strangetomato | Strangetown: Chapter Twenty-Seven

Warnings: language, sexual situations

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Part One

He heard the door slam behind him, somewhere down the dark corridor. So that was that. She was gone, and now he stood in an empty cell, completely alone.

What would they do to him now?

He closed his eyes and listened for some sort of sound. There was nothing.

Brothers, sister, I don't know where I am.

Could they even hear him anymore? He didn't know. His mind was empty.

He stepped further into the room, surrounded by blackness, with one bright shaft of light breaking down through the ceiling. He stood there, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Then he heard a sound.

In the corner, something stirred.

"Hello? You're new, aren't you?" It was the voice of a young girl.

"Hello?" He jumped back in shock. "Who's there?"

"Nobody important...," she said, "unless you want to run tests on me." He remained silent. "Oh, wait - that IS why I'm here. I guess that's why you're here too. What's your name?"

"No. 1... The first one."

"That's not a name."

He paused. She was right; It wasn't a name. He did have a name, even if he wasn't quite used to it yet. "Some people call me Ivar," he offered.

"That's good," she said, and she stepped forward, into the light. "It's good to have a real name. It'll help you when you feel lonely. I have a number too... I'm PT07HS0014, but I do have a name. In here, they call me Nova."

"They?"

"Oh. Yeah... mostly just her."

She pointed to the corner, where another girl was stirring from sleep.

"She's Wendy," she explained, "PT07HS0013."

"Can you keep it down, please?" Wendy said, "I'm trying to get some sleep."

"She's my half sister," Nova continued, ignoring Wendy. "Different 'mothers', though. Most of us hybrids are like that."

Wendy sat up and wiped the sleep from her eyes, but said nothing. Nova continued.

"We were born here, or, well... sort of."

She eyed him with curiousity. He couldn't be one of them, the hybrids. She could tell that just by looking at him. She'd never seen him before, so she wondered if he had been brought in, or if he had always been there. But then why would he be there, in that cell, with them? Those merely passing through didn't end up down there with them.

No, there had to be something special about him, or he wouldn't be there.

They continued to look at each other, cautiously, without saying a word. As his eyes adjusted, he noticed how sickly she looked. It was as if she'd never seen the light of day. A collection of scars suggested that she'd been in some sort of accident, like perhaps she had fallen from some great height, or something had struck her in the face. He had so many questions he could ask her, but he genuinely feared to know the answers.

Nova was the first to speak.

"So what's your story?"

Pascal knocked on the door to Bella's apartment. She had missed her appointment for the second day in a row. He wasn't in the habit of making house calls to his patients, but he was beginning to worry about her.

He stood in the hallway, waiting. Behind him, some children were running around, making the floor clang and shake with the footfalls. The space filled with the chatter.

"Last one to the playground is a rotten egg!" a young boy yelled.

"No way, you big cheater!" she squealed.

"Sharla-warla is a gross rotten egg!"

"A-DAM! AM NOT!"

Pascal sighed. He liked to hear children playing, but he'd had his fill for that morning. He was getting a headache. He was relieved when the door finally opened.

"Oh! Mr. Curious... hello."

"Hello, Bella."

"This is a surprise," she said. She seemed a little flush.

He could tell it had indeed been a surprise by the way she was wearing a hastily-tied rope. "I'm sorry. I tried calling first, but there was no answer..."

"Oh, right... it was off the hook. Sorry about that."

"Oh, well that makes sense... but I didn't know that," he said, "It could have been something serious, so I decided to drop by on my way to work."

"Were you worried about me? That's very sweet of you."

"Well, you've been missing appointments."

"Oh, right... that." She ran her fingers through her hair in an effort to smooth it. "I've been a little busy."

Pascal resisted his urge to scold her, since she was a grown woman, but he thought she should have been a little more considerate. "You could have called."

"Yes, you're right. I should have called."

"It's okay," Pascal sighed, "but I would appreciate it if you called next time. Or rather... you really should try to make it to our next session. We've been making good progress, and I'd like to discuss it."

"Okay, I'll do that." She looked him over. "Did you walk all the way here? In this heat?"

"It's not so bad. I'm used to it." He adjusted his tie. "I might bother you for a glass of water, though."

"Oh, well now, where are my manners? Please come in for a while..."

Pascal stepped in Bella's apartment and looked around. It was much as he imagined it would be: elegant and refined, but spare and uncluttered. It was well-kept. Much like Bella herself, there wasn't a thing out of place.

She poured him a glass of mineral water, and he drank it down in three gulps.

