PicassoCat
Member
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2023
- Messages
- 10
- Thread Author
- #1
Darinka Sokolov
26
5'7
Waning, tired, exhausted.
Unsure...
The quiet rumbling of the car engine broke the silence of the night enveloping the countryside. Wildlife remained silent as the faint, cool breeze was felt through the small window gap before the glass was slowly raised, sealing shut the inside of the vehicle, preserving the temperature. A small bump in the road here and there rocking the passengers as they waited out their travel.
The man, who appeared to be approaching his mid-thirties glanced at the rear-view mirror, not due to any approaching vehicles, but rather to glimpse at the small child sleeping soundly in the back seat, leaned against the car door, though only their blonde hair would be visible as the car passed the occasional street lamp on its journey.
Approaching a house out in the prairie, the tiny vehicle came to a stop just outside. The man set the handbrake, pressing against the button to release his seatbelt as he gently woke their copilot up. She yawned for a decent while, blinking a few times as she peeked through the window to see the house. Both car doors opened quietly, only the sound of their shoes stepping onto the cobblestone covered dirt could be heard as each made their way. The man headed towards the trunk to take a few pieces of luggage with him as the woman opened the rear car door with care, undoing the child’s seatbelt and lifting them up in their arms, leaning over to grab the fallen plush animal that the kid had dropped in their sleep.
The family stepped up to the front door as the sound of crickets and the wind was heard. Fumbling a bit with the keys, an elderly woman greeted them across the door’s window, smiling excitedly as she let them inside.
“Oh! I’m-I’m glad y-you all made it! It’s-s awfully late, you all must be ex-exhausted! Let me pr-prep-pare some din-n-ner for you!”
“That’s fine, mom. We already had some snacks along the way. No need.”
“Non-n-sense! Here, ther-re’s some pie I-I-I baked yes-ester-d-day and—”
The old woman slowly made her way towards the living room. She dressed in her favorite nightgown, one covered in a nice pattern of pink-toned flowers over a cream-colored fabric, one incredibly soft to the touch, almost like a blanket.
“Mom, really. We’d rather just go unpack and head straight to bed for the night.”
These words weren’t enough to halt the grandmother in her tracks as she managed to reach the kitchen, turning around as she shakily lifted her hand to place upon the fridge door.
“R-rea-ally, you mu-must eat some-ome-th-thing!”
“Mom, please.”
The elder finally gave up, scoffing as her daughter spoke. Nevertheless, she approached her, smiling at the sight of her sleeping granddaughter in their arms.
“Good-n-ness me! She ke-keeps gett-ting s-so tall!”
The mother lifted the child a bit with a grunt as her grip began to loosen, smiling down at the infant sleeping in her arms.
“Yep! That she does.”
“W-well, I’ll-ll let you all slee-ep for t-toni-ight, then!”
“Thanks, mom. We’ll talk some more tomorrow. Night.”
“Goo-goodnight!”
As she entered the bedroom, the man seemed to have already unpacked the luggage. He was now donning his pajamas- a brown woolen shirt and square-patterned pants, as he approached the bed, laying down with a sigh of both exhaustion and relief. The woman stepped towards the mattress as well, gently placing down the child in the middle, removing their shoes at the very least. She then dug through the luggage to change into their own pajamas.
The child remained on the bed as both her parents accompanied her silently. Her father had already fallen asleep to her right, most likely the second his body touched the mattress. Her mother extended her arm out to flick the lamp on the side table off. She scooted over a bit, adjusting themselves on the bed as they glanced over at their kid, lifting the blankets up as they rolled on their side, whispering.
“Night Aleksei. Night Darinka.”
The morning sun broke through the early fog as the family began their day. A warm cup of coffee, already half drank, rested on an elderly man’s lap as he gazed calmly out the window onto the fields covered by the past night’s mist.
“Morning, mister Holtman.” Spoke a much younger voice, accompanied by their footsteps.
The aging man glanced his eyes back into the kitchen for a few moments, realizing who was speaking to him. He quietly sipped from his mug, acknowledging his son in law’s greeting with a quiet nod – perhaps he wasn’t in the mood to be interrupted from admiring the view, or held a small grudge against him, but no one else besides him knew or cared for such matters.
Aleksei rummaged through the fridge, still dressed in his pajamas from the night past. He closed the door after taking some milk, having to slam the door once more to keep it properly shut. Not a word was spoken between the two as the room’s silence was respected, only the sound of drawers being opened could be heard, along with the chirping of the birds outside, past the window.
