HF: Brianna and Ronald

[Laraqua]

The world is a hellish kalaidoscope of burning buildings and rubble. So many homes are upright and standing, almost undamaged, but so many more are injured. Huge pools of water flood the roads from the rain and from the hoses that suck the juice from the huge craters that pit the asphalt. Brianna goes to cross a section of what looks like a mere puddle, steps in one cradle, slips, and goes under the muddy water.

[trixie]

[O.C. That sucks!!!! ]

Brianna kicks her legs to swim to the surface, and takes a gulp of air.

She looks around wildly for something to grab onto to pull herself out.

[DSIGFUSS]

Ronald cries out for Brianna and panics as she sinks into the puddle.

My god! What next!

He quickly comes to his senses.

Brianna! Get out of there! That's a bomb crater. It could be toxic!

Ronald lunges for Brianna outstretched hand and helps her out. When she is safely out of the puddle Ronald sits down beside her next to the puddle and starts to laugh uncontrolably.

Ha Hya! Ha! Snort! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Snort! Ha ! Ha! I can't believe you fell into that.... bloody pool? Ha Ha Ha Ha Hya! Snort! I thought...... Ha Ha Ha! Ha Ha! Ha Ha! They were taking you! HA Ha Ha Ha.... But it was just a bloody crater from the bloody Nazi's. Ha Ha! Ha Ha! Ha Hya! Snort! Then you fell in! Ha Ha Ha! Ha Ha Hya! Snort! You should have seen the look on your face kid! Ha Ha Snort Ha Ha Snort! Snort! You probably needed a bath anyways! Ha Ha! Ha! Snort! Snort! Snort!

Ronald looks up and splashes Brianna with the muddy water and continues laughing and smiling.

A bloody puddle. Ha Ha! Whew! Is so needed that......

[Laraqua]

A woman's shrill wail interrupts the laughter as an obese woman in a daisy print dress comes rushing through the rubble that was a side alley and into a back yard. The wailing became a piercing shriek of shock and horror before breaking into sobs.

[trixie]

Brianna tries to splash Ronald back in retaliation, furrowing her brow at him, but quickly smiling at the humour in it. Somehow Ronald's snorting and 'hyucking' made it increasingly difficult to keep a straight face.

Just then, she hears the wailing woman. Her smile quickly falls and she watches her, startled.

"Uh oh..." she says softly.

[DSIGFUSS]

Ronald watches the woman as well, equally startled by her cries.

Get ready to scoot and scat there kiddo. Just because we're out of the hospital luv, that sure as snot doesn't mean wer'e in the clear now does it?]

Ronald looks around the streets for anything supernatural or out of place in a WWII setting that might have caused her to scream like that.

[Laraqua]

She appeared to be running to, rather than away, from something and is now, at present, sobbing behind one of the houses.

[trixie]

Brianna decides to call out to her loudly.

"Are you ok?" she yells from where she's standing. She glances at Ronald, bewildered.

[Laraqua]

There is no response.

[DSIGFUSS]

She probably just lost someone luv..... This is war time. Lot's of people lost family in the war! Poor old bird!

Ronald continues to watch the sobbing woman,still keeping a watchful eye for anything out of the ordinary. He tears up for a moment and puts his hand on Brianna's shoulder.

Sniff! C'mon kiddo, let's go back and talk to Lionel. It's high time we figured out just what in blazes is going on here.

Ronald walk back to the shattered window and looks inside to see what Lionel is up to. He looks over his shoulder to makes sure Brianna is following.

[trixie]

Brianna begins to tear up too, and just shakes her head at Ronald.

"I'm not going back there. That hospital is too weird. Sorry."

[DSIGFUSS]

I know its scary but that man in there was like us. He's lost... Maybe he knows what we're supposed to do. Maybe he can get us back home. Don't you want to get home Brianna?

[trixie]

Brianna begins to cry harder.