"Wow, you were really thirsty, weren't you?"

"I wasn't lying," he confirmed.

"Please don't mind the dust," she said, gesturing around the room. "I haven't gotten around to cleaning it in a while. I know what you're like, so you probably see every speck, don't you?"

"Honestly, it looks fine to me."

It did look clean enough, but there was also a dusty, antique quality to a lot of Bella's belongings, like they came from a different time. Bella herself was something like that too.

"You're sweet," she said. When she held his gaze like that, he could see how easy it must be for men to fall under her spell. She was striking, of course, with her deep brown eyes and her smooth complexion, and there was also some strange and undefinable warmth in her face that pulled you in.

Behind Bella, the bedroom door swung open. Pascal jumped back, a little startled.

A man, one that was clearly of the tall, dark, and handsome variety, stepped into the room. "Oh," he said, "We have company, do we?"

Pascal just stared at him, speechless. "Oh, hey... this is Don," Bella said.

Don adjusted his crotch, making sure everything was where it should be. Pascal's eyes were drawn to the movement, but quickly looked away. Don noticed this and laughed.

"Just keeping the boys in line," he said, "You know how it is, right?" Pascal didn't answer, and Don continued to root around down there. "What's your name? I didn't catch it."

"Pascal."

"Pazz-KELL." Don repeated it, imitating Pascal's accent. "Funny name, isn't it?"

Pascal remained stoic. "I wouldn't know... but it doesn't usually get a lot of laughs."

"Yeah, I see..." Don imagined that very few things Pascal said would draw laughter from people. He was about as stiff as his white labcoat, which seemed to have been starched.

"Pascal is my therapist," Bella explained.

"Oh. Is that so?" Don said, "Looks about right."

Pascal's eyes wandered into the bedroom through the opened door. The disheveled sheets spelled out what had taken place there in perfect detail.

Not that he hadn't been able to put it together as it was.

"See you later, babe." Don planted a kiss on her mouth, and then continued to kiss down her neck.

"Don!" she squealed, "don't..."

"You weren't saying that a minute ago."

"Shhh..." She giggled, and tried to keep him from saying any more. Pascal diverted his attention around the room, as he stood there, feeling extremely uncomfortable and out of place.

"Well, have fun, kids!" Don said, despite the fact that he was obviously younger than them both. He looked Pascal straight in the eyes, and winked. "Not too much fun, though." Then he was gone.

As he left the apartment, Don Lothario reflected on his relationship with Bella Goth, what it had cost him, and what he went through to keep things as they were.

If he had known, back then, what he knew now, would he have chosen to do it all over again? Would he have invited her over to his condo that fateful night?

He could have done things differently, and avoided this whole mess. Now he was up to his eyeballs in it...

But it was undoubtedly worth it.

"Sorry about that," Bella said.

"It's okay." He shuffled around on his feet, and she could tell he was very uncomfortable with the whole situation. "Well, I should go..."

"Wait," she said, stopping him in mid-turn. "You may as well stay for some coffee now... since you're here."

He wondered if Don had initially showed up for 'some coffee' too. "I really need to get some work done at the lab today," he said.

"Just one cup?" she asked, with a pleading expression that was hard to resist. "I'd really love the company... and we could talk about my progress and all that."

"Well... okay."

"Erin, you're not being very social." She could hear the mounting irritation in Ajay's voice.

"Sorry," she said, "I've got something on my mind."

He was about to say, "That's a first," but thought better of it. He had no reason to be unkind, but Erin wasn't being a very good date at this dinner party, and he was trying to make a good impression on a number of the guests. Erin wasn't her usual, blue-blooded Beaker self. He could usually count on her for that essential support, and she didn't look bad on his arm either. "Erin, you know this is important to me..."

"I know. I'm sorry. I'll try to perk up."

Erin was thinking about the clones back at home.

She hoped that one of the clones hadn't forgotten to turn off the stove when they were finished cooking. The thought of them in danger was very upsetting to her.

Also, she had just renovated the kitchen. To have it damaged like that so soon after finishing it would be heartbreaking.

Hopefully, they were all occupied with their studies, like most evenings.

Erin was proud of all the progress she'd made with them in such a short time. Despite their inexperience, the clones had the mental capacity of any normal adult, and they picked up new information quickly.

They learned things faster than she did. It wasn't long before they were teaching her a thing or two.

With the family fortune in her possession, she had set up a great study area for them in the old lab. They spent most days in there, working on their various hobbies and skills.

They were all doing so well.

Still, the potential for mishap was there, so she worried.