A small set of footsteps was heard approaching the room with much haste as the child sprinted straight towards her grandfather sitting on his chair, who was caught by surprise at the sudden appearance of such a jumpy fellow practically shoving a small notebook onto their face.
“Grandpa I wanna- wanna show you what I drew! Here look! Look!”
The man chuckled, setting aside his lukewarm mug to take the book in his shaky hand, smiling at his small kin as he flipped the notes open, adjusting his glasses.
“Well, well, well… let’s see here you little artist.”
The pages were covered in small bits of mud, full of crude, yet surprisingly decent doodles and sketches of various different animals, from toads, horses and cats to some plants, trees and mushrooms. The small child’s face kept gazing up at her elder with much anticipation about his opinion on her work as he slowly skimmed through the pages with a warm smile, stopping suddenly at one of them with an annoyed expression as he glanced over at her.
“Now- I’m quite upset, little lady. Why have you taken up all the family talent, hmm? Now I’m stuck drawing only stick figures!”
The kid laughed as the man chuckled, handing her back their notebook with a smile.
“You’re improving a lot, my little Dari-ling. I can’t wait until you’re plastered all over the Louvre.”
A proud, yet embarrassed smile covered the child’s face as she held the notebook close, jumping excitedly.
“Thanks! I’m- I’m gonna go draw some frogs!”
The sentence was barely even finished before she began sprinting off the room, running past her grandmother who was just approaching the kitchen doorway.
“Be careful, kiddo!” yelled the old man in the distance, barely audible to her by now.
The grass near the pond was muddy, still covered in the cold mist brought by the fog which was now beginning to clear. A few silhouettes of birds making their way across the water, most likely geese, could be seen. The quiet ribbiting of frogs heard as the child tried to quietly sneak her way up towards them, pencil, and notebook in hand.
She squatted down near them, doodling the small amphibians and the bits of environment with great care, remaining as quiet as possible to not startle her posing models. Suddenly, the small group of frogs jumped off with haste, scared off by something hidden between the blades of grass. Driven by her curiosity, Darinka approached the site of the mysterious intruder to her artistic session.
A small, odd creature was scuttling about in the mud between the grass, it had four nubby, claw-like feet and a smooth back. It was no larger than the palm of her hand, most likely a baby of its species… whatever species that was. It didn’t seem to have any eyes or mouth, at least from the angle she was gazing down at it.
Dari took the small mud-covered thing in her hands, inspecting and admiring it for a moment as she stood up, poking gently at it before glancing off to the house in the distance.
Back inside, the old man read through his crumpled newspaper in the living room as his wife conversed with her daughter and son in law, nothing relevant to the elder, who was more than interested in his lecture. He was interrupted by his smallest of kin, who promptly shoved the tiny creature at his face.
“What kinda frog is this?” she asked.
The man was, for once, completely unsure of the fauna presented to him. He leaned forwards, adjusting his glasses as he stared at the thing.
“Well I’m… I’m not sure. Where did you find this?”
“He scared off the frogs I was drawing at the pond.”
Taken by the hands of the elder, the creature slowly moved about on his palm, covered in mud.
“I don’t believe this is a frog, Dari. Or at least, not one I’ve ever seen in these ponds.”
The conversation in the room besides them grew agitated, followed by the sound of glass and dishes being broken, a loud screech and a thud. Aleksei sprinted out of the room, heading elsewhere as panicked yells continued to come out from there. The old man returned the odd fellow to Dari before standing up as fast as he could, leaning on his cane as he began making his way over, promptly being shoved aside by his son in law as he returned, shotgun in hand.
“What are you doing?! ALEKSEI WHAT--!” yelled the elder, cut short by the deafening blast of the gun.
A silence came through afterwards, lasting naught but a single second before everything continued. The younger male placed the gun on the table besides him as his wife sobbed, falling to her knees as she stared forwards. The elder shoved the man aside to make way into the room, revealing the corpse of his partner fallen back against the kitchen drawers, a large creature covering her entire head, now having been blasted by the shotgun, similar to the unknown frog which rested in Darinka’s hands, who quietly stared at the scene unfolding in front of her, still deafened by the shot fired. The old man appeared to yell, shoving Dari’s father aside as he tossed his cane onto the floor, grabbing onto the gun and aiming at his son in law, who promptly attempted to wrestle the gun off him. Dari’s mother remained crying on the bloodstained kitchen tiles, mourning the loss of her own mother.
