2019-06-29 - Welcome to the Jungle

To say that yesterday was a shit storm would be an understatement, but Vivian didn't seem to be ruffled after giving Byron the heads up about what happened, and that she was fine. So much so that the night before proceeded almost as it always does. Work, dinner, conversation, sleep, etc. The morning came and she got up and made coffee, giving some story about having to go pick something up from the office so that she could finish some work. Then after a quick kiss on the cheek, Vivian left.

Hours went by, more than enough time for her to have stopped in by the office to pick up what she needed and make it back. But she didn't come back, and there wasn't any text message that was sent saying anything happened. Just radio silence until a quick text was sent asking him to meet her out on the Boardwalk. When he gets there she's not hard to find, leaning against the railing and looking out across the ocean, looking probably fairly out of place in her buttercream colored suit and heels. Next to her on the railing is a pirate hat folded out of newspaper, and she seems to be holding onto it with one finger.

That morning, before they both set out for the day, Byron had informed Vivian that he was going to pick Lilith up and take her out for a run in the park; trying to promote good, healthy habits among his friends. Let's just say that the day didn't go by uneventfully.

He'd texted her earlier saying that he'd be late. Something about car trouble. So when he does show up at the boardwalk, having changed out of his running gear and into casual, weekend attire, as he always carries an extra pair of clothes to change into in his car...: a long-sleeved navy, green and black watch plaid buttoned-down shirt with dark slacks, he's still wearing his running shoes and that sports watch around his wrist. When he approaches Vivian, he's moving at a quick pace, "Sorry that I'm late. My car broke down near the downtown area." Yes, he's seen the disaster. "Had to wait for it to get towed. Are you alright? I mean, Jesus, I saw what happened out there." He even reaches out a hand to guide Vivian in his attempt to inspect to ensure that she's not hurt.

"Your car broke down?" Vivian straightens up from where she's been leaning, letting him guide her away from the railing, the paper hat picked up as she moves so that it doesn't get blown away from where it's resting. Judging by the ease of movement she doesn't seem to be favoring anything, no visible injuries, nothing seems to be wrong with her at all. "I'm fine..." She leans in and gives his cheek a kiss before hooking her arm through his to start walking.

"More than what is visible happened, however. That's what I had to take the time to process, figure out what to make of it, and what to do about it, because honestly what happened is beyond crazy." Vivian shakes her head, giving his arm a squeeze, "First thing is that I've got to figure out where the box of bones has gotten to, and I need to find out who Billy is. But, that's more for me..." She glances at him, watching him for a moment before she switches tracks to actually start explaining what happened, "So when the gas line exploded several of us ran for cover, and moved through this gap between two buildings, only to end up in a place where the buildings looked jello like...with eyes for windows and mouths for doors. On the side of one building was a message written in blood, and a box filled with bones."

"I was supposed to have it looked at after the flood, but it was running just fine. Until today." Byron's annoyance about his Wraith is clear, but it's a mild sort of annoyance in comparison to the concern he's feeling right now. Leaning in close to receive the kiss, pressing his cheek gently against her lips. As they start a slow, conversational trek along the boardwalk, he asks, "Did you get anything to eat yet?" Because Byron surely didn't! And he was feeling a little peckish as it were.

When Vivian begins to tell her story, so many things race through Byron's head; things that very well may have happened in a town like Gray Harbor. So. Many. Bad. Thoughts. come into his mind, but he's listening. There's a slow nod given this mention of a box of bones. That sounds normal... But that explosion could have unearthed any number of things! It's only when she says the name Billy that there's this very subtle tensing of his muscles, but he continues on with the walk, not letting the very mention of /that/ name stop him. The rest of it sounds like regular dream fare.

"So it was a dream." He'll start and before she protests that this was no dream, he'll continue on, "You've already done your research to find that there's a high number of psychologically troubled people in our small town. People like Alexander Clayton, for example." He'll name drop. "There has to be a good reason for all of this, but it's not something that most of us know about. The cause, that is. When we talk about the strange, often we'll describe it as being a dream-- Mind you, these dreams don't always happen at night, when you're asleep." He then goes to add, "That day when you had to speak to Mister Franklin, to let him know that there was an emergency that I needed to tend to?" Yeah, he'll give her time to soak all that in.

