EJ003X | audio | night 011

[littlemissfutility]

Hello?

[ The voice is whispery right now, but it still sounds young and female. Enough talk, and some of the vowels might sound just a touch southern. ]

Is there anybody out there? Dawn? Is Dawn here?

[ A pause. ]

If someone's out there, I need help. And if whoever's out there doesn't wanna help - I'm armed.

Comments

[littlemissfutility]

[ A pause. ]

[ Like, a long one. ]

[ If pauses could sound confused, this one would. ]

Are you talking to me?

[2199]

...Yes. The callsigns. You noticed yours?

[littlemissfutility]

The thing that starts with "EJ"?

[2199]

That's you. "Ee" and "Jay" sound like a lot of things, especially with static interference. Does the military use NATO codes in your... [You know what, it's not her job to teach this kid shit.]

How old are you?

[littlemissfutility]

Eighteen. [ And instantly defensive about it. ] And there isn't a military anymore. Why?

[2199]

What happened to it? What... what did the world look like, before you showed up here?

Where I'm from, high priority broadcasts use certain codes for radio communication. It makes it harder to mishear someone. In that code, your callsign is Echo-Juliett-Zero-Zero-Three-Xray. Mine is Sierra-Sierra-Five-Two-Seven-Sierra. You say 'out' when you're done talking. You say 'over' when you won't be available for more communication. You never say 'repeat', and you try to be as clear and precise as possible.

[littlemissfutility]

...What if you need someone to repeat something?

[ We'll get back to the rest of it. ]

[2199]

"Please say again." Repeat is the signal to resume or begin gunfire.

[littlemissfutility]

Are there a lot of guns here?

[2199]

Do you think it's worth the risk?

[littlemissfutility]

I'm just asking.

[2199]

I imagine some people came here with a gun. There are unfriendlies in the field as well; we don't know who they are or what they want. They could be people pretending to be nice on the radio. No one's been here for more than a month.

[littlemissfutility]

[ Hm. Spurred on mostly because she already knows that not everyone who's nice to you is actually nice, Gawd. ]

But you think I should trust you, don't you.

[2199]

I don't know anything about you. Maybe you've shot someone and now you're playing innocent on the radio. I can't know. I can't see you. But you said you needed help, and you don't need to trust me for me to help you.

[littlemissfutility]

We're all stuck here, right? So you probably can't help me get back to Atlanta.

[2199]

That's the only thing you need?

[littlemissfutility]

It's a start.

[2199]

When you look up, can you find the north star?

[littlemissfutility]

You draw a line from one of the dippers, right?

[2199]

Yes. And then you can chart north or south, right?

[littlemissfutility]

Yeah.

[2199]

Good. Keep track of what direction you're going. In the wilderness, most people die from getting lost in a relatively small area.

Do you know how to make a fire?

[littlemissfutility]

[ She's pressing the button, about to reply, when the woman asks if she can make a fire. Her laugh is a surprised little thing. ]

I know how to live in the woods.

[ Obviously. ]

[2199]

[Why? For any number of reasons, none of which Moss can fix or change. She can only grimly think good.]

The tropics? I was trained to survive in deserts. Arizona.

[littlemissfutility]

I told you, I'm from Georgia. It gets pretty hot.