Darinka kept the small creature in her hand, remaining silent as a muzzle flash illuminated her face once more.
Surrounded by dull walls plastered with crooked papers of propaganda covering the posters of the old world, a couple of kids in their early teens sat on a bench as the sun peeked past the buildings, most already destroyed, some beginning to be repaired.
The blond one held a small notebook as she sketched her friend, the leather covering it having been worn out through the years, covered in mud and bruises. Her friend’s brown, curly afro contrasted that of Dari’s hair in every way as she posed for her, clearly exaggerating her posture while glancing at them a few times, growing tired.
“Are ya done?”
The sound of the graphite being used against the paper was the only reply she got.
“Dar are ya done yet? I’m getting tired here and-“
“Nope! Gimme a sec.”
She rolled her eyes at the artist’s answer, scoffing as they tried distracting themselves by glancing up at the passing alien ship flying by.
“Alright, done.”
The model immediately laid back on the bench with a drawn-out sigh of relief, looking over at the sketch of herself in her friend’s book as Dari approached them, eager to show her results.
“Whaddaya think?”
“I think it’s okay, I just wanna take a break for a bit.”
“Oh, c’mon you were just staying still the whole time- I didn’t even take that long.”
“Naw- you might not know it, but posing is hard work! I demand to speak to my agent! What other drawings do you have in there, by the way? Can I see?”
Dari nodded, handing her the notebook as she began to flip through the pages, skimming superficially over some, and taking their time with other drawings, before finally stopping at one, planting their finger besides it on the paper, speaking with a cheeky tone.
“This isn’t a frog! Why’d you write here that it is one? I mean, if it were it’s gotta be some discount, dollar store frog you’d see at a garage sale.”
The kids chuckled a bit, sharing a silence afterwards, one that grew to last an uncomfortable while. The curly haired one noticed the lack of words from her friend, who would usually at least say something to break the awkward silence, or follow her lead on the joke. She sat there besides her, notebook still in hand as she asked, concerned.
“You okay there, four eyes?”
They nodded quietly, a small, clearly forced smile almost appearing on their face before going back to her saddened look as she stared at the drawing. A guilty expression now visible upon their friend as they finally getting the implication of both the drawing and silence.
“Right… my bad.”
Tucked away, hidden from the peering eyes of those in the city, a young adult leans against the tunnel wall. She stands, stepping on a freshly tossed cigarette before taking out a new one from the box in her hands, lighting it.
The clouds covering the sky above matches the greyscale ambience down in the city as the woman stares off into the distance, scratching her forearm just below her rolled up jumpsuit sleeve, almost instinctively or out of habit – their skin covered by an uncertain amount of needle marks.
She seemed lost in thought, zoned out before being brought back into reality as someone tapped their shoulder. Darinka blinked a few times, glancing over to see the familiar curly hair standing beside them. They offered her a smoke, to which they agreed.
“Y’know, now’s your last chance to come with us. The guide wants us all to leave in five minutes, getting to the mountain mines is gonna take a while and all.”
Dari remained quiet for a moment as a hesitant expression covered their face. She took one more drag from their cigarette before speaking.
“I’m not gonna go, Jackie.”
Their friend seemed annoyed at the reply, or perhaps simply disappointed.
“Could’ve said that before we paid your ticket out of here.”
“Just give it to that other guy… Shingo, I think. He always wanted out of here, just needed someone to pitch in for him.”
Jackie let out an upset sigh, stepping in front of the woman.
“What exactly do you plan on doing here? Rot away in these sewers drugging yourself to death? You got a chance here to escape all this- the city, the Combine, all of it. Why don’t you take it?”
She shrugged while inspecting their cigarette, or at least pretending to do so. Everyone knows what a burning cigarette looks like, perhaps she simply wanted to avoid eye contact. Her friend kept looking at them, both confused and upset. She rolled her eyes before stepping back into the darkness in the tunnel, practically shoving her aside.
“Maybe I just don’t want to die out there to some alien—”
The woman stopped, turning around with an angered tone, pointing a finger at them as they practically yelled at them.
“But you’d much rather die in this filth to an overdose, huh?!”
“That’s not what I meant-“
“I don’t care what you meant! It’s what you’re doing. And what you’re doing is abandoning us to some… nonsense reason you made up!”
“I just don’t wanna be stuck living with a buncha people. I like being able to live by myself, be by myself sometimes. I get to do that here, but out there I’d end up dead if I wander off from the group.”