She hoped they woudn't try to cook anything while she was away. She'd made them some grilled cheese sandwiches before she left, but most of them had killer appetites, so they might still get hungry.

Then again, Mani was becoming a pretty good cook, as long as it was grilled cheese sandwiches. It was always grilled cheese sandwiches. Erin liked them, but she wasn't sure she liked them enough to eat them for every meal.

Mani: it was his new name. They all had names now. Erin had seen to it that they were given proper names as soon as possible. They were obviously people, she figured, with different personalities, so they needed their own names.

They had each selected a wardobe for themselves too, and Erin had gone on a shopping spree to pick up all the clothes. Now it was quite easy to tell them apart.

There was the girl, Linnea. Not surprisingly, she was something of a tomboy.

Then there was Ivar, the resident geek, and Todd.

And Todd...

Todd was something else entirely.

As bold as brass, and constantly seeking attention, Todd was nothing like his brothers and sister.

And he quite obviously had a crush on her. She wasn't really sure what to think of that, but she couldn't deny that she enjoyed the attention.

He was cute too. Very odd, but also very cute.

"Erin?!"

Ajay was staring at her. She was doing it again.

She shrugged it off and forced a smile. He smiled back, and went to chat with Malcolm Landgraab and one of his business partners. Erin scanned the room for someone to talk to.

"Are you as lost as I am? You look it." It was a man's voice.

She turned to meet a face that seemed vaguely familiar to her. "No, I'm just tired."

"Oh, right. You're used to this sort of thing, aren't you, Erin?"

"How do you know my name?"

"Are you joking?" He pointed to his chest. "Lazlo. We went to school together."

Lazlo. Lazlo Curious. Erin felt a shiver go over her body.

She could hear a teenaged Loki in her mind, barking advice:

"Don't talk to Curiouses."

"Why not?"

"Because they're a bunch of freaks. They're alien-loving deviants. Do you even know where alien babies come out of the body?

"No... where?"

"They shoot out of the man's asshole."

"EWWWW! That's GROSS!"

"It is. It's disgusting. They're disgusting ass-babies. Glarn probably shit the rest of them out too."

"That's not true."

"It might be. They're all dirty anyway. They don't even have a mother to look after them anymore. They don't have any money. Do you want to be seen talking to someone like that?"

"No."

But that was a long time ago, wasn't it? She had lived with his sisters for years. His disgusting ass-baby sisters. She hadn't let that stop her then, so why should she cling to those prejudices now? It seemed different, though. He was one of the brothers, and had been in direct competition with Loki all those years. Talking to him felt like slapping Loki in the face.

"So, why are you here? I mean, are you here with someone?" She realized how this must have sounded, so she tried to cover her implication. "Not that I don't believe you'd come to something like this -"

"It's okay. You're right." His smile reassured her that she hadn't offended him. "I wouldn't be here if I wasn't with someone else." He tilted his head in Crystal's direction.

"She's pretty. Your girlfriend?"

"Yup."

Erin looked him over. "You used to have long hair, right? You looked better with long hair."

"Oh, really..."

"Didn't you have a goatee too? I don't know why so many guys insist on growing those"

"Well, It's sort of like proof that you can grow facial hair."

"Boys are silly."

"I was mostly just trying to trick people into thinking I had a chin."

"You do have a chin."

Lazlo laughed. Erin really hadn't changed much over the years. She'd always been a pretty girl, and she seemed nice, if not also a little shallow.

"What did you think of that meal?" Lazlo asked.

"It was okay. At least it's not a grilled cheese sandwich."

"Umm... do they often serve such meagre offerings at these posh affairs?"

"Oh... no, it's just something from home. Nevermind."

"Was that really llama meat?"

"I think so. Why would they lie about something like that?"

"I don't know... to seem cool?" Lazlo smirked. "Yeah... I'm not sure about that. It seems sort of... questionable to eat such a noble animal."

"Yeah... but it's not any worse than eating something like veal, is it?"

"No, I guess not," he said, "but call me crazy... I'm not really into the idea of veal either."

As a child, Erin had always loved veal, but once she had learned what it really was, she hadn't been able to eat it without wanting to cry. "I know exactly what you mean."

Her father hadn't been too pleased when she had announced her teenaged vegetarian phase, making loud proclamations about their proud Beaker ancestry and how they used to eat any animal that moved.

"All manner of fantastical beasts!" Bjorn would roar, "They ate anything they came across as they raped and pillaged most all of Sim Earth."

Yes, he hadn't been impressed, and he'd been right to mock her. She was only a vegetarian for two weeks. Still, she never did eat veal again.

