— Warsan Shire

Lucas snorts. "With you? I don't think he ever is."

He let's Adam pour him another drink, listening to the nihilistic but strangely comforting speech.

"We drink," Lucas echoes, watching him struggle to light the cigarette.

"I just can't stop imagining that I hear screams coming from out there. Which is crazy because the rain is so loud I wouldn't hear anything anyway."

"When's Jim ever happy?" up until now Adam didn't even consider the real consequences this day would have on everyone who stays alive. He was more concerned with the amount of digging he'll be forced to do first thing in the morning. Not to mention seeing dead bodies, all fucked up, did not get easier with time. In many ways, he was hoping this would never end. "New day, new rules -- this place is letting us know who's really in control. Ain't nothin' we can do about that. Except drink, so....we drink..." he pours him another, and then another one for himself and lights the poorly dried cigarette. "Day will come, 'til then we're better off in here than we would be out there..."

Lucas sighs and rubs his face.

"Yeah, it's freaking us all out. But trust me, all the signs point to it being the monsters. Somehow, Em just got caught outside too late, and there's very little we can do now besides grieve her and put her to rest."

He leans forward as if he's going to rest a hand on her knee or arm but doesn't.

"You don't need to worry too much. Just follow the rules, and we'll all be safe."

a flicker of a smile , like that of a flashing bulb , graced her porcelain features as she sank into the chair he had invited her to occupy . jo pressed the lip of the beer bottle to her own , rolling it so the amber glass clicked against her teeth . the smell of the ale infiltrated her nostrils , hoppy and aromatic , and she wrinkled her nose in response . she then nodded as he found her answer agreeable , wondering if she'd be invited to take her leave. . . until he was producing another question , her cheeks rouging as she dragged canines along the lower pillow of her lips .

" not really , " she exhaled , lowering the bottom from her mouth to rest its cool glass against the warmth bleeding from her face down her neck. her gaze found the bend of her knees , the hand not cradling the beverage picking at one of the tears in her jeans , twisting the frayed denim around the pad until it puckered from the pressure. not wanting to talk about herself , knowing there wouldn't be much of interest there , jo found something else to bring up instead . " sad what happened to that emerson girl , " josephine offered quietly , frowning . " i know death is commonplace in. . . this place , but , something about hers felt — " she lifted her eyes to the ceiling , as if the word she wanted would be imprinted upon it .

" odd . "

He briefly considers putting her into a headlock just to show how easy it would be to catch her, but he's honestly too tired to put in the effort. And she's right about the rationing. He's probably just using it as an excuse to avoid his personal problems rattling in his head right now.

"By that logic, we all worry too much," he replies. "It's our jobs to worry too much. So the people who can't do our jobs don't have to."

He sees and even feels the edge in her smile.

"This was an unexpected event. By all accounts, they broke the rules we thought were in place."

He leans against a table, crossing his arms to show he's in serious mode now. Not ready for the emotional talk quite yet. At least not until Ana is.

Anastasia lets out a quiet huff, the corners of her mouth twitching into a smirk. "A nap sounds nice, but you’d have to catch me first." She rolls her neck, feeling the tension stretch and settle, then flicks her gaze to the horizon as if sleep is a luxury meant for someone else.

"I’ll sleep when things stop breaking." She exhales through her nose, the humor slipping just slightly. "Besides, if you lock me up, who’s gonna keep you from rationing those supplies into oblivion?"

Her smile softens, but there’s an edge to it—one Lucas would recognize instantly. "I’m fine, Lu. You worry too much." But they both know that’s not exactly true. Not anymore.

Adrien chuckles.

"Trust me, I've seen messier. My cousin Mack threw a party in the barn when Aunt Kay and Uncle Don were out of town. Looked like a tornado of bulls went through it."

If it's El's, then it's probably best he doesn't touch it without talking to them first. Instead, he starts helping Noah clean.

"I mean besides the murderous monsters that come out at night, it's not so bad here," Adrien says. "I'm meeting some cool people I never would've back home."

Noah nodded slowly when Adrien said El had sent him to check on things. That made sense. “Cool! Yeah, things are… messy.” He gestured to the mess of the garage. He had tried to pick up the mess as best he could, anyway. “But it’s getting there.”

He turned to look at the car on the lift that caught Adrien’s attention. “I’m sure that’s El. I’m not sure, though. It’s not mine, that’s all I know.” He wasn’t the most detail oriented, unless it was something he was directly in charge of.

