[Edgar is doing it all again, again.. so many times, is this finally the last?] -09:18 Jul 27
[Sofie works in a space station…. as Maintenance crew! Which is pretty much just glorified rat killing and grease cleaning.] -09:19 Jul 27
Sofie: In fact Sofie was on the job right now, working on a panel in a hall. Trying to fix wiring that got chewed through to the point of blacking out an entire sector. Blackouts were mayhem waiting to happen. Sofie twizzled wires! -09:21 Jul 27
Edgar: He knew the code, imprinted in his memory after so many uses, his hand found the numbers automatically and the maintenance door slid open. He checked his watch, he was on schedule, and there she was. He stuck to the shadows waiting. In about ten seconds the lights would flicker, that’s when he would need to start making his move, the junction box feeding the line she was working one was about to blow. -09:26 Jul 27
Sofie: She was muttering under her breath about the job. If they spent more money on better updates to the system, she wouldn’t be having to do a hack job of piecing together wire scraps just to keep it working. She was almost done though. The metal bits were tied, now she just had to wrap it. The lights above her flickered with a buzz, and she glanced up eying them with a frown. -09:31 Jul 27
Edgar: There was the flicker and he started walking, coming up behind her to grab the collar of her overalls and pull just as there was a bright flash as the box blew and an alco of electricity flew from the wises she had been working on to the metal floor grate and melted the wires. Then he let her go and turned to walk away, job done. -09:34 Jul 27
Sofie: Sofie was blinded for a moment by the flash. By the time her vision returned and she fumbled for a light in the now dark hall, she realized she had been jerked away from the panel and now that helpful benefactor was getting away. “Hey…! Thank you?!” Sofie held her light up higher. Christ, the entire box was now melted in to the wall and floor! The whole sector was going to be blacked out after all. -09:39 Jul 27
Edgar: “Now out yet.” he said reaching under a pipe for a crowbar he hid there earlier and jamming it into the door and pulling breaking the seal and wrenching the door off it’s sliders so that it feel into the wall. He didn’t explain that the life support to the maintenance corridor was out and she would have suffocated if he hadn’t broken the door, all he did was step through it and start feeling his way down the corridor. -09:42 Jul 27
Sofie: She had her hands held out and the expression of whachu do that for?! but he didn’t see. There was a small exasperated sound from her as she stooped to pick up her toolbox. Sofie needed to go let the others know which box was out so they could get it fixed, anyway. Might as well follow him on her way. “I’ve got tools, you know. Even with the power out, I can get doors open.” -09:47 Jul 27
Edgar: He stopped, she had never followed him before, something was different. Different was bad. “Do not go to section 48 tonight.” he said before finding the next door that thankfully had power and punched in the code, light flooring in from the other side giving her her first good look at him, then he stepped though and punched out a vent cover to pull a box from inside. He’d need this to fix the elevator before she got into it tomorrow morning. -09:52 Jul 27
Sofie: “Why, you up to something no good?” she joked. …At least she thought it was a joke. Now he was touching things he didn’t have any business touching, and she was pretty sure he wasn’t a new hire. Her hand went over the box and she was frowning. “You don’t have any clearance to touch this stuff. What are you doing in here?” -09:56 Jul 27
Edgar: He turned to her but avoided looking in her face. The box was just a blank brown affair and inside was a new break stolen from the maintenance locker. “Do you value you life?” he asked. A simple question, her face was as familiar to him as his own but to her he was a stranger. “If you do you will get out of my way.” -10:01 Jul 27
Sofie: “I don’t like being threatened.” It sounded like a threat to her. Sofie pulled her hand away and even took a step back. She was wary now… but not leaving. Last thing she needed was someone messing up wires or setting up bombs in HER sector. …Crap, if she didn’t get to the guys and mention the blown box, it was never going to get fix and there was going to be a blackout riot. “…I can’t stay to tango with you. …Can I trust you?” -10:04 Jul 27
Edgar: “With your life.” he said the box under his arm and eyes down. Could she though, every time he tried she eventually died no matter what. “I will try my best.” -10:07 Jul 27
Sofie: That was an incredibly weird response… it definitely unsettled her a bit! “…Okay then. Don’t get in to trouble.” Sofie backed away slowly, before she finally turned around to leave. Maybe he was just one of the homeless. Sometimes they got lost and wandered around in weird places. Sofie only cast him a single look over her shoulder as she was leaving -10:13 Jul 27
