2020-03-16 - The Maize

Used to walking everywhere, Lyric never finds it odd to be out walking, no matter the temperature. As it is, she's bundled a little with her striped leggings, a pleated skirt over it, combat style boots, a fluffy coat and a beanie hat. Her hands are in her pocket and she's belting out a tune because that's what she does. Music is life. She even dances a little as she walks and sings. A shimmy here and there. "Would you find it in your heart to make this go away and let me rest in pieces.." Maybe she's practicing for Karaoke night. If so, her song is no longer a surprise! She hears the voice and stops in her tracks to try and pinpoint where exactly the voice is coming from. "Hello?" She calls out, "Where are you?"

Lucky for Kim she was at least in sweat pants, pink over-sized shirt, and slippers. While playing some PS4 at home. Having to walk to the kitchen for some more tea. The sudden shift and sensation is something entirely new, and well she's learned to just go with it. Walking north next to a corn field? At least she has seen those in pictures. She keeps walking forward. A voice from the field she tries to look to see if she can spot anything before calling out "You poor dear. Don't worry help is coming, just keep talking okay?" she probably hasn't even noticed Everett yet.

As Katy is walking across the apartment, leaving her office to take a break and have lunch, everything fades and shifts, leaving her feeling odd. She's no longer in her apartment and all she sees is corn. In response to the voices she hears, Katy does nothing but attempts to talk in the direction of where she's hearing voices. She doesn't make her presence known initially.

After a few steps, the jolly green giant slows and comes to a stop, the odd sensation tugging at the back of his brain. His green eyes narrow while he considers and then his shoulders roll back, his eyes rolling as well. Big fingers reach inside his leather jacket once, then a second time, shaking a cigarette from a white and red cigarette pack to pluck between his lips. The second time his fingers return into his leather jacket it's to get his chrome lighter, shield the cigarette from force of habit more than anything, before lighting up and taking the cherry glowing amber from his lips.

Spying the diminutive Asian, the biker smirks with sadistic humor, "GrrRRrreat," he says aloud, but to himself. "Dreaming of freakin' California Spicy Rolls." For now, he says nothing, but shortens the distance between him and the only person he can see.

Katy immediately heads towards the child's voice. She's trying to remain undetected but moves with a sense of urgency. The kid sounds like they're in trouble so she better be quick about it.

Kailey was going to the bathroom. At least she is dressed even if her coat is actuall a fuzzy purple tie-dye robe. When she steps out and runs smack dab into a broad back with a little, "Oof!" Is the surprised noise the small, purple-haired woman says. Then she looks up and there's a very confused, "Ev? What is..." And she turns towards that screech and those green eyes go wide. "Nooo...no no no..."

Lyric hurries towards the corn, never questioning why exactly the corn was there.. she knows the drill with dreams. Still, she's drawn to it and she goes after Katy, right behind her, hopefully. She calls back. "I'm coming, just keep talking," offering the same advice someone else had.

Hold on. Everett double-takes. Pasty white Lyric in all her stand-out, could blend in with a blizzard, Lyric?

With one look towards Kim, Everett waves his hand with the smoldering cigarette in her direction. "Ppsst!" That's to get her attention, who doesn't answer to that? He then waves at her to follow him and he, in turn, heads towards the group with the largest number. Safety in it, and all that. With the screech though, The tall man perks, frowns, stops and closes his eyes. A calming mantra repeated into the echoy chamber of his vacant head. Not real. Not real. Maybe not real. Prob-- aw, fuck it.

As Lyric's companion hears the voice and goes into the cornfield, Everett mumbles under his breath, "Aw, huck it." and takes a drag from his cigarette and gets assaulted. With a grunt, he whirls around with an accusatory frown, until he sees who it is. When she starts losing it, Everett does his best at damage control offering Kailey the flats of his palm, "Ok, ok. It's ok. It's not, mostly, real. You're safe with me." 'Maybe.'

At Ev's voice she looks up at behind her "Didn't you decide on a different nickname." and then the Ppsst "What is going on? Is this one of those dream things?" she doesn't seem scared at all. "Even if it is. We need to go help that girl...or child." she'll still stick with near the giant. Catching Kailey as Everett speaks to her "We both can. Stick together as well..." for once looking to Everett for guidance and really hoping this is a regular dream otherwise she doesn't think he'll ever let her live this down.

Kailey gives a surprised squeek when someone has her shoulders and looks at Kim with those same wide, green eyes. But it only takes a couple deep breaths, and Everett's reassurance helps, to get her looking less panicked. "I hate this...nnnnnnggggg," She says and glances around as she takes Everett's hand and follows him.