“How are you finding it here so far?”

Adrien smiles at El.

"Exactly. It's kinda beautiful to think about it like that. Tragic, but beautiful."

He moves back to the engine.

"So, you've been doing this as long as you've been here? Working in the shop?"

Ellington leans against the truck frame, wiping a bit of grease onto their already stained jeans as they watch Adrien pull out the valves. There’s a gleam of appreciation in their eyes as they examine the truck—it’s a solid piece of machinery, the kind that’s endured decades without much fuss.

“Yeah, it does feel a little wrong to rip her apart,” Ellington replies, giving the truck a gentle pat. “I mean, they just don’t make ‘em like this anymore, right? Sturdy, reliable… might’ve had a few more years left in her.” They shift, gesturing to the growing piles of parts. “But hey, every bit we pull is something that keeps this town running a little longer. Bet these valves can patch up at least two or three motors around town.”

There’s a sense of pride in their voice, and they flash Adrien a quick grin. “Besides, something about finding new life for the old stuff? Kinda feels like we’re doing right by her, even if she won’t be on the road again.”

Tanner Buchanan via instagram.

Lucas enters, seeing Rae covering a body. The brief look Lucas gets tells him it's not Kina. Which probably means Rae already did her.

"Hope I didn't interrupt," Lucas says gently, shutting the door behind him. "I just had to check in on you."

He steps closer, placing a hand on Rae's back between his shoulder blades. A touch he hasn't done often since they broke it off years ago. It's too intimate for friends after what they tried to be.

But this moment? This moment requires intimacy.

"How are you?"

he should’ve been working, another victim waited for him on the table. instead he sat on the stool & stared blankly at the autopsy notes before him. the knock at the door caught him off guard, the voice less so.

he contemplated telling luc to leave him alone, but knew well enough that he wouldn’t listen. “come in,” rae emotionlessly called back as he got up to cover the occupant of the table — a stranger this time.

"I'll drink to that," he says, raising his glass to tap Cherry's, then sips some water.

"So I hope I'm not making bad assumptions right now," he says sheepishly, "but you give off the vibe that you know. What's the hook up scene here like? Mostly straight? There any gay or bi guys around here?"

Not that he's desperate for sex but since he's embracing himself more here, it's only fitting he check if he can.

" YOU'RE WELCOME ." cherry replies with a nod, although she truly wasn't expecting to be thanked . that said, she won't say no to it, beaming broad and warm at adrien's compliment . " oh, stop ." cherry replies as she gives him a playful shove to the shoulder . nonetheless she does flick her hair over her shoulder to lightly say, " i know . m'gonna age fuckin' great too ." she shrugs before moving to take another sip of her drink with a simple, " if we don't get fuckin' eaten in this place at least we're both gonna be hot in our old age ."

Adrien gives her a warm smile and even gives her a slight bow in return.

"Well you look great, Miss Maude. Taking a break or trying to psych yourself up to join the fray."

He tilts his head towards the dancing.

waiting for one of her two anchors to return, maude had not been seen at the party without her closest friends. perhaps she should have attended as an unobtrusive observer, a fly on the wall since her behavior certainly suggested as much. a natural observer, she hung back shyly, avoiding eye contact and keeping to herself rather than immersing in the festivities. it wasn’t that she lacked friendliness; rather, her anxiety was palpable in the presence of so many people gathered in one place—an inevitable hazard for the town.

“adrien?” she echoed, tentatively extending her hand for a gentle shake. “i’m maude, the scarecrow—” she said, gesturing to her costume. “i’ve been around for a little while, just six months,” she added as an explanation. “i’m the socially awkward one of the trio.” with an awkward, scarecrow-like curtsy, she inquired, “are you enjoying yourself?”

Lucas watches them for a quiet moment then nods.

"Okay, makes sense. Do you remember anything right before? Or right after? Where you were, what you were doing, any notable things in your surroundings?"

He tries to be slow and patient, but Elm is the first person he's gotten to interview that got taken and came back alive.

"IF THEY WANTED ME TO REMEMBER THEN I WOULD ." there's no hesitation in elm's answer . they toy with their laces . " just like if they wanted to kill me then they would have ." they glance up at him before shrugging, " ... but they don't want me to remember so i don't . and they didn't want to kill me so they didn't ."