They continued to talk until Ajay returned.

"Not interrupting anything am I?" he joked.

"Not at all." Lazlo held up his hands.

"Are you ready to go, Erin?"

"Yes, I think so." She turned to Lazlo. "I'll see you later, maybe. It was nice catching up."

"Yeah, it was," he said.

He looked across the room to where Crystal was lost in conversation. It had been nice to talk to someone about something frivolous at one of these parties for a change. Trying to act interested in all the shop talk really wore him down after a while, and he had to try to be agreeable.

Things we're strained enough as it was.

Back in Strangetown, Pascal was also having a conversation with a woman.

"So, I hope you don't mind me asking, but who was that man?"

"Oh, that was Don."

"Yes, you told me his name, but... who is he? Have you known him for long?"

"Oh yes, I've known him for years. Not very well, really, but I'd see him on and off when he was visiting the area. He works in Sim City, as a doctor. I met him there during my initial treatment." She gazed off into the distance. "Lately, I've been thinking there's something familiar about him, but he says we never met before my time at the hospital."

Pascal turned this information over in his mind. It wasn't unusual for Bella to get her memories confused.

"He's just a nice guy," she added.

Pascal's eyes drifted to where Bella's robe was falling open. She noticed him looking and adjusted it. "Oh, silly me... giving you a show, am I?" She shot a coy smile in his direction and watched for a reaction. She enjoyed seeing him squirm when he was uncomfortable, but Pascal kept his cool.

"Have you remembered anything else lately?"

"Yes."

"And what was that?"

"It's not a good memory."

"Do you mind talking about it?"

"It's okay... it's actually both good and bad, sort of."

In my dream, my memory... I'm a mother.

I'm watching my daughter playing with my son, as I stand nearby in the room.

I realize that I don't know their names. I want to call them by name, but I can't.

I can't even breathe.

Then I'm hyperventilating, and a man rushes into the room to calm me. It works.

He must be the father of the children, but I don't recognize him. He has this warm, familiar quality, and he's very handsome, but I don't remember him. I don't know his name either.

Then the panic starts all over again.

"I wake up in a cold sweat."

"The panic is just part of the dream." Pascal reassured her. "It's a common physical reaction. Many people experience sleep paralysis, and it often comes with hallucinations, and even brief periods where it's difficult to breathe. That's why you felt as though you were suffocating."

"It was so scary."

"Was there anything in the room that seemed unnatural? Supernatural?" Many people blamed sleep paralysis for things like ghost sightings and alien abductions, though Pascal knew better than to completely agree with those theories. Still, the presence of something unusual might identify whether this truly was a memory, or just a dream.

"No," Bella said, "It seemed very real, and very familiar, even though I had no idea who anyone was, if that makes sense."

"Yes, that makes perfect sense, if this is indeed one of your memories returning. And you've had this dream more than once, you say?"

"Yes. Many times."

"Well, please pay attention to any changes and write them down in your journal. We can discuss it later, at your next session." He paused. "You will be making it, right?"

"Yes. I'll be there, Mr. Curious."

"Pascal," he offered.

"Pascal." She repeated the word, and smiled.

"So, your place or mine?" Ajay asked, as he pulled into the driveway. Erin took a deep breath.

"Well, actually..."

His face fell. "You can't be serious. We haven't even so much as looked at each other naked in months." His tone was venomous.

"It hasn't been months, Ajay. More like weeks."

"Well, months, weeks, days, what's the difference? It's been too long."

"I'm sorry. I've just been -"

"Busy." He cut her off. "Yeah, I know. You're always busy."

"Well, it's true."

"You never used to be busy."

"Look, I said I was sorry."

"What's suddenly so much more interesting and important than me?"

"I... it's nothing, really." She knew she would make things worse by keeping the truth from him, but she couldn't tell him about the clones. She was sworn to secrecy, and it was for their own good. If word got around that she was keeping clones in her home... well, it wasn't something you wanted a lot of people to know about, was it?

She kept quiet. Even if she could tell him, what would he even think of that? She suddenly felt like it was all none of his business.

"Look, Erin... why don't you give me a call when you're ready to get serious about this." His hands gripped tightly to the steering wheel.

"But what about the gala next week?" She had already picked up a new dress for that.

"I'll make other arrangements," he said.

"Other arrangements?"

"Yeah."

"Oh." There was one thing he could mean by that.

"Yeah... Oh." He shuffled around in his seat, and then turned to look at her. "There are plenty of other women who'd love to go to that, you know."

