2020-04-27 - Thinking Out Loud

There isn't that much common room space for the Paramedics and the Firefighters and it's all shared, a couch, a dining table, a small kitchen. Stephanie is usually seen at the dining area reading a book, or writing in her journal. But this time, her book is open, but face down, as if to hold her place, and her journal is closed, both on the table in front of her. Instead, she seems to be staring at her phone with some level of concern.

Tyler emerges from the sleeping room. He's been on shift nine hours, so he was catching a quick nap. His hair is still kind of insane and spikey from the pillow, and he's wearing a pair of jeans and no shirt as he prances barefoot into the kitchen in search of coffee. There's none made, so he grumbles, and begins clanking the glass caraff in the sink and filling it up, sighing. He gives the person on the couch a squinted look, and offers, "Are you dead?"

"No, trust me, I checked. He's just a rookie who needs to work on his stamina, one of ours, not one of yours." Stephanie's voice is coming from the dining table but she's not looked towards Tyler yet, still reading something off her phone. "Well, the entire town knows about something that happened on the set we were on."

Tyler gets the coffee started and leans against the counter, folding his arms over his large chest as he watches the back of her head. "Well, that's definitely the case. Something happened." He shrugs, "I'm not sure what, though. You?"

"Whatever it is, I have a bad feeling about it. The last time something...dark and shadowy showed up during a shift, I almost got my heart and my entire ribcage ripped out of my chest. Not to mention, what happened to Starla. That was so weird. It was like something was in her head. Something bad and evil." Stephanie is speaking in a quiet voice.

The coffee machine starts making sucking sounds as the brewing begins on the counter behind Tyler. "You've seen shadow people," he notes, more to himself. "I don't think that was one of them. I think it was something else." He tilts his head a bit, "It made us feel like there were bugs under our skin. That's a new thing. I've never seen that before."

"No, not Shadow People, Shadow Creatures. There's a difference." Stephanie corrects Tyler, but doesn't specify the difference. "I know if I can get back on the set to keep an eye on things, I will. There's a lot more going on than people realise."

"Okay, so..." Tyler sniffs, running his fingers through his hair. "What is the more that's going on that you think is... um... going on...?" The coffee finishes, so he gets a mug and pours a glass. He adds some sugar and then walks over to the small living area, sitting on the chair across from her. "You obviously have a theory. Hit me."

"There's some dangerous creature out there, just like the last time something like this happened. And it has a reason for being here. I'm just not sure what it is. But it seems to really terrorise people. Get inside their heads." Tyler gets a questioning look from Stephanie. "How much do you know about this stuff?"

Tyler takes a sip of his coffee and he shrugs. "I'm a firefighter. My job is be where things are being destroyed and people are being hurt and feeling loss. The shadow people love that stuff. I've seen them quite a bit. I'm not a professor of Dreams or anything, but I know some."

"What would they want on a movie set? There's going to be someone specific that they're after." Stephanie muses almost to herself. "Someone feeling hurt, experiencing that loss."

Tyler shakes his head, "Sure, I suppose. Could it also be the location? Sometimes there's emotional energy attached to the place." He takes a little more of his coffee, swallows. "Hollywood is kind of famous for breaking people, too. I don't know. I would ask, what is this monster looking for? What was going on with that girl that made her the target?"

"That's a good point. We would need to find out more about the monster, and more about the actress. Maybe we could find someone who knows more about this stuff? Someone who could research this creature with us?" Stephanie thinks and adds, "I'm not really a research type."

"We could talk to my friend Eli," Tyler suggests. "He knows a lot about this stuff. Also, I have the scarf that came off that thing. Apparently, there are some people like us that can do psychotictry on stuff." Yeah, he totally says the wrong word.

"That's outside of my wheelhouse, but it's worth having someone do it. Whatever information we can get keeps us at least one step ahead of this thing." Stephanie is feeling a little anxious, but not as bad as last time. At least Tyler seems to be on a similar wavelength as she is. Devlin is a great partner, but not anything like Tyler as far as talking things through. Stephanie doesn't feel like she would be going in blindly this time. "You should introduce me to your friend Eli. We can get this thing worked out. Or at least get a good start on it, before someone gets seriously hurt."

Tyler nods, "Okay. And we should find someone with psychotictry. If they can touch that scarf and get some kind of sense of what's what from it, that could lead us the right way too." He smiles. "It's weird how you can work with people and never actually really talk to them."

"It's at least partially my fault...up until recently, I've always been really work obsessed." Stephanie smiles at Tyler. "I'm trying to open up a little more and get to know people. I really appreciate you talking things through with me. My partner doesn't really do that sort of thing."

Tyler nods, and he rolls his head a little on his neck. "Well, I try." He laughs just a little, "I'm not incredibly bright, but I want to help. So, I guess I just do my best and try to partner with people who ARE smart, like Eli and I suppose you, and then just do what you all need for the magic to happen." He pushes up to his feet. "I should find a shirt. Also, I made coffee. If you want it."

Stephanie doesn't serve herself any coffee but she does say, "I've been the lone wolf type for too long. I've come to realise that if I'm going to survive in this town, I need to have friends on my side."

Tyler grins, "Well, I don't really have any friends. So," he shrugs, and his smirk widens into a dimple-laden charm-soaked smile. "You can help me meet my quota. Let me know what else I can do." He gives a nod, and then he heads back toward the bunk room.