On the nickname, Everett's got no comment, waffling his cigarette holding hand back and forth. "I think it is. And just because it is, doesn't mean it isn't dangerous. And that might be a real kid, like us. And it might not. But whatever that scream is definitely isn't. So. Morals time: if it is a real kid, can we risk it?", he asks. While speaking to Kim, Everett's majority attention is trying to keep Kailey grounded. "You ok?" he asks, and when his hand is taken, that's the assurance he needs. His mortal question asked he answers it by looking at the cornfield, sighing, and heading inside.

Lyric manages to avoid some of the stalks and she's really hurrying inside, deeper and deeper, concerned to find the owner of the voice. She realizes there are others around her, somewhere nearby, even the ones she can't immediately see. There's rustling by some. Wincing at the screech(es) she hesitates briefly before going on further. Turning a complete circle, she looks around, trying to figure out the puzzle.

The fact that Kim can't even see the giant does bother her. She can see Kailey, even the back of her head. She reaches out her hand to try to grab the purple haired woman's hand, both a show of comfort and to keep them together "It will okay." she says to Kailey and trying to mean it. Even in a maze if she has someone to hold onto they can't lose each other right? She's trying to apply logic to dream logic. That will probably not work out so well. If Kailey accepts her hand she will try to guide her north. Then the purple haired girl is just gone. Confused and alone she opens her palm to the corn field. Focusing, she is getting through this one way or another.

Uh oh, Lyric was all alone in this area of the maze, as far as she knew. There we no other people, but she could hear the kids.. She cuts in the direction of the kids, trying to hurry though the rows and get to them. "I'm coming!" she calls out, so they would be aware help was on the way. "Stay still, don't keep moving."

Kailey clings tightly to Everett's hand. There is no doubt without that she'd have been separated in the corn. Kailey is mostly an urban girl and this food to be is creeping her out. She squeezes Everett's hand and then the screech starts again she jumps. "The fuck!" And moves to press in closer to the giant. Then she closes her eyes and murmers under her breath, "Just the air. The first. Nothing to see...nothing here..." So very quietly under her breath before opening her eyes. "Oh shit, where did she go?" She says when her eyes open and she looks behind her for Kim. "Ev...this feels like a trap. I'm not imagining things am I?"

Bashing through the stalks without care or reason, Everett's more concerned with making sure he keeps a hand on Kailey at all times, even if he's just around dragging her through the plant's path prevention efforts. When there's more than one child's cry, Everett stops and flicks his head back to clear his hair out of his face, before lifting his cigarette to his mouth and taking a drag, listening. Waiting. Then he points and looks down at Kailey, curiously, to Kailey either for confirmation or a second opinion, "No, I think it's a trap too, but I don't know what kind. I think it's coming from other there. Let's just keep going there and find out what we see." He turns his head and blows out smoke into the air, away from everybody else. "Head in that direction? Lyric's making a lot of noise so. She's keeping them talking. Hey, Spicy R--" Evertt pauses and looks around, Kim couldn't be that hard to miss. "Where's that little Asian girl?"

Lyric is so totally off her game. Getting deeper into the maze, further from the others, there's an attempt to flatten the corn to get to the kids, but she doesn't quite.. manage it. Something goes wrong. Standing there, she closes her eyes and takes a few deep breaths and goes completely silent. Opening her eyes, she creeps up towards the row she thinks the kids are behind.

Kim focuses as the dirt and rocks raise up. The field could resist her but her mind is stronger. The field of soil starts to cut down the corn...and she is also a old horror fan. If the corn bleeds she'll pay it no mind. She needs to get to the child and the others. Others use emotion, she just uses calm. It is slow going, but patience is a virtue for the tiny hacker.

Kailey shakes her head in the negative and glances over her shoulder again worriedly. "We shouldn't separate...I...mmmm...I can try and find her. I dunno how well it will work in this place though..." She says uncertainly. "Maybe I can find the kids too!" She suddenly realizes, glancing up at Everett and flashing him a quick smile. Then she closes her eyes and blows out a breath, trying to focus.

With a nod down towards Kailey, he stabs his mostly empty hand towards her, fingers holding the cigarette straight as he points down, "You do that. But remember our deal. You keep outta my head." With open suspicion, Everett glances around: yup, corn stalks. Eyes and eyes of stalking stalks. His green eyes narrow, while staring at one, in particular, singling it out from the others, glaring at it like he knows what it's doing, what it wants, what. It. DID.

Turning back to Kailey, Everett offers her his cigarette, butt first, giving her a nudge with his elbow. "Hey," then, "can you do that hocus-pocus on the move? I think those stupid kids are moving around. If we stop, they'll pass right by us. So, c'mon."

Oh! There's the girl. Lyric hurries after her when she notices there's a path being cut towards the north. She runs up behind her, "Have you seen any of the kids yet?" So, maybe a bad decision, coming up behind someone while they were using their abilities. If indeed they are. She's not entirely certain!