"And you came back speaking about your friends mom and a man or thing trying to break into the house? Yes. I've begun to connect the dots on that." Vivian offers with a bit of an amused twist to her lips, her fingers giving his arm a slow rub, almost absently burning off the nervousness that she's mostly keeping bottled up. "I spoke to Mister Clayton, actually, about the box and Billy...he was quite alarmed by the name, and feels that I should really figure out where the box of bones are."

Which brings up another curious point, and she hesitates on that matter for a split second before adding, "We were able to bring the box of bones back from the other side, the Dream. Which was more nightmarish than dreamlike, I should add. Which, from what people that ended up there with me were saying, and what Mister Clayton was saying, shouldn't have been possible at all." He might not be letting that name stop him now, but when she adds in the next comment, he might not be able to brush away the name as easily. "So who is willing to kill to find Billy? Evidently this is something that you are supposed to be able to explain to me."

The look she gives him is pointed, but then she shakes her head, "I hadn't gotten anything to eat yet. There's that fish place if you wanted to grab something from there?"

After the events of the childhood dream, Byron was completely shaken and shell-shocked. Nightmares do that to people sometimes.

He then blinks at the mention of a certain person, one whose name he'd already uttered. "Was Clayton there at the time?"This garners more reaction from him than did hearing the name Billy spoken out loud. This is followed by another blink, his eyes looking forward to observing the beauty of the boardwalk and the bay on this clear summer day. "That I had not known. I've never tried to bring anything over from a dream back into reality, but that's interesting to know." A pause, "Especially the fact that you all did just that. Something that, I guess," He's not sure! "was supposed to be impossible."

They then get to the point where she's asking him, directly, about who is willing to kill to find Billy. Now, he does arch his brow when told that he was the one to explain this to her. "Oh, I'm supposed to explain it?" He can only imaging this being Alexander's doing. "Let's pick up something to eat first. This might be a long story."

He'd brought Vivian to the Fried Fish Stand before when he went there to drop off Julia's thank you gift when, unfortunately, Julia was not working that day. So it's a familiar enough place and the fried ocean goods smell delicious. He'll place an order of fish and chips with a side of popcorn shrimp and a cup of that Cuban coffee. Placing a few bills onto the counter,he's paying for both their orders.

"Everything is impossible until it is not. Someone said that." Vivian then shakes her head, "But no, Mister Clayton wasn't there...I ran into him after the incident."

A second order of fish and chips is ordered, but she opts for water instead of coffee, and then she waits for the orders to be finished. She can keep up small talk as well as anyone, and the impression given is that he doesn't want to launch into the explanation to things yet. "I've got almost all the furniture moved into the office, and the new paint smell is fading....but I still haven't been able to find anyone to work the front desk. I might have to put in a classified, or...find a work around that allows patients to be buzzed into the back room without me needing to be in the front to let them in."

With their food ordered, Byron walks a short way along the boardwalk to find a bench for them to sit on, all with a beautiful view of the bay. Besides a much-needed sip of iced coffee, he'll pop a couple of popcorn shrimp into his mouth before setting the box aside for Vivian to partake in.

"Seems to be a shortage of people needing money." Byron says as he sliced into his piece of fried cod before dipping it into tartar sauce. "Lilith was looking for an assistant to work the shop as well." The next thing he says is something that troubles him, "Her dad, Hank, was just beaten real bad today, so I may need to stop by the hospital to check on him." This couldn't be a coincidence as well, could it?

Taking in a breath of summer sea air, he turns his attention to the ocean for, his mind pondering on how to bring up what he's supposed to explain to her. He then speaks, gaze still diverted, "Remember the night of the really bad storm where the electricity cut out and I had to stay overnight at Lilith's shop? It was really chaotic that day, but we heard this loud, eerie voice, almost like the croaking of a frog or a long-time heavy smoker. Anyway, this voice called out the name Bill, before we were all pulled into a dream and I saw the shadow of someone running down one of the sewer tunnels." He obviously didn't go into details, but being pulled into a dream must mean being pulled into the sewers.

"That same night, another childhood friend of mind who'd just returned back to town was at the hospital when crazy things began to happen there." It's only then that he turns to look on Vivian, giving her time to process as he goes in for another bite of fried cod. After swallowing, he says, "This man tried to kill her, well, possibly everyone else who was pulled into that dream as well." He lifts his gaze to wander the boardwalk now, "He apparently killed someone, who then rose back up again as a... zombie and tried to kill Bella. This man was looking for Billy, who we pieced together was the same Bill mentioned earlier. When I'd seen him escape through those tunnels, he must've made his way to the hospital."

