Ava stood to the side and listened to others instead of joining in on conversations. She took out her phone but it was completely dead. Not that she really knew how to use the GPS on it or even really use the phone herself. She wasn't great at talking to people so she just stayed there.
Akira nodded, walking over to the person that Jordan had pointed to.
"I was told that-that you know what this place is," she said.
Dewey, arms still folded, stopped looking at the sky and went to looking at Akira. “Well, I do know what it was. It was owned by the government a few years back, but they discovered better areas and thus abandoned this..place.”
"Is it… safe?" Jordan asked. He couldn't tell what it was about this place, but he wanted to know more. He wanted to explore it.
"What were they using it for?" Elara questioned. But she remembered that they were also stuck in the middle of nowhere, and quickly added, "Oh, nevermind- it's a silly question…"
Akira shuddered. "To be honest, I don't want to know the answer."
“As far as I’m aware, all of what you can see right here is completely safe - aside from your regular hazards, like falling and sharp stuff.” Dewey gestured outwards. “And it’s not a silly question - in fact, the answer to it is relatively simple!”
He took a step back, pointing to himself. “The answer..is standing right in front of you all.”
"…what?" Elara asked, confused. "What do you mean? I'm so confused!"
Though his expression nor face was not visible, he was quite expressive in terms of gestures. “Well, what I mean is like - the government tested weapons here a long time ago. And vehicles. And vehicles with weapons on them. And sometimes, being the test subject for that is..risky work, get what I’m saying? The point is, humans are incredibly fragile and only have one life.”
Dewey gestured to himself with one finger again. “What I’m saying here, is that you need someone to test those things who doesn’t have one life, someone who just keeps coming back. And that, my friends, is me. The name’s Dewey, by the way.”
Jordan started at him, dumbfounded. "You're immortal," he said, more as a statement than a question. "Is that the right word?"
Dewey almost seemed to move to speak again, but paused. After a few seconds in thought, he answered. “In a way, I suppose I am immortal. I can still die…just not permanently.”
"So," Akira began, "If you die… you come back to life? That's…" Akira tilted her head. "Odd."
Conner noticed that Caesar had slowed down, and squinted to see the group of others, which they were gaining on. Once he caught up, he asked, "So, uh, this is it, huh?" His heart felt for some reason like it was pounding in his throat. There was something off about this place that put knots in his stomach.
In response to Dewey's answer, Elara started, "So like a phoenix?"
To her that's what it seemed like- a phoenix, but a human, and probably no ashes?
(blehhh i'm sorry for the short response i tried- i just lost my creativity literally right after i started)
“Mm, sort of?” Dewey considered it. “It’s like, I ‘pop’ back into existence shortly after ‘dying.’ Completely unharmed and just as I was pre-death.” He went back to folding his arms.
“So yes, I think a Phoenix is close to that.”
Digging his heel into the dirt, Caesar kept his focus at the other people a few space away. He wondered if he strolled over at the wrong time. Abandoned? Government? Immortal? Personally, Caesar felt like what he just heard is more perplexing compared to everything else around them.
He noticed Conner then gave him a quick glance. Looking over, he noticed a worried look on Conner's face. "It appears so.", he nodded before patting Conner,"You'll be fine, it's not like there's some dangerous deity dragging us in for some reason." Caesar leaned close to whisper something else but just kept glancing over at Dewey. His lips pursed while he lightly shook his head, there's more to wherever they are; there's got to be.
Jordan raised his eyebrows, impressed. "That's… amazing," he breathed. "Can- can we go in there? In the valley?"
He wasn't quite sure why he wanted to go so badly, but he knew he had to. He had forgotten all about his home, the run he was supposed to be on, and focused solely on the canyon in front of him.
“Of course- I’d just recommend staying away from any caves if you see anything. Not that there’s anyone in there.. it’s more like, they’re kind of like a maze once you wind up inside one of them.” He took a step back, gesturing towards the overall valley. “Feel free to ask me any questions..think of me as a…tour..tour guide!”
"Will the trip be too physically straining?" Elara wanted to go with them, but she couldn't risk making things worse- she was already starting to get tremors every now and then in her left hand.
“What trip- I mean, you’re free to explore anywhere pretty much..maybe ‘tour guide’ was the wrong term for it…” Dewey’s voice drifted off. “Most of the valley is easy enough to go through, if you’re talking about that. Just watch out for small pits.”
"Oh, alright- that means I'll be able to go!" Elara's mood lifted, and you could tell. Her voice got excited, her eyes sparkled, and a new energy filled her. She would finally be able to go somewhere exciting for once! Plus, these people seemed nice.
Taking a breath, Conner approached the group. "Um. Hi," he said, his voice shaking. He cleared his throat and continued. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything here…but I overheard some things and it looks like you"–he pointed at Dewey–" know something about this place. So…mind filling me in real quick?" He glanced back at Caesar and jerked his head slightly towards the others.
"This is… kind of exciting, I guess." Akira rocked back and forth on her heels. "Terrifying, yet exciting, you know?"
Clementine continued to look around. She step forward and immediately slipped and fell. She groaned as she stouts back up, clutching her forehead. Look back at the canyon she said, “Where on earth am I?”. She looked around a bit more and yelled, “HELLO!”
"Yeah, it's very exciting," said Jordan, playing with the string of his earbuds. "I'm going. Does anyone else want to come?"
Swaying side to side a little, Caesar had his thumbs in his pockets. His head titled to the right so parts of his hair fell from behind his ear. Momentarily, he bit his lip glancing up at the sky. There wasn't much up there except for the moon. Exhaling, his eyebrows perked up for a second before Caesar's attention was brought back to reality.
He noticed that Conner was staring back at him with a quick head motion. Scrunching his lips together, Cesar shrugged with one hand held out. Sadly, the young man wasn't really listening which is why he has no clue what to say. Feeling bad, he took a few steps to stand next to his friend then rested his hand on Conner's shoulder. "I think this place is abandoned.", Caesar assumed before smirking for a second,"There could be some dangerous weapons or ghosts."
If his senses were working correctly, he heard someone in the distance. Letting his hand fall to his side, Caesar turned around to see if there was anyone there. He took his phone out then held it up while pressing the flashlight like Morse code. "HELLO?", he shouted,"YULYEONG?" Waiting for a second, he kept his flashlight on waiting to see if anyone will come over. Caesar looked back at Conner before turning back seeing a girl. "Oh it's a person, the more the merrier as they always say.", he bowed his head.
Conner bit his lip. "Yep, I guess so." Feeling Caesar's hand on his shoulder, he was grateful for the comforting presence, and smiled despite himself.
((wow this died lmao))
(Wow I forgot about this. I'll try to get somethin' up in a bit)