¶A.. camping trip.¶
"Yup! It's gonna be great, promise."
The Newscaster squinted slightly at the younger Jim. RJ either didn't notice or didn't care, because he was grabbing the last of the 'road trip snacks'. Apparently they were driving, not flying, out to a location neither of the twins would tell the elder. RJ assured him it wasn't a new place, and that there would be bathrooms and showers and it would all be fine; NJ is starting to regret saying that he would be fine with whatever the other two wanted to do.
Meanwhile, CJ was playing Tetris with what was already packed. Each little bit needed to be in the best possible spot, to maximize how much you could safely carry. That, and he specifically didn't want his cameras next to something that would jostle them too much.
Extra bags of chips in hand, RJ slid into the driver's seat, with CJ next to him. NJ tucked himself into the back, trying to figure out where exactly these two planned on taking all of them. And why keep it a secret?
°It is a surprise, Jim, so don't peak at the maps.°
¶...Alright then. As long as we aren't going to Florida I guess I don't have much to complain about. Just, did you two pack-¶
"Yeah we did- we packed all the important stuff and extras. And there's at least one nice outfit in there just in case you have a formal meeting with m- a bear, maybe a bear, in a suit, that sounds pretty funny actually-"
And thus kicked off a roadtrip filled with squinting, loud singing, gas station sandwiches, and any other matter of fun as the trio of Jims gets on the road seemingly without a hitch.
Light spilled softly through the windows, illuminating the house. Books lay abandoned on the coffee table, a computer left opened showed a map of some sort of forest. The room was realatively quiet, but one could hear chatter coming from the kitchen.
RJ had woken up in the mood for cookies, fresh ones at that. With nothing to stop him or an excuse to not make them, he got to work. When NJ had made his way into the kitchen- only to find RJ semi-gently whacking a bag of almonds- his ¶You could have just cut them?¶ was dismissed with a "This is more fun and it still works."
Fair enough, the Newscaster guesses.
He offered to help once he had some coffee, and the two brothers were nearly finished when CJ rolled in, hair still messy but rather pleased. Apparently he'd found a good 'spot' and could sort out almost everything by the evening. NJ had no idea what the Cameraman meant, but the Reporter grinned with a "Thanks Jim!" and CJ joined the other two in rolling out the cookie balls.
The three discussed the usual smalltalk subjects, and although it still felt a little stiff at first, it eventually turned into something less bland, and a little more tension bled away into the rhythm of making cookies and a 'who would win' discussion.
And by 'discussion' it's:
¶Sharktopus is two aquatic animals in one. They would have an even larger advantage in the water, and on an even playing field where size is /not/ a factor, they would win.¶
"I see your point, but hear this- Godzilla is not losing to a science experiment."
°Two words Jim. Atomic Breath.°
*His head felt like it had been hit by a truck, and there was both a weird fog and a jolting fear in his chest, but a groan escaped him and solidified it. He was awake... Mostly. What had he been dreaming about..? There was a magic show and there was rain... And alot of eyes....*
*Not important. What was probably important was how much his head and side hurt, he get hit by a bus?*
*He hear, something, like a small gasp, and he manages to turn his head a little. He squints, Jim- suddenly he's surrounded by a gentle but intense hug, if that made any sense. His arms feel like lead still, and even with it being gentle the hug still hurts- but it's home and he leans in.*
*It's CJ, it's Jim, it's ok.*
°The stream of texts had been chaotic and long as CJ has more or less dumped the events of the past few.. days? Weeks? Into the little messege box. He'd thrown the emergency basics out there, and that they needed him to come over asap- @anon-driplier should know about the crash first and foremost- but the next messege he was writing was eating up the character limit.°
°From the seeming mystery of their first interviewee (who wasn't even there, just an admittedly aesthetic lady who was being cryptic), to the supernatural kidnapping, the 'lighthouse makeover' as a result, to the run for supplies that ended in Jim being injured and although alive, unresponsive. He left out the part with the doll though, he'd already unloaded enough onto Doc at once, he could tell him that later, probably.°
°He didn't actually send the mega-text, though the car crash info did go through, he'll just let him read it in person. It seemed like in-person sort of info.°
°The air is oppressive here, the colors muted to the point where one could barely make out what had looked like what. The signs read 'R!dge' and 'Ashwor+h', and right at the mouth of an ally way, the remains of a crash are present. It was hit from the side, the impact zone crunched like a punched aluminum can. The other car is nowhere to be seen. Actually, nothing is to be seen. There are no people here...°
°Except for one.°
°CJ doesn't know the exact moment that despite the air that feels like a punch to breath in that he starts running, he doesn't know when he touches the door why it seems to not quite feel like he's touching it, or why when he pulls it the door rips off like paper, like in a dream, and he doesn't know when he started cradling RJ like he's a small child who's only just fallen asleep, or how he got him out in the first place.°
°He doesn't know when the tears started, but he knows when they change. He knows why they change as his fingers still find a pulse benieth them.°
°His brother is alive. And he's going to keep him that way.°
°He needs to get out of here and to a doctor though, fast.°
*The city is often a loud place, filled with the bustling of thousands of individual lives all trying to get to the next destination.*
*...Sirens aren't uncommon. Statistically speaking, more people die of car crashes in a year in Texas alone than die of shark attacks around the world. Jim told him that. RJ wonders if he's going to die of a shark attack, then, since he's pretty sure he's still alive. Things are still spinning, and his head feels like it was split open, (and is that a ringing sound?) but he's alive. The car? Maybe not as much, but that's not the major thing on his mind. He knows he needs to get out, but at the same time moving sounds like a really horrible idea.*
*Maybe if he closed his eyes for a second, he knows he shouldn't but... he was tired anyway.. heh, tired, car tires...*
*RJ's eyes slid shut, the sounds of sirens echoes, and he is alone.*
*the house is covered in an assortment of bright Christmas lights and spotlight lamps fastened to any place they could fit. It's a chaotic hodgepodge of holiday decorations and last minute purchases at the store, though despite not looking very pleasant, it did its job: eradicating any shadows inside and around the house.*
*RJ is working on his third cup in a two hour period. It's black and is drank like a health potion in an RPG- it's not there to taste good. He's hoping that even as he sips the strong, caffeinated drink that he can convince CJ to put down his own black tea and sleep.*
*They'd submitted the footage a while back, hoping that it wasn't dismissed as fabrication. Not that something of that nature had happened to their recordings in years, but it still stung.*
*Jim Station would probably believe them, and even if it only showed up on old TVs that only got local channels, they were hoping the warning about what they had seen could get out there, where people could prepare themselves.*
*They still needed a plan, too. But honestly- what could either of them do against forces from another realm? Aside from that stunt they'd pulled in 2017, nothing they'd ever done had been remotely special, in the power-way, RJ thought his gingerbread houses were pretty cool in the normal way.*