When the box is sat down she reaches for it, picking slowly at the food as she spends more of her time and attention listening to everything he's telling her. The hidden details about those incidents that are just now coming to light causes her brows to lift upwards a small bit, but she keeps her questions until the end.

A fry gets picked up, then she leans towards him, turning around on the bench so that she can face him, "The message that Billy Lives is what was written in blood, and we found those bones. There was a very, very distinct feel that those bones wanted to be buried. But then when we got back out, ended up in the library...and everyone was debating the matter of handing the bones over to the cops or not, th..." She pauses, frowning, "The bones, I mean, it felt like they really wanted to wait for them. I assumed, at the time, that it was the firemen that were coming into the building, but I'm getting the impression that there's another them...But the bones are still out there, last I saw them Vyvyan Vydal had them." She tosses the fry into her mouth before she adds, "I went to high school with him, and I need to find him to find where the bones are. Plus, I'd desperately love to know who the fuck this Billy is."

"Vydal has the bones?" Byron says, looking non-too pleased to hear that in the way that he nods slowly, eyes blinking and it's as if he's trying to process this whole thing. "He lives in my building." He's not the type of landlord to go out giving tenants' numbers to folks, but this seemed important. "If you don't have his cell number, I can give that to you. I'm not sure what /he/, of all people, expect to do with a box of bones."

It's rare for him to hear Vivian curse, as she's usually composed, so that tells him that she's incredibly upset by what's going on. "We're looking into who Billy is. In fact, I was planning on heading out to County myself to look through their database." She'd remember him complaining about this idea that an office of such importance, had taken a break just as he'd called them, because it was tea time. And then no one picked up when he'd called after the fact. "If you can reach out to Vydal about the bones, then... please do so." It really was a weird request, but the cat's out of the bag now. "I guess I really should have mentioned some of this to you before. But it's not something that we tend to bring up to outsiders." The Veil protects itself and all that jazz.

"He was the only one brave enough to pick the box up and carry it out, and the box really wanted to be carried out. Which, may or may not be as positive a thing as it was seeming in hindsight? I don't honestly know. In light of other information I'd have torched them there, but..." Vivian shrugs her shoulders a moment, "Nothing to be done now. I'm not even sure he has them currently, but he was the last one to have them. So it is a place to start."

One more fry is picked up before she nods, "Closed for tea wasn't it?" She remembers that day. "I'll reach out to him, and if you'd like I can help you argue with County. I've had to argue with doctors over files plenty, and I've listened to my mother strong arm information out of people for years." She gives him a half-amused look about not having mentioned any of this before, pointing out, "I love you, Byron. I trust you. But if you'd told me that buildings have eyes and mouths, and dancing corpses in ballrooms were a thing here, I'd have suggested a few different medication types for you. I don't blame you for not telling me."

"If you want," See, Byron is often a take charge kind of guy, depending on the situation, "I can even call him up and ask about the bones if you'd rather I do it." Vivian's a professional, sure, but this wasn't your normal situation. "I don't know what to think. There's a guy willing to kill people to find this Billy, or maybe Billy's bones. I'm not sure what will happen if he does find them. And it's uncertain whether those bones were safer in the dream or out here, but I suppose our encounters with this shadow figure happened in the dream world, in a sense. We were pulled into a dream where he was searching for Billy's bones. With that in mind, MAYBE, it's good that the bones are no longer in the dream. Who knows though. And who knows what will happen if he finds the damn things."

After another sip of coffee and a few more bites of cod and fries, he nods in affirmation, "The very one. It's either closed due to something or other, even if it's operating hours, it's tea time or you get put on hold and no one returns to the phone. That is IF anyone picks up at all." He does light up when she offers to help, "If time permits, then I'd love to have you along." Despite the gravity of it all and the dangers that this curse over Gray Harbor poses to everyone here, he just has to make clear, "I think it might be better if you returned home. I mean, once we sort this out. I don't want you to be dragged into any of this further. Despite what the town looks like on the outside, it's a dangerous place. At least for those who glow." When he mentions the glimmer, his eyes dart over to Vivian, "Have you noticed yet, how some people just shine so brightly?"