Edgar: He was leaving in the opposite direction, towards the elevator she took home and can to work in. She would survive the accident this way, but he’d be there to make sure. Things were different this time round, and that unsettles him. -10:15 Jul 27
Sofie: The next morning… Sofie wished she wasn’t awake. Last night was spent working in to the wee hours helping fix that panel. They were lucky that nothing more than a few thefts and a couple fights happened. But now she was exhausted and gonna have to spend the whole day chugging coffee. Sofie leaned against the wall while waiting for her elevator. Damn thing always took so long! -10:21 Jul 27
Edgar: He was already in the elevator when the door opened, ready to reverse time if things went bad. He would stay here until the rescue arrived, but he wouldn’t be found by them, he couldn’t afford the downtime of being questioned and looked over by a doctor. It was just another day. -10:26 Jul 27
Sofie: So tired. Sofie shambled inside, stepping to the corner and leaning against the wall wearily as she often did. Only this time she was twice as tired and– She blinked at the man, recognition coming to her. Sofie saw him last night. The weirdo lurking around in the maintenance halls. Suddenly, she was standing a little straighter and not so sleepy looking. -10:29 Jul 27
Edgar: He didn’t look at her, only at his watch, then they were descending and his hand went to grip the rail. They were alone in the metal box and there was no one else he could be talking to when he spoke. “Hold onto something.” five seconds later, then were falling. -10:33 Jul 27
Sofie: “Wh- GAH!” she gave a shout, both hands latching on to the rail in her panic. Sofie couldn’t even think about how many floors they could fall through, she was so concerned with the way the sudden motion now had her stomach jumping in to her throat! -10:37 Jul 27
Edgar: He bent his knees and three, two, one. The break activated and and then came screeching to a halt not far from the bottom of the tube. Practice made perfect and he was still on his feet and hit the emergency call button and then sat down on the floor to wait. If would take then ten minutes to get here and…” he reached out and grabbed her ankle to pull her across the floor before the falling debris hit and her side of the elevator was obliterated by it. The entire time he never said another word. -10:43 Jul 27
Sofie: The fall itself already had her dropped to the floor, she yelped again when she was grabbed… but when the elevator was nearly smashed to pieces, with her now being on the safe side…! Sofie scooted back against the wall, breathing hard and trying to calm herself down. That was close. Way too close and — and he knew. “…how did you know?” The question came out like an accusation! -10:48 Jul 27
Edgar: He looked at his watch and then at the damage to the elevator. “That is not important.” he said “They will be here in seven minutes to rescue you, you were in here alone and saw no one.” he said reaching into he pocket for a rope to get himself down to the bottom of the shaft with. “And have the medic look at your right ankle and put a nanowrap around it, if he doesn’t heres one you can put on yourself.” he threw it onto the floor in front of her, the disposable device safely wrapped up in its packaging. Hooking the hook on the rope to a piece of twisted metal he got ready to jump allowing himself one look at her. “If you weren’t so stubborn…” he he had tried telling her what he was doing a long time ago.. it hadn’t ended well. Instead he made to jump. -10:56 Jul 27
Sofie: “There’s nothing wrong with my- Don’t leave me alone in here!” They had nearly fallen to their deaths and been smashed to pieces! For all she knew, the blasted thing could still fall the rest of the way. Sofie snatched up what he tossed her, but she was also getting up to her feet. She didn’t intend to just stay in there waiting. -11:00 Jul 27
Edgar: He looked at his watch and then at her. “Five minutes and they will be prying open that door.” he said “And you can’t follow me on your ankle. Things have to go.. right… Do you value your life, your job, your friends? If you do you’ll listen… three minutes. I can’t be here when they arrive.” -11:05 Jul 27
Sofie: “That doesn’t make any sense, you’re just leaving me in here!” Sofie was a little panicked. …and with good reason! The space was tight and they nearly died. Sofie eyed the door briefly. How could he possibly know… -11:08 Jul 27
Edgar: He turned away and jumped though the hole, stopping himself with the rope and looking up at her. “You’ll be fine.” he said hanging there and looking at his watch, he could stay like this until they started in the door. “Do you believe in fate, that what is meant to happen will happen no matter what we do?” he asked “That destiny cannot be changed and all we can do is change how what must happen happens?” -11:13 Jul 27
