." | ||
| DavidW asks, "Should we try the 'run her over' playthrough?" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "I don't think it's possible, but sure." | ||
| DavidW pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
Floyd ] 20 to Carpinteria Floyd | Tourists move down the steps toward Cabrillo Pavilion in long waves, Floyd | unconsciously mimicking the ocean beyond. Yesenia loiters awkwardly at Floyd | the sidewalk's edge and pretends to be fascinated by the fat little Floyd | palm trees, the blue sign reading ZOO with its arrow, or anything else Floyd | that will keep her face away from pedestrians. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia turns at the distant roar of a bus. The familiar white body Floyd | with its upper yellow stripe comes around the bend, and she reads 20 Floyd | Carpinteria with relief. The crowd at the bus stop shuffles around, Floyd | and Yesenia queues up to board, hauling the flowered suitcase behind Floyd | her as she climbs the steps. Floyd | Floyd | 20 to Carpinteria Floyd | It's like any other MTD bus: bluish-gray plastic seats crowded with Floyd | passengers, huge windows, and an array of silver poles and black Floyd | straps for standing passengers. No one's standing right now, though. Floyd | Floyd | The driver taps the fare box and gives Yesenia a meaningful look. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia braces her suitcase against her leg. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "restart" | ||
Floyd ] 20 to Carpinteria Floyd | > Floyd | > RESTART Floyd | Floyd | Are you sure you want to restart? | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "yes" | ||
Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | 18 Rooms to Home (Room 15) Floyd | A serialized work of interactive fiction. by Carolyn VanEseltine Floyd | Release 1 / Serial number 150827 / Inform 7 build 6L38 (I6/v6.33 lib Floyd | 6/12N) Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | 18 Rooms to Home is a serialized game that begins at the end. Floyd | Floyd | As each update is released, the story will move further back in time - Floyd | so the first release includes room 18, the second will include room 17 Floyd | and 18, the third includes 16, 17, and 18, and so on. All released Floyd | rooms are available at [LINK] Floyd | Floyd | This release is Room 15. This is a long way into Yesenia's journey, Floyd | but it's just a short way into yours. Floyd | Floyd | Please press SPACE to continue. | ||
| DavidW pushes the green 'space' button. | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | By the time the school group winds into the gift shop, Yesenia feels Floyd | like she's hidden around every corner in the entire zoo, and a fog of Floyd | irritation completely obscures her worry. It's easy to be irritated Floyd | with Rachel under any circumstances, but Rachel's really outdone Floyd | herself with this wild goose chase. Floyd | Floyd | In short order, the school group emerges from the gift shop and heads Floyd | toward the parking lot. Yesenia trails at a safe distance, rolling her Floyd | suitcase along. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | This secluded part of the parking lot is reserved for buses and other Floyd | oversized vehicles, such as the Washington Elementary school bus Floyd | parked near a red-flowered bush. A thin curtain of trees separates the Floyd | black asphalt from the train tracks and Highway 101 beyond that. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia parks herself and her suitcase behind a convenient minivan, Floyd | where she ought to be fairly well hidden from the school group. Floyd | Floyd | The most important little girl in the whole world is here. Floyd | Floyd | The second graders mill around the parking lot, herded rather Floyd | ineffectively by a bespectacled teacher. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | The kids scatter forward across the parking lot, laughing and shoving. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher says, "This way to the bus!" Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher says in a harried tone, "The sooner everyone gets on the Floyd | bus, the sooner we get home." Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher finally corrals her students into some semblance of order. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | Led by their teacher, the kids approach the bus. Floyd | Floyd | The red-flowered bush on the edge of the parking lot rustles sharply. Floyd | Yesenia recognizes it as a firebush, and she has just enough time to Floyd | think Do those even grow around here? before a woman dressed Floyd | in white and lilac spandex steps out of the red-flowered bush. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia recognizes the new arrival at once, though Eichhornia Cress - Floyd | aka The Hyacinth - rarely leaves Florida. As she braces for trouble, Floyd | Yesenia takes back everything she's been thinking about Rachel. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth positions herself between the school group and the bus. Floyd | There's nothing particularly scary about her white and lilac costume, Floyd | but her body language is clear enough. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher halts, extending an arm to keep her students back. "Excuse Floyd | me," she says. "You're in our way." Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher's gaze flickers toward the zoo gates, and Yesenia looks Floyd | back to see the other school group approaching. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth pulls a translucent ball from somewhere in her cloak and Floyd | brandishes it. It doesn't look threatening, but her stance says it's a Floyd | weapon. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher says to the second graders, "I need you to go back to the Floyd | zoo gates. All of you. Right now." Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher raises a hand, signalling the other school group to stay Floyd | back. Floyd | Floyd | One of the students pulls out a smartphone and starts filming the Floyd | action. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth says, "I'm here for Brigit Bhalla." Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia's heartbeat doubles its pace - but the most important little Floyd | girl in the whole world doesn't answer. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher says, "There was no authorization for anyone to be picked Floyd | up from the zoo. You'll have to go through the main office. Now, Floyd | please move." Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | The teachers with the other school group retreat to the zoo gates. Floyd | Yesenia breathes out; she won't be juggling a second set of civilians. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth says, "But you see, her mother sent me." Floyd | Floyd | The teacher says, "Please inform 'her mother' that she needs to follow Floyd | the proper channels next time. Brigit will be available after we Floyd | return to the main office." Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | Outside the zoo gates, one of the other teachers raises a cell phone Floyd | and starts filming the action. Yesenia grits her teeth. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth cocks her head to one side, sending long blond hair Floyd | cascading over one shoulder, and sighs a little. "Do I have to spell Floyd | this out? I'm here for Brigit Bhalla, and the consequences will be Floyd | quite severe if you don't hand her over." Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | There's a small crowd growing by the zoo gates, perhaps people warned Floyd | back by the other teachers. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth asks, "Well?" Floyd | Floyd | The teacher glances over her shoulder, but she doesn't spot Yesenia Floyd | behind the minivan, and no one else is close enough to help. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth hurls the ball. It strikes the ground at the teacher's Floyd | feet and explodes into yellow smoke. Floyd | Floyd | The teacher collapses onto the pavement, along with several of the Floyd | closest kids. Pandemonium ensues. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia watches from behind the minivan. Floyd | Floyd | The most important little girl in the whole world dodges around the Floyd | minivan - and almost runs straight into Yesenia. Floyd | Floyd | The most important little girl in the whole world's eyes go wide with Floyd | astonishment. "MOMMY!" she shouts. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth whips around to look straight at Yesenia. So much for Floyd | staying hidden. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The yellow smoke dissipates. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth demands of Yesenia, "Who are you?" Floyd | Floyd | The most important little girl in the whole world exclaims, "Mommy! Floyd | What are you doing here?" Floyd | Floyd | Most of the kids head back across the parking lot toward the zoo Floyd | gates, but some of them run for the bus and start banging on the door. Floyd | The driver jolts visibly into wakefulness. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The bus driver pulls the bus door handle, and the bus door swings Floyd | open. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth says to Yesenia, "Clearly, you don't know who you're Floyd | dealing with." Floyd | Floyd | The most important little girl in the whole world claps her hands for Floyd | joy. "Get her, Mommy!" she shouts. Floyd | Floyd | Kids start scrambling onto the bus. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth starts to say something else, but her words are cut off Floyd | by the sudden blast of the bus horn. Floyd | Floyd | "Mommy!" the most important little girl in the whole world shouts. Floyd | "Get her!" Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth sneers, "I hardly think your mom is going to 'get me'. Floyd | She looks like she could barely get the groceries." Floyd | Floyd | A boy aboard the bus shouts, "Brigit, come on!" before Floyd | getting smacked by his seatmate. Floyd | Floyd | The most important little girl in the whole world shouts, "Mommy, Floyd | help!" Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The bus driver hits the horn again and waves his cell phone at The Floyd | Hyacinth, who responds with language most parents wouldn't want their Floyd | second-graders to use. Floyd | Floyd | The most important little girl in the whole world shouts, "Mommy, we Floyd | need help!" Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The school bus starts with a rumble as the students continue to board. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth says to the most important little girl in the whole Floyd | world, "Brigit, you need to come with me." Floyd | Floyd | The most important little girl in the whole world shouts, "No! You Floyd | leave me alone!" Floyd | Floyd | The most important little girl in the whole world cries, "Mommy, Floyd | aren't you going to do anything?" Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The bus driver leans out the door to shout at the most important Floyd | little girl in the whole world, "Come on, you got to get on the bus!" Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth says to the most important little girl in the whole Floyd | world, "It's time for us to go. If you just come along, all this Floyd | unpleasantness can be over." Floyd | Floyd | The most important little girl in the whole world shrieks, "You're a Floyd | great big liar!" Floyd | Floyd | The most important little girl in the whole world stares at Yesenia Floyd | with a look of complete betrayal. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth advances on the most important little girl in the whole Floyd | world as she backs away. Floyd | Floyd | The most important little girl in the whole world shouts at Yesenia, Floyd | "Mama's right! You don't help people at all!" and bursts into Floyd | tears. Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia's heart drops like a rock. "No - " she manages, but the most Floyd | important little girl in the whole world isn't listening. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth lunges at the most important little girl in the whole Floyd | world and grabs at her wrist. The girl dodges and runs with an Floyd | ear-piercing shriek. Floyd | Floyd | Brigit runs onto the school bus without looking back. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The remaining second graders scramble aboard the bus, and the driver Floyd | pulls the handle to close the bus door. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth says to Yesenia, "I am The Hyacinth" - the capital Floyd | letters are especially clear when she says it - "and if you don't get Floyd | out of here, I'll choke you like a waterway." Floyd | Floyd | Sirens sound in the distance, rapidly growing closer. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The sirens are getting louder. Floyd | Floyd | The school bus shifts into gear and pulls out of its spot. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth shouts at the bus, "Brigit, you get out here right now!" Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The sirens are getting louder. Floyd | Floyd | The school bus swings around, orienting on the Hyacinth. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth stares at Yesenia, her mouth twisted with hatred beneath Floyd | the mask. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "z" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > Z Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia waits for the right moment. Floyd | Floyd | The sirens are getting louder. Floyd | Floyd | The school bus picks up speed, bearing down on the Hyacinth. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth stares in open-mouthed astonishment before diving out of Floyd | the way. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "undo" | Jacqueline says, "undo" | |
