biteouttagrimes | IC CONTACT

Thank God.

I've been trying to contact you earlier but I ended up with some guy who knows you but didn't know about me and won't tell me his name when I asked. Then I'm getting all these other messages from other people who thought they were talking to someone else. The comms are messed up, Dad. You'll get some messages soon enough, I bet.

[ But Carl needs to tell Dad about the conversation with Crane but he's dreading it. ]

I've tried to text you earlier about that guy but I got Crane. He pretended to be you through texting. I should've had known it wasn't you - you never texted to anyone.

[ What a stupid mistake. ]

Never really relied on 'em much in the first place.

[ And the only one Rick tries to get in touch with is Carl. ]

So I ain't surprised to hear they're messin' up, but...

[ His voice drops, lowering to a dangerous octave. ]

Think it's about time I got in touch with that Crane guy.

You go up to him to talk to him even once, and that all he needs to figure you out and try to talk to you into insanity. That's were his therapy sessions were all about, and I only had one session with him before the gas.

You don't gotta worry 'bout that with me, Carl.

[ Because Rick is pretty much already insane. So.... ]

Now Crane. That ain't the short, slimey lookin' guy, is it? Dark brown hair, beard, kind of a jackass?

[ No. Rick's describing Chilton. What wonderful options there are for psychiatric help. ]

[ ..what? ]

. . .no. Black hair, blue eyes. Younger than you. Smug as hell. He's in jail now.

[ Who the hell is Dad describing anyway? ]

Never seen 'im then. But he's gonna wish it stayed that way.

You ever go to the other guy, then? When I made my first post, he was all on it. Offerin' psychiatric help for free.

There's a woman named Armstrong who made the first report of Crane's trial verdict about two days ago on the network. She has to know more about Crane, since it was her and her group that captured him.

[ Carl paused, trying to think of an answer. ]

No.

I mean, I know it wouldn't hurt to find help after the gas - a lot of people went to therapy after what happened at De Chima - but after learning my own therapist was behind the fear gas and some people knew about it and decided they shouldn't warn people of him and what he does . . .

I dunno. It's just not something is want to be put through again. How can I trust him? Stabbing people in the back is a service free of charge for some people.

Edited 2015-10-04 21:46 (UTC)

You can't trust him. You can't trust anyone. But I don't think this guy is capable of the same kinda thing as the other guy. Came across as interested in advancin' his career. Came across as wantin' to offer charity so he could look good. He ain't gonna be the type to mess up. He's gonna do a proper job. Now whether he's good at that job or not, dunno.

Could find out for ya. If that's the kinda thing you think would help. Talkin' to someone.

What I want is my head to clear. I want to stop hearing those screams when I wake up every other morning. Which Crane knows now, when he pretended to be you.

I would rather have medicine. Less personal, I guess. But we'll check him out anyway.

But if he's not as legit as we both thought he was, I'm putting a bullet to his head. I'm not going to deal with the whole '"innocent before being guilty" bullshit people said to me when they try to justify for not warning people about Crane.

I'll talk to him more. Let you know. If I even get a suspicion that somethin's up with him, I ain't lettin' you near him.

Alright.

Listen, before we forget, there's something else I need to show. I texted you earlier and got someone who knows you but won't tell their name, and they act like they didn't know about me.

[ There is a small moment of quiet from Carl as he screencaps the entire exchange. He sends the picture to Dad so he can see it. ]

Do you have any idea who they are?

Edited 2015-10-05 00:01 (UTC)

[ Oh. Oh. ]

Tetsuo. His name's Tetsuo. 'm helpin' him. Tryin'a get him to be able to survive on his own. He's rough 'round the edges, but most of us survivors are, ain't we?

[ There's amusement in his voice when he asks the last question. ]

[ Dad don't you laugh >:( ]

I think I remember you mentioning that name.

Is he dangerous?

He is. Just like us. But I don't think he'd be dangerous to us.