"Vyv? No, I can call him, it'll be fine.I didn't even get the chance to say hello to him in all the chaos, so I should probably do that anyways." Vivian shakes her head at the question, smiling very faintly, then that smile is gone. "It's interesting that the message read Billy lives...and there were bones. But the need for a burial almost makes you think of a ghost, which is cra..." She stops herself, frowning, "About as reasonable as everything else so far, actually."

A few more bites of food are taken as she considers the rest of the words, studying him thoughtfully before she shakes her head, "I'm not leaving, even after this situation is settled. So you can just put that idea right out of your head and not revisit it." She dusts her hands off to the side, making sure that she's got any of the crumbs off her fingers, "If time permits, I'll go with you, and since your car is evidently messing up we can take my car if needed. But...I have noticed, yes. The brightness. I actually made an appointment to have my eyes checked."

Vivian had mentioned Vydal's full name before and he'd even read it on the man's business card and formal rental papers, but it's pretty amusing when Byron realizes that the pair shared similar sounding names, "Vivian and Vyvyan." He says both names, "One with two Y's one with none. That's pretty interesting really. Then again, Vydal's name as a whole is interesting."

He's popping another popcorn shrimp into his mouth as he tries to ponder this nightmare of learning who Billy is. "I don't know if any of us knows where to even begin. No family name. No timeline to work with--" He then turns to Vivian, "What was the state of this corpse that you'd found? That could give us some idea, but then again, strangeness always tends to happen. And yeah... Hopefully, it won't take long for repairs to be done, but I think we're taking Isabella's jeep anyway. We'll see."

It's when Vivian digs her heels in regarding this returning home business that has Byron nodding, "I just wanted to know that you still have that option. Hell, we all do. When I went away for college, I barely remembered anything odd that happened in town. I'd forgotten that Tobin's mother had vanished in the same year as another friend of mine, Sid. Isabella's brother."

"Bones." Vivian replies, a hand reaching over to his arm, then she drops her hand again, "But there are a number of ways to clean the flesh from bones that have nothing to do with time. Seeing bones it makes you start looking at a longer timeline, but you can use bugs or hot oil or boiling water, acid....a number of things that'll eat the flesh away from the bones. I've never studied bones, we dealt primarily with flesh in school, and I obviously specialized with the mind. However, there are a number of ways, so that doesn't narrow the time down until you know if the flesh decomposed, or was removed another manner. And I don't have the bones yet."

Thoughtfully she picks up another bite, continuing after a moment, "I'd start looking for missing persons, Bill, Billy or William, are good first and second names. Male, although Billy could be a female name as well, but again, without being able to get a look at the pelvic cradle I couldn't say yes or no with any certainty that it was male. But the statistics would lead towards the likelyhood of it being a male. Then you've got to narrow it down by the age, which you can find out by the sutures in the skull, and the teeth. I probably could figure it out, muddle through it, since I doubt finding a forensic anthropologist is in the cards. Unless you happen to have one in your pocket?" She glances over at him, a ghost of a smile appearing before she glances at his pockets, then back up, "Step one, get the bones then?"

If Vivian had mentioned that these bones were completely bare of anything at all, Byron wasn't paying attention. So he's surprised when she brings it up right now. "Just wonderful. And why, I'm now curious, would anyone even think of doing that to a bod--" Dumping a body into boiling acid does mean one thing. "Hiding evidence of a murder." That's just great! Taking a sip of coffee and finishing off his fish and cod meal, he takes this time to mull everything said over in his mind.

"Those are good starting points, yes. Missing persons." But then when trying to determine age is brought once more, Byron says mid-chewing on a length of fry, "Not a forensic anthropologist, but I do know of a coroner and an archeologist who may or may not have also studied forensic anthropology. I'll contact both right now--" He then stops himself, even though he's got his phone in hand, "After you find out whether Vydal has the bones. And if not, if he can tell us where they were taken."

"Evidence of a murder, usually, yes. Sometimes you do it for medical purposes, well, for forensic purposes. Often if the flesh is so badly decomposed you can't find the wound, or none is visible, you'll remove the flesh to check for evidence of cause." Vivian replies dusting off her hands once more, then she starts to reach into the pocket of her jacket, "If you've got his number I can give him a call, or just tell me which apartment is his."

She glances over at him, a brow raising, "A coroner and an archaeologist? The latter would be familiar with bones, that's for sure, and a coroner would be good for cause of death...in fact, both are qualified to a degree or another. I'd worry about the coroner, though, they might be bound to report suspicious bones to the proper authorities. Your archaeologist friend probably doesn't have to, though."