The dark-haired woman rolled her eyes as she turned once more, letting out a frustrated sigh as she continued her way, speaking one last time.
“Just tell me to fuck off, it’s much easier.”
Darinka stood there in silence as she watched her fade into the void contained by the concrete walls, cigarette still in between her fingers as it slowly burned away.
The quiet thud of raindrops striking against the glass window filled the cart with white noise as a man held a newspaper close to their face, sitting next to their backpack. A large title takes up most of the front page, reading “OLD MINES TURNED REBEL BASE DESTROYED”. He flips the page, silently continuing his lecture. Across the aisle sits a woman, equally quiet as she glances at the man’s newspaper with a cocktail of emotions; nostalgia, guilt, sadness, and relief. The closure brought to them left a sour taste, but one almost necessary.
The sound of boots approaching became louder, stopping between both passengers. A figure in a functionary suit and gas mask turned towards the blonde, tablet in hand.
<:: Name and destination::>, spoke out the officer in a blurred out, almost robotic accent.
“Darinka Sokolov, uhm… Terminal Six.”
They stood there, searching something up in their handheld device before turning towards the man absorbed in the newspaper, asking the same question.
“I’m uhh… Headed to Terminal Six as well.”
The man spoke in an obvious French accent, keeping his face dug into the newspaper as he spoke.
<:: Name? ::>
The officer stood in silence as the man failed to answer, leaning forwards as they asked once more.
<:: Name..? ::>
The reader seemed to grow anxious as he discreetly reached into their backpack with one hand.
“Oh- I’m uhm.. I err…”
The newspaper was crumpled up as the unit took it in their hands, slowly moving it aside to get a clear view of their face, only to be met by the loud end of a handgun. The functionary immediately slammed the man’s hand aside, though not fast enough to miss receiving the impact. They stumbled; hand pressed against their bleeding neck as they fell onto the space where the woman was seated.
The woman flinched once at the sudden gunshot, and once more as the officer collapsed against them gesturing at their own neck. She placed her hands on them as well as she could, trying to ignore the disturbing gargled noises coming out of their vocoder, applying pressure on his wound. The unit fumbled around as they attempted to reach for their handgun, struggling to unholster it, desperately seeking revenge against their attacker.
The pain and sudden shock of the situation piled the odds against them as they raised their shaking arm up at their target, who in return fired four more shots onto their already bleeding body. The man stared down at their victim, then onto the scared woman who failed to save them.
An unnerving silence filled the cart before the door connecting the carts opened, more officers having arrived at the scene, weapons readied. The man turned their head to face the arriving units, lifting their gun towards them in an act of final defiance, firing.
“VIVA LA REVOLU—”
The man was promptly silenced as a barrage of gunshots filled the air, and the lead his body. He collapsed onto the floor, mere inches away from the unit he murdered a few moments earlier. The woman remained frozen in place, blood now staining her glasses as she kept quiet, still applying pressure on the corpse’s neck.
Elizabeth
It’s been almost a month since we last saw each other, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t lose sleep wondering what I did wrong. If I did make a mistake, I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware of it and didn’t mean for things to end up like this.
I still have your beanie.
You came back! I don’t hold a grudge against your disappearance, and I’m just glad you returned. It’s quite nice having you around once more.
You know I’m not one with words when it comes to this sorta stuff… I find myself unable to find what to say exactly, but I’m sure you get the picture sometimes. If not well, I’ll keep trying.
While there are a lotta words out there, like “cool, awesome, incredibly kind” and a bunch more, none of them really manage to reach just how great you are. You’re truly the best. Despite it all, despite me being me, you still keep me around. Thank you for that, for being here.
It’s been… difficult times. “Difficult times”, what a godawful understatement. These tunnels have really taken a toll on everybody, yet they seem to have piled the odds against you from every angle. I’m sorry for what I did, how I behaved during that moment, for being a burden you have to deal with at times. I tried, yet I know that wasn’t exactly enough, being given a chance to fall once again in the old, needled bliss of mine was something I did not expect to resurface- especially so in this decrepit old subway station. Every bit of me was thrilled to go back into old habits, a disgusting addict, one that withers away at the end of an empty vial. I’m deeply, truly sorry for lashing out against you, and despite your words, we both know it could’ve ended a lot worse. I do not wish to have something like that happen once more, and I really am thankful for your support, for sticking with me through it all.