Sofie: “You can’t change something that hasn’t happened yet…” He was talking in riddles and in her panic laden mind, she couldn’t make heads nor tails of it. All Sofie knew was that he saved her life twice and was freaking her out in the process. “Don’t go.” -11:19 Jul 27
Edgar: “If they find me they will question me” he said looking at his watch again. “Three… two…” there was a bang on the elevator door, then a scraping sound, then the sound of straining metal as the doors were forced apart, and he was gone down the rope to land on the bottom of the shaft and pull himself into a crawlspace he had opened previously. -11:22 Jul 27
Sofie: He didn’t lie. The doors were opened and the rescue crew pulled her out. There were questions and she had no answers. Sofie didn’t mention him… what would she say? Strange guy saved the day and jumped down the shaft? Just to be safe she made sure that nanowrap was put on her right ankle. It didn’t hurt, but if he was right about the other things. …On the bright side, Sofie was completely excused from work and was sent back home! -11:27 Jul 27
Sofie: Come evening, Sofie had finally relaxed a bit. Clearly she was over reacting to a bad 24 hours. It was coincidence and a perception person. A weird perceptive person. Sofie set some noodles on the stove for her dinner and plopped on to the couch. She was bloody tired, and before she even realized it she had fallen asleep. -11:36 Jul 27
Edgar: He pulled on the fireproof suit in the corridor, the last thing he did before pulling on the glove was check his watch and then pull on the helmet. The he was entering the door code to her door and moving in. The kitchen was already on fire and it would spread quickly. He needed to get her out before she was horribly burned. -11:39 Jul 27
Sofie: She was so tired. Sleeping far too deeply. The only reason she even woke was because something made a sudden POP that jolted her awake… suddenly just about everything was catching fire. There was so much smoke she couldn’t see and Sofie was coughing hard as she rolled on to the floor. -11:43 Jul 27
Edgar: He moved through the smoke calmly and steadily, he after all knew exactly where she would be. He stepped over a burning chair the heavy boot of the suit making a clunk as he pushed open the door and looked at the couch.. she wasn’t there… what the hell. -11:45 Jul 27
Sofie: Sofie could barely breathe and couldn’t see farther than a foot in front of her! But she needed to get out. She made sure to stay close to the floor where there was less smoke, but at some point the lack of air kicked in and she just collapsed. Coughing so hard her chest hurt as she curled up on the floor. -11:49 Jul 27
Edgar: He heard something and turned his feet carrying him to where she lay. He was worried, she should have still been on the couch. That didn’t matter.. He threw the blanket onto the floor and picked her up to put her onto it, then wrapped her in it to keep her safe from the flames and started dragging her out the door. The alarm triggered and bouts of water started coming from the ceiling. He was running late! Out in the clean air of the corridor he unwrapped her and ripping a glove off of himself went to check her pulse. -11:53 Jul 27
Sofie: She was barely breathing, but at least she was alive. Covered in soot and ash, but lucky to be free of any burns or worse. Sofie groaned! -11:56 Jul 27
Edgar: He pulled off his other glove and checked his watch, then stood to get the hell out of there but it was already too late, the firefighters were rounding the corner and had seen him. It was time to run the other way! -11:58 Jul 27
Sofie: Her chest hurt and her throat burned. But Sofie was coming around! Coughing again as she sat up, running the back of her sleeve over her eyes, she could vaguely hear people coming. …and someone trying to go! “You…!” she croaked out. -12:01 Jul 28
Edgar: He turned his face visible for a fraction of a moment before he was trying to dash around the corner and get away. Only to run into more of then and have his arm pinned behind his back as security came up behind them. -12:05 Jul 28
Sofie: Three times… three times he was there right in the middle of some disaster. It was starting to get alarming. Paramedics had her tied up for a bit. Checking her over and giving her a good dose of oxygen. She had to mutter that he saved her life, and he hadn’t been the culprit. At least she was… fairly certain. But security seemed to be very interested in him. …and so was she! -12:12 Jul 28
Edgar: He was being held now, everything taken from him, even his watch, he had been asked questions and had answered and now they were letting him stew… If she died while they held him… it would all start over again. -12:18 Jul 28
Sofie: They had him waiting while they looked up the validity of his answers. It gave her the opportunity to sneak over. Sofie was silent at first. Watching him warily, trying to think if she had met him before. “Thank you.” she muttered. “…now, who are you..?” -12:21 Jul 28