While Byron collects physical business cards, he has most of them at his office in a binder. It's a good thing that he has his phone out, so he'll just flip through his contact information until he reaches Vydal's. "He's in Suite 808, but it's best that you call him first." He then hands the phone off to Vivian as he reaches in for his last bunch of fries, snacking on them.

"The Coroner is a friend of Clayton's. Whether he finds her trustworthy or not for side projects like this, I'll have to ask. But yes, I could inquire with Isabella to find out whether she can take this project on or not." Then he just has to come to this realization, something that he says to her right now, "You're taking this all really well for anything that you've witnessed or heard about. I'm not sure if most people would do the same or not. Then again, you have that glow in you, which means you have some form of power. That's what separates us from those who don't shine."

"I'm supposed to tell him when I locate the bones." Vivian says on the matter of Alexander, which might sound weird if it weren't for the rest of the conversation. She copies the number down from his phone, then hands it back to him before she shoots a quick text. Simple as that, then she tucks her phone back into her pocket.

"Freaking out about this won't actually serve much of a purpose, will it?" Vivian wonders, leaning back on the bench, her hands folding together as she studies the sea out beyond the shore, "If I was just being told this I'd look for a cause, a dysfunction, and a root disease that could explain the delusions. But I know that I'm perfectly sane, and I know this because I see a therapist, and so when I see this? I question if maybe this really is a reality I just never knew was there. It's actually more rational, right?" She shrugs her shoulders, "I may very well end up self-medicating one day, but for now I'm just treating this as a big giant puzzle to solve."

When he's handed back his phone, Byron waits for a moment in the case that Vyv responds immediately to Vivian's message before he proceeds with contacting the others. Though when told that she was to report to Alexander about her findings, he immediately taps out his message to the investigator, murmuring dryly, "I'll let him know that we're on the case."

"I've lived here my whole life and then several years after returning home from college." Byron says, his gaze still lowered as he taps away. Message sent. "Whatever is happening now? I, personally, have never experienced it to this same degree. Something is going on and it's dragging all of us along with it."

"So this is more than usual, or different?" Vivian frowns, glancing towards him when he mentions that all of this is different than it's been in the past, "That is..." She shakes her head, "I actually don't know what that is other than pretty bad, though." There's a little moment of studying him, then she reaches down for some of the fries again, "I don't know what any of this is, or what it might mean, but I'm here, and I'm involved. So whatever information you can give me, whatever I can find out...whatever I can do for this? I'm going to. Along the way, I'll keep doing my job, but with maybe a little bit of a clearer picture of what might be happening to some people. This is enough to drive anyone mad."

Byron actually gets an immediate response from Alexander. The reply has him thinking. "Clayton believes that as long as we aren't trying to cover up a possible murder that we've committed, Miss Faust should be willing to help us with whatever we need. That said, he did add that she'll need an alternate lab with a table and tools." He taps in a reply to that message, "Maybe he has a basement that we can use for that."

As he'd already finished off his fried fish and most of his fries, that leaves a few shrimp left. Though he does down the remainder of his coffee. "I'll tell you everything that I know. I'm hoping to meet up with Tobin and the others to trade information and see if we can learn more about the things that we can do with our abilities." He's not quite sure whether Vivian knows or has seen any of that in action as of yet.

About the time Alexander responds her own phone makes a noise, and she pulls it out of her pocket to check the text, "He asked if we should meet." She then glances back up, and over towards him, holding her phone in her hand as she thinks about it, "Ask him for a list of tools, I bet I know a few places to get them..." She taps her phone lightly against her knee, thinking for a moment, "I'd offer my office...but that'd be hard to explain."

Very hard to explain. But then she tilts her head, "Abilities?" Evidently she has not had experience with any of that just yet, judging by the slightly confused look on her face.

"You'd think our coroner friend would be able to use her own tools, unless there's some more they need." Look, Byron isn't a forensic anthropologist! "I'm asking Isabella now if she has a workspace that we could possibly use. I mean, there has to be somewhere that she's doing intricate archeological work rather than on-site." As he says this, his fingers are tapping away. That's when his eyes lift from his phone, looking to Vivian, "It would be a good idea to meet. Yes. Especially if Mr. Vydal has no idea what he's in for."