Amelia Hearth
Trusting, missed
The best psychologist ever to walk the earth. You’re the main reason why I got out of the pit I was in before, and I’m forever thankful for you taking me in as a patient. Thank you, really.
You’ve proven to be someone I can deeply trust, Amelia. Thank you for listening to me, even during the… situation that came up. We should definitely chat outside of the formal CMU setting sometime, you seem nice.
It has been a while, a very long while. Where have you gone?
Andrew Greenfield
Close friends
An incredible friend and someone that never fails to lighten the mood. From day one you’ve been nothing but kind to me, and I’m incredibly grateful to have you around, even in the worst of moments.
I’ll make sure to get you more pancakes.
You still have that friendly charm around you, and I’m thankful you’re my friend.
Time and time again you manage to be both fun and sincere. You seem to be going through a bit of what I was before, and I want you to know you’re great, and if you need someone to bother I’m always here for that.
Esteban Torres
Doctor La Casa
A sarcastic, teasing and chattery
Not entirely sure how to feel about you sometimes, though, it’s weird. You're weird.
You seem to actually have a somewhat serious side to you, which is surprising to say the least. I’m glad you trust me enough to not have that sarcasm mask all the time now.
Who would’ve thought you knew so much about psychiatric stuff, though maybe you should double-check before talking about some stuff, read the room y’know. But that’s besides the point, you’ve managed to really help me out during that crisis, even if it was a bit brief, and I’m very thankful to have you here.
You’re a good man, Esteban, and I’m glad you’re here. Though I’m sure you’re busy doing Esteban things, I’d like you to know I’m thankful we met, and that despite it all, every mess and awkward moment I’ve put you through, I’m happy we’re friends.
I hope you are alright out there, wherever that may be.
Egg
Egg
I've got no clue if you're even around or not, but just in case I wanted to say hi, nerd. You better say hi back if you are, though.
I'm starting to think you're not around anymore. While I keep trying to convince myself that it's because you were transferred to some other city, I can't help but shake the feeling that it might be for the worst of reasons.
A friend, gone
A good friend and a good boss, even though I do worry about what exactly you get up to in the district. So far, though, you’ve proven to be a decent person despite your past. I hope you don’t fall back to old habits if things get rough, though.
You managed to keep your head above the water through the entire storm, I’m proud of you. I’ll be more than happy to work in the new store with you.
I suppose that’s it then. While I wasn’t there when you died, and I don’t know the full details of it, it was nice having known you, Will. Thank you for the opportunities you gave me throughout our friendship, and for trying to do the right thing.
Gas Mask
Dread, business
You. I don’t know who you are, I don’t know how you got inside and I don’t know why you chose me out of all people to do this to. I wish you never stepped into the room, and that you never existed at all in my life. Just… leave me alone.
I seriously doubt you really did leave for good. I’m stuck looking over my shoulder every time I leave or enter my apartment because of you. You better not come back. Please don’t.
Part of me wishes you would return. Perhaps you could've played a few cards in the events that unfolded, perhaps you already did. Either way, your presence, while unnerving, was... oddly cathartic.
Crow-ssant
Bird
You're very adorable and cute. Shame someone else seems to have tagged you for themselves, though.
Unit
That voice
A strange one, oddly casual yet unnerving like the rest of them. You’ve interrogated me, read through my files and seem to know an eerie amount of details about me, though why I am not sure. You seem to enjoy digging into the same black tar-inked joys that I do, and even if I have tried to step away from them, there have been moments where you forced my hand to press the needle into my own arm. I despise you, especially for that one time in the store, yet part of me relishes those drug induced moments you keep offering me, like a starved animal in a pen when they are given a pathetic, meager meal. Is this all some kind of sick method to keep me in line?
Sat together, chilling wind in the air
Gazing up at the moon, from beneath the trees
It all seems worth it now. All of it, for this moment.
Resting upon old fabric
with an old friend, one close, one dear
through the horrors of it all.
This is peace, this is calm.
Nothing more to fear.
Sat down on a chair
Mind fogged, gone
Far.
Eyes off, staring
Far.
Needle dug deep,
Far.
Being gone, trouble seems
Far.
Yet a voice appears, it sounds
Close.
To do it, she said. Eyes
Close.
Iron in my mouth,
No lead in that chamber,
Too close.
The tunnels stretch
Long, long.
Everyone above
Gone, gone.
All left, echoes
Through these tunnels
On and on.
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