"I don't even have a home anymore, Ronald. My parents are dead. They got burned up in a car accident. And we don't appear to be anywhere near 2007 in here." Brianna motions to the outside world.

"The hospital is just as scary as anything out here. The only difference is that in there, we have walls to keep the scary things really close to us. Jason....he.....he got turned into that....that thing. I don't wanna be around it! I don't wanna go back! Leave me here if you really want to....I don't mind. But I don't wanna go back in there!" Brianna's tears turn into sobs and her shoulders shake with anxiety. She wipes desperately at her eyes in shame for crying, and tries to avert her face from Ronald's glances.

[DSIGFUSS]

Ronald leans down and rest on one knee in front of Brianna.

We have to talk to someone and I'm not leaving you out in the streets by yourself with all these bombs and fires going off.

OK! OK! I'm with you kiddo! If you aren't going to come into the hospital then we'll just have to wait outside the front door for Lionel to come out.

Ronald sits down next to Brianna and crosses his arms. He looks coyly at Brianna and then unstraps his banjo. He pretends to tune it and plucks one note at a time making his best attempt to try Brianna's patience.

He should come out in a couple of hours.

[Laraqua]

A uniformed man and woman leave the hospital. The man rubs at his face and forehead. The woman rubs his shoulders. They're the same pair who had been in the room when Jason first came out.

[trixie]

Brianna claps her hands gleefully when Ronald pulls out his banjoe, and grins widely. She watches him pretend to tune it with interest, but any attempt he made to drive her mad with impatience was long forgotten when she stared in fascination at the strings. She sat there silently watching him for a minute, with each string resonating the silence and bridging the gap between sanity and beyond control for her. Music had always touched her in a way she couldn't explain.

After a moment, she looks at him curiously. "How come you're so obsessed with talking to Lionel anyways? Do you like other boys instead of girls? Is that it? Cause if so....that's ok." She gives him a meek smile and a slight reassuring tap on the shoulder to help his possible anxiety at her questioning. "I mean, my uncle is the same way....he has a boyfriend not a girlfriend."

Before he can answer the couple walks out of the hospital. "Oh look Ronald!"

[DSIGFUSS]

Ronald watches the couple and then smiles back at Brianna. He knows Brianna is just stalling. Fortunately for Ronald, his patience is like an ocean.

No no no... I like girls Brianna. I had a girl friend once.... She made the best Rhubarb pie..... and we used to watch Jeapardy together every night. Se used to always win. Maybe that's why she left....

Ronald thinks on that as he continues to tune his guitar.

Lionel's not from here.. just like us. You can tell cuz of his clothes. We need to know how he got here. I think he knows something we don't Brianna. Maybe something about the hospital or or maybe even something about Louie...

Damn you Louie...

Ronald looks back at the couple.

I hope that means they got Jason.

[Laraqua]

The warden rubs his forehead between thumb and forefinger, moving towards the nearby Warden's Post without so much as a glance in their direction. The woman rubs his shoulders and is whispering something into his ear, though judging by his absent-minded nods, it seems he isn't really paying attention.

[trixie]

Brianna grins, "Mmm....rhubarb pie huh....no strawberries in it? Or raspberries even? Betcha you really like rasberries huh?"

Her eyes flicker to the warden and she follows him with her eyes for a minute. "I don't wanna run into Jason again, Ronald. He almost got you. Like he went straight for you and it scared me. Do you think he died yet? If you think so, I'll go back and talk to Lionel."

She continues to watch the couple absent mindedly, then continues, "How come we don't go talk to them? You wanna?"

[DSIGFUSS]

OK! And I hate raspberries kiddo! They taste like arse and shyte all mixed up in a lovely crap and bum combination. Hya! ha!

Ronald and Brianna walk over to the warden and politely interrupt.

Excuse me sir. Is everything taken care of in there? There was an escaped lunatic trying to kill us. His name was Jason. I ran with Brianna here before we could find out what happened. Could you tell us what happened?