Then that question comes up where she inquires about these abilities. His are difficult to explain, unlike some of the others. "From what little I know, each of us who shine possesses various sets of powers. Mine just happen to be something akin to incredibly empathy. I can read people, their emotions. As well as," Forcing, "influencing them with an emotion of my choosing. Say, if I wanted to calm someone down, if I'm successful, I can send calming vibes to them." He then chews on one of the last pieces of shrimp, "On top of that, and I've only learned this recently, but I can also do this." Setting his phone down on the bench, he lifts a hand, finger pointed to the sky which suddenly snaps into an electric spark, a small one. "Touch it." There's only enough juice in his fingertips at the moment similar to static electricity.

There is a flinch at the spark, more out of surprise than any kind of fear, and she stares at him in surprise, but then she reaches out to press her fingertip against his, watching this with all a little bit more trepidation than everything else she's encountered.

"He wants to meet and talk, in private." Vivian states after looking down at her phone again, then back up to him, her voice careful, slow, "Everyone who...shines has these powers?" She then shakes her head faintly, "Do I?" Shine? Have powers?

When she makes contact with him, or once her fingers come anywhere near his, she can feel her hairs standing on end. Byron's eyes simply observe her as she takes all of this in. "There are some who can create fire instead of electricity. And others with the ability to protect, almost as if they just tossed up a forcefield around you. The spark soon fades.

"And when does Mister Vydal want to meet?' Byron is already thinking of the various tasks he has slotted into his schedule for the next few days. Though with this wrench thrown into his organization, some of them may have been moved around in his mind.

But then she asks something and his eyes seek to meet with hers directly. "It's why I'd asked if you'd noticed others who shined. I think only those who shine can see that inner light. So yes. And yes again, it does mean that you should have access to some abilities. That being said, it's something that you learn slowly-- unless you're thrown into the chaos, then sometimes they can come quicker than others if you're more prone to anxiety and panic." Like he was as a child.

There's a shake of her hand, glancing at it. Nothing electric seems to be there, or any signs of having come into contact with it. "I can see the shine." She said that earlier, but it clearly needs to be repeated. Then she drops her hand to her lap, glancing at the phone, "He didn't say, but I can find out a time."

Which leads her to sending another text, silence hanging on her for a second before she glances up from the phone once more, "I'm not prone to anxiety or panic, and I don't even know where to begin to figure out if I can do that, or fire...or anything else. Are you certain, though?" It's not spoken with any kind of hope that he's wrong, she's not worried about it. Just seeking some confirmation on this entire thing. Then she takes a breath, reaching for his hand again, but this time to instead lace her fingers through his, giving his hand a hard squeeze, "It'll be fine...I'll figure it out, I'm sure. How hard could it be?"

"Great. Just let me know when he wants to meet." Byron says, relieved that someone who had been in the same situation as Vivian and who was in possession of some dead guy's bones was actually willing to come out of hiding to talk. He wears a thoughtful look on his face, eyes on Vivian, he looks to be studying her features. "Perhaps the longer that you remain here, the more opportunity there will be for them to manifest. I know that they came to me as a child, but even from those who were born and lived here their lives, even ones with powers, some did not acquire them until later in life. A few, just recently."

That's when his phone goes off again, his eyes slowly lowering to look at it. "Isabella has some workspace. We are now in business."

"Maybe, maybe." Vivian agrees thoughtfully, then she glances down at the phone in her hand, "An hour. I think we're going to try and meet in an hour. Should be a reasonable amount of time to finish here, and get back to the apartment building." The phone is then tucked into her pocket, "I just hope that he still has the box, or knows where it is. Otherwise this might have been us scrambling to figure out all the rest without any reason to be doing so."

Which would put a rather nasty crimp in things. "Are all these experiences terrible like this?"

"For all of our sakes, I hope he knows where it is as well." Byron says as he gathers up the empty box and wrappings to deposit into recycling." He then reaches out to scoop up his own phone that he'd left sitting on the bench. There's this apologetic smile that he flashes over at Vivian at her final question. "Usually. Especially recently. Though I've had these dreams for years and they're often disturbing, but like I'd said before, it really feels like things have been amped up. But maybe that's just me and there's people out there fighting the good fight," Whatever that means, "for much longer. C'mon, let's start heading back."

"At least I'm prepared for them to be terrible." She hopes. Vivian gets to her feet, tucking one hand into her pocket before she moves to slide her arm through his, letting him lead the way back off the boardwalk in what surely is only contemplative silence.