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | Floyd | > UNDO Floyd | Floyd | Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | [Previous turn undone.] Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline says, "Freeze her" | |
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "focus on hyacinth" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > FOCUS ON HYACINTH Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia seizes the sunlight and translates the energy into force. She Floyd | clamps that force around The Hyacinth, paralyzing the other woman. Floyd | Floyd | The sirens are getting louder. Floyd | Floyd | The school bus picks up speed, bearing down on the Hyacinth. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth stares in open-mouthed astonishment before diving out of Floyd | the way. Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline says, "again" | |
| Jacqueline says, "Oh, waiat." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "er, wait" | ||
| Jacqueline asks, "How did she... ?" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "bah" | ||
| DavidW says, "Paralyzed and dives." | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "focus on hyacinth" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > FOCUS ON HYACINTH Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia focuses more sunlight on The Hyacinth. Floyd | Floyd | The sirens are getting louder. Floyd | Floyd | The school bus screeches to a halt (oh, those brakes need tuning!), Floyd | forming a barrier between the Hyacinth and the victims of her yellow Floyd | smoke. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth's cape emits an electric snap, and Yesenia's focus drains Floyd | away. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth says, "I've seen your face, Sun Queen. And I've seen the Floyd | face of your daughter, Brigit Bhalla. I will make you more sorry than Floyd | you can imagine." Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "bah humbug" | |
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "undo" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | Floyd | > UNDO Floyd | Floyd | Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | [Previous turn undone.] Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "undo" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | Floyd | > UNDO Floyd | Floyd | Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | [Previous turn undone.] Floyd | Floyd | > | ||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "hit hyacinth" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > HIT HYACINTH Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia steps into The Hyacinth and reaches out to throw the other Floyd | woman. The Hyacinth parries with reasonable grace. Floyd | Floyd | The air brightens around Yesenia, but she fights back the reflex. She Floyd | doesn't need a full protective aura to fight The Hyacinth, Floyd | and if no one noticed that flash, she can still hope to hide her Floyd | identity. Floyd | Floyd | The sirens are getting louder. Floyd | Floyd | The school bus picks up speed, bearing down on the Hyacinth. Floyd | Floyd | The Hyacinth stares in open-mouthed astonishment before diving out of Floyd | the way. Floyd | Floyd | > | Roger says, "but thou must" | |
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "hit hyacinth" | ||
Floyd ] Santa Barbara Zoo, Parking Lot Floyd | > Floyd | > HIT HYACINTH Floyd | Floyd | Yesenia lunges for The Hyacinth and attempts a one-two punch to her Floyd | midsection. The Hyacinth turns the blow aside. She's a bit less Floyd | graceful now. Floyd | Floyd | The sirens are getting louder. Floyd | Floyd | The school bus screeches to a halt (oh, those brakes need tuning!), Floyd | forming a barrier between the Hyacinth and the victims of her yellow Floyd | smoke. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "well, we can't get her run over this way." | |
| DavidW asks, "Maybe we're supposed to use fisticuffs after Brigit rounds the minivan?" | ||
| DavidW says, "At any case, it seems important to not use our powers in this battle, at least, not in any obvious manner." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "To avoid detection." | ||
| DavidW says, "well, to avoid identification" | ||
| Jacqueline says, "Sorry, yes." | ||
| DavidW says, "H and B fill spot us eventually no matter what we do or don't do." | ||
| DavidW says, "er Will spot us" | ||
| Roger asks, "How hard have we tried to mask ourselves?" | ||
| Roger asks, "Maybe focus on ourselves, wash out the image?" | ||
| DavidW says (to Roger), "Not very. I tried to open the suitcase and the game said nothing in there useful.." | ||
| DavidW says, "hm. Dunno if we can focus on ourselves." | ||
| DavidW says, "We could also try focusing on Brigit, for that matter." | ||
| DavidW says, "But I don't think it works that way. Focusing on a person seems to be a grappling hold and nothing more." | ||
| DavidW says, "I also don't know if we can grab/focus H's mask." | ||
| Jacqueline says, "I'm really having trouble thinking of what we can do to change the ending." | ||
| DavidW says, "Maybe we missed something? Maybe it's all just a matter of timing." | ||
| Roger says, "Maybe the critical decision comes later" | ||
| anjchang asks, "maybe we have to give the suitcase to someone later?" | ||
| DavidW says, "I'm guessing we're done for today? We seem to have exhausted ourselves." | ||
| anjchang says, "okay! see you next week! :) thanks for driving" | ||
| anjchang says, "bye bye everyone" | ||
| anjchang goes home. | DavidW says, "bye anjchang" | |
| Jacqueline exclaims, "Thank you, David!" | ||