Alright. Just checking. I was concerned since he knew about you but not me, so I was worried if there was a reason to that .

[ He can get it. When Carl was by himself, he didn't talk to potential strangers about his family. Even to friends. He didn't even talk about his dad that often until Dad actually arrived. It's easier to talk about the world, but family . . . family is different.

Of course, the one time he talked intimately about his parents and his life was possibly to the evilest man the entire multiverse, so Carl is even doubly cautious on the subject of family. ]

Edited 2015-10-12 17:45 (UTC)

Just didn't think it was important for him to know.

[ Rick isn't hiding it per se. Anyone who looks at the network will see their names and put two and two together. But talking about his son to near strangers, well, that isn't something he's willing to do until he learns he can trust them. Like Verity. But Verity is gone. And it just proves how unpredictable and chaotic this world truly is. ]

An' you were goin' through so much. That's why I never brought him up.

Yeah, I get it.

[ Dad explaining things help things, with Carl. The whole episode with Tetsuo was like a live wire in Carl's brain, especially with that ugly encounter with Carl's old therapist, where Crane's words acted like a cold fist wrapping around Carl's heart, squeezing until he couldn't breathe. So Carl trust Dad's opinion on this guy, more than he trust his own intuition. ]

Just got a little worried, sorry.

Don't worry. Ain't nothin' to worry 'bout. It's not like...

We're not a group. It's just me helpin' him learn how to survive.

[ Which is what Rick says now, but more and more he's becoming invested in Tetsuo and his friend Kaneda. ]

Yeah. I understand.

It's hard to live here without the others, back home.

[ Carl sort of suspects what is going on. Maybe Dad is trying to make a group here. He's better at reaching at people than Carl is, that's for sure. ]

Don't think they'd know what to do with themselves either. In a world like this.

We sure as hell had a tough time gettin' used to it.

[ And hell. Rick still hasn't adjusted. ]

We'll find a balance. We can live here, we can. We are used to life throwing curveballs at us.

Just . . . Dad, promise me. Promise me you won't go after Crane. It's bad enough he's my first therapist. It's my fault I haven't realized how bad he is. But I've told things about you to him, and I don't want you to be his next target. Please.

I ain't gonna promise that, Carl. He messed with my family. An' you know I don't let the people who do that just walk away unscathed.

[ Because this is not going to be solved with a bullet to the face, Carl thinks, as his face is starting to warm and his throat starts to tighten. Because he knows, deep down, Crane is what people call his archenemy. When Carl reads Crane's words, and will hear his voice and look into his eyes, he knows, deep down, that this is going to be more than a man going after a stupid teenager. In this world where death is practically null, there is something charged, something more than deadly between Carl and Crane. The stakes are higher, higher than simply surviving for another day.

It's going to be a fight for Carl's soul. And he's afraid Crane will drag Dad into being the first casualty. ]

I know. I know. I just don't want him to hurt you to get to me, because that's what it's going to happen. He wants it between me and him.

[ Would he? He's sure that might happen, but he can't predict Crane. In terms of intelligence, Crane outpaces Carl by miles, Carl supposes. The only thing Carl can trump Crane on anything is . . . well, he can't think of anything. ]

That won't happen. I won't let it happen. You got me?

[ Sometimes you couldn't protect your teammates no matter how hard you tried. But Rick would lay his life on the line for Carl's sake. Rick would do what it took to take down this Crane bastard -- even if he had to team up with some of the worst people to do so. ]

He made all this personal the minute he decided to mess with you. And it wasn't only you. So many other people suffered because of him. This is the one thing -- the one enemy we ain't alone in havin'.

I got you. I got you.

[ And now Carl is starting to shed tears, because he feels so foolish. He thought he was the only one to be duped by Crane. To nearly losing his mind, to nearly killing some people, the only one outraged that no one told the truth about Crane. Carl wipes the hot tears away from his face furiously. ]

I just - I've never encountered anything like this before. It's so easy to just shoot someone, but here . . . it's not natural.

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