"Well, then I hope you have a wonderful time!" she spat.

"Erin..." He let out a long sigh. "You're welcome to come with me, of course, but I'll need your undivided attention."

"I said have a wonderful time, Ajay."

"So that's it?"

"Yeah, I guess it is."

"God, Erin. You have to be the most difficult woman on earth. I can't figure you out." He turned to look at her again, ready to lay out a list of her crimes against him.

But it was too late. She was already getting out of the car.

"Look, I'll drive you home, at least."

"No. I'll walk. I am capable of walking up the hill by myself. I'm not completely helpless, you know. It's not that far."

"It's not good for a woman to walk alone at night."

"Thanks for your concern," she said, and she meant it. "But I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"It's Strangetown, Ajay."

"That's what worries me."

"Goodnight, Ajay."

"Goodnight."

She walked up the hill, surrounded by the blanket of night. It was so quiet, she could hear nothing but her footsteps beneath her.

She felt uneasy. She couldn't explain it. Strangetown was her home, so why should she feel afraid? She had walked this road a thousand times, but tonight it felt different. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. The darkness felt threatening, as if something watched her, unseen... waiting.

It was too quiet.

She could tell right away that something was wrong.

"Linnea?"

She was standing, motionless, in the corner. "He's gone. That woman... she came with some men in uniforms. And they took him," she said, "They took No. 1, and we don't know where they've gone. We can't even hear him anymore. He's gone. No. 1 is gone."

"Ivar," Erin said, "His name is Ivar."

"Ivar... Yes, you're right."

"Not that it matters much to Circe." Erin clenched her fists tightly. "That bitch."

"Is Circe that woman? I never knew her name..."

"Yes, Circe is that woman. She's the devil's own mistress." Erin gritted her teeth.

"Well, I hope she's fond of hell, because I'd like to put her there myself if I can."

Erin knew she had no power over Circe. Going up against her would prove disastrous. She had so many tricks up her sleeve, so many connections...

Erin was sure she didn't even know the half of it.

She was right.

The clones. What was their purpose? Loki and Circe had created them for some reason, surely, but what was it? Why had they needed copies of their test subject? Wouldn't one do?

Unless...

Unless the Beakers had intended to use them up in the process.

Oh dear God...

Maybe Circe intended to kill them.

Erin felt her legs grow weak. She was sick to her stomach. She lowered herself to the floor and sat there.

No... who would do such a thing? Not even Circe... surely...

"Are you okay?" Todd asked. She could see how worried he was, and she didn't want to upset them any further.

"Yes, Todd... I'm okay. I just needed to rest for a minute."

What she really needed was help, but where would she find it?

She thought back to her run-in with Lazlo, and her former roommates. The Curious family was good at keeping secrets. All their research was hidden from Loki all those years. Maybe they could help her to hide them, or keep Circe out somehow. Perhaps she could appeal to them to help her.

But would they trust her, as Loki's sister?

What other options did she have?

Notes:

It's nice to be posting chapters again. It took a while to get back into the swing of doing this again after my break, and it feels great to finally post this.

Don Lothario looks like a penis. He's basically a phallic symbol (SIM-bol?), with the bell-shaped head the pompadour gives him. (I really wanted to have Pascal make this observation, but it wouldn't have fit his character at all.) On all my previous playings of Pleasantview, I've given him a makeover, but here I need the most essential, purest Don I can possibly create. I kept his very appropriate hair and goatee, and just updated his dickhead uniform (named thusly for the type of dude that tends to always wear those striped button-downs to pick up at the local meat market), added a high-tech. watch, and the finishing touch - a gold chain. Perfect. You meet him, and you know right away that he's a bladder infection just waiting to happen.

There's a small chance that a couple of you will recognize Nova from somewhere, since she's an older sim of mine, and I made a post about her back in my older journal. I liked her so much that I decided to reuse her here. I won't say much more about the connection at this point, but there's a link there.

Also, I've already posted about it, but I'll mention it again here... I'm the featured storyteller for the Storytellers Spotlight this week at

simstorytellers. If you have any questions for the interview, please comment in the announcement post.

Thanks for reading!

Current Music: Clones (We're All) by Alice Cooper

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Why do you do this to me? I was *just* about to go to sleep. WHY MUST YOU DO THIS!? Now I have to read this.

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I'm sorry, but I was determined to post this before I went to bed tonight, and it's also well past my bedtime, but I did it. It's finally done and posted. W00t!

All roads lead back to Strangetown, and to each other.

Strangetown: Chapter Twenty-Seven - part one

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