Well things don't bleed so that is sign Kim isn't a horror movie. At least to her mind it is. Kim is clearing a path through the corn field towards the voice. Looking back to Lyric "I think so. Take my hand will you." offering her non-focused one, which to some even in a dream could be weird. "We can't get lost if we stick together right?"

Kailey opens her eyes and looks up at Everett, smirking a little bit. "Not going in your head. Just looking for life," She tells him before she shifts, seeming ready to follow (be dragged behind) Everett again.

There is then a cigarette smoldering a few feet from her face. And she blinks at it and looks tempted. Oh how tempted she is and she wrinkles her nose and says, "I'm good...but yeah, let's go. Try not to let me trip." And she follows as he moves. But as he does her brow draws downwards in confusion. "Ummmm...that's weird. I...I can't find any kids. The others are that way though," And she points towards the east.

"Right!" Lyric gives her hand to Kim so they aren't separated again, and she walks with her down the path she's clearing through the corn. She can still hear the kids, but she still can't see them. "Have you seen any of the kids? Even glimpses or anything?" She doesn't even try and be silent or stealthy, she's too busy being lost and curious.

When the pass on the cigarette, Everett returns it to his mouth for another draw. Holding the smoke in his lunches, he squints an eye around and then shrugs a large shoulder of the arm holding Kailey's hand. He'd heard from kid's voices from the east, ... he thinks, for a moment anyway. And if Lyric's over there too... Oh. And Dumpling.

"Alright," he mutters darkly, with his deep voice, "This way then," the gorilla mutters before he exhales up into the air and puts the cigarette into the left corner of his mouth so he can use his now free hand to brush stalks out of his way. Right up until something horrific occurs to him. There's a snap when he slows and breaks a cob off only to turn around to face Kailey and mutter to keep the cigarette in his mouth. The cob is placed up to his forehead, "Hey. Hey, look. I'm a uni*corn*." He grins broadly, brows uplifted.

Kim accepting the hand still focuses her way through. A little more confident that even in this weird scape she can save someone. Even if it is a dream someone. "No sight of them. Only sounds and that is enough." keeping the cloud of dirt and rocks ahead of them. Maybe catching up with Everett and Kailey at some point. But for now her focus is getting to the cries.

Kailey shakes her head in confusion and tries her best to direct him towards Lyric and Kim. "To the right. More. Straight," Are her gentle, but urgent, directions. When he slows she does too and frowns in puzzlement. Until he turns around with that and she cannot help it. And snort-giggles, before giving a yell when the corn lashes out. "I knew it! The corn is alive," She tells him. "We need to find the others and get out of here. I can't send the kids and you broke my illusion..."

"Ow" The corns hurt! And they're not even on her feet! Lyric continues to walk with Kim, hand in hand, trying to avoid the pricks coming at her from every angle. "Why does the corn hurt?" Rather unstealthy, she tromps through the corn, trying to beat it down with her feet.

His joke seems to be unappreciated by the foliage. And with the eye-splitting shriek, Everett whines before covering up his ear with the hand holding the cob, and the other ear not as well with his shoulder. He'll be damned if he's letting go of that hand; his grip tightening. "Fucking hell," he mutters, not noticing that his head cant made all the difference between getting smacked by a shivering plant. "I didn't break nothin'. Some people can't take a joke. Leaf me alone." He doesn't wait long to see if she gets that Dad joke either. "You could have just told me it was," he holds up the cob in his hand, "Corny." Resuming his course again, letting Kailey navigate, Everett holds out one hand with a smug look because here comes another, "Alright, alright. I'm sorry for the bad puns. You don't have to ... SCORN me." His brows rise comically high before he wiggles them at her. Trying to distract.

Kailey is trying to fight the laughter and smile. This is a serious situation! But it just gives her this pouty-lipped scowl with not a drop of intimidation in it. Then she just give in and snickers as she shakes her head. "You're horrible," She tells him fondly. "I'm a-maize-d the corn hasn't -popped- you one yet," Is her witty comeback, lips twisting into a smirk as she continues to guide them back to the other real people. And then there is the clearing and she hisses. That can't be good. Does she put Everett between herself and the corn? As much as she can. "Looks like we've been -corn-ered..." She adds after a beat and then gives a muted giggle. Everett started it.

Lyric doesn't seem to mind the scratches at first, but they get worse. Suddenly though, they are in the clearing and she turns a complete circle. "No children of the corn. Come on Jebediah. Or whatever his name was.." Pondering that a moment. "Isaac?" Who knows? She notices Everett and Kailey hand in hand and smiles in their direction. "Look. Aliens made a clearing here. This is a Sign!" She doesn't seem particularly worried or scared over it.