Edgar: He looked up from his manacled hands and saw her standing there. “To you, I am no one.” a completely unsatisfactory answer. “And you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” at least she was in the room with him, as long as he could keep her here… “You were not on the couch. That surprised me.” -12:25 Jul 28
Sofie: “It bothers me when you say stuff like that.” An honest reply. It gave her an uneasy twinge of fear. Thoughts of being stalked and murdered by some maniac. …he didn’t really -look- like a maniac, though. “Why don’t you try me. Tell me.” -12:31 Jul 28
Edgar: He sighed. “Last time I told you you ran from me.” he said. “Time before that you pushed me away and threw hot oil on me.” he put his face in his hands and closed his eyes. “None of them you believed me.” -12:34 Jul 28
Sofie: “I’ve never met you before. You said yourself you are no one to me.” He didn’t make any sense. Maybe he really was crazy! Sofie was rubbing her arm, glancing around to see if security was going to retrieve him soon. She kind of felt bad they had him, when all he did was help her. …and at the same time, she wasn’t so sure if that was what he was doing. -12:37 Jul 28
Edgar: He looked at her and shook his head. “Sofie…” he shouldn’t be talking to her. and before he even could they came into the room but for him, for her, saying she should see something and he thought he knew what. The details of all of her deaths and how to save her from each. -12:41 Jul 28
Sofie: He knew her name. She opened her mouth to question him, but she was interrupted. Pulled gently to the side and handed a slip of paper. It nearly made her blood run cold! Sofie remembered a few of those moments. Little things she never thought twice about… until the past day where she had actually seen him. …and there were more? There we a lot more! “I don’t– Who is he?” -12:47 Jul 28
“Edgar Adnett, hes an author whose just moved here, though he was scheduled to arrive next week and we have no idea how he got here early, there’s no record of him arriving, but we can’t hold him, his papers check out so unless you want to press charges…” the security guard looked at her. “Any idea of what these are about?” -Edgar
Sofie: Sofie shook her head, though she did look completely disturbed. He saved her life, didn’t he…? She couldn’t get him arrested for that. “…I don’t know. Eccentric author notes…? I don’t want to press charges.” But she did want to get out of there. -12:56 Jul 28
Edgar: He watched the exchange right up until he was uncuffed and given his belongings back and told he could go. He would need to save her in the evening but before then he needed sleep, and to eat the same leftovers he had been eating all the hundreds of other times he had been here… things were different this time, he had never been arrested before. -01:01 Jul 28
Sofie: She had his list. Sofie hadn’t given it back. Struggling with that want to demand answers, and that need to escape… Sofie went with escape. What she needed was to be able to think clearly. To read over this list. Was it in order or was it random…? And she needed a place to stay for the evening because her apartment was beyond livability. -01:04 Jul 28
Sofie: HOURS LATER… it was late. Really, really, really late. She had to take a shuttle all the way to Sector 48 just to find a place with open rooms that she could actually afford. Stepping off the shuttle in to the station, he steps slowed… wait.. he had said don’t go to Sector 48. Sofie fumbled to dig his list out of her pockets. She needed to know why. -01:38 Jul 28
Edgar: He was there, at the station, two objectives, save her and get the list back. He had to do both or he would have to start it again, and he couldn’t go through that many deaths again. He stepped up behind her and cleared his throat. “You have my list.” -01:44 Jul 28
Sofie: Sofie jumped at least a foot off the ground. More than a little startled to see him, yet… not all that surprised either. Sofie was angry. “So what is next on your list for me?” she held it up, but yanked it out of reach when he moved for it. “What’s supposed to happen here, now? How am I going to die.” Sofie didn’t know why she was asking. Wouldn’t it be smarter to just run away? -01:49 Jul 28
Edgar: “I told you not to come here.” he said. “But here you are.” further proof that he was fighting against fate. He looked up at the arrival board and got ready to pull her out of the way when it fell. “Just like all the other times but I can never get there in time to prevent the fire entirely. I asked you if you believed in fate…” -01:54 Jul 28
Sofie: “No. I don’t believe in fate.” What else was she supposed to say? To believe in fate meant there was someone out there pulling the strings. Sofie didn’t like the idea of someone pulling her strings. She shoved his shoulder. “And what is MY fate then? The stuff on this list? How long have you been following me!” -01:58 Jul 28
Edgar: “For you.. a month.” he said “You should move.” he didn’t try and grab her. “For me.. a lot longer.” he lifted his arm to look at his watch. “You have ten seconds before whats next on the list will happen.” -02:16 Jul 28
Sofie: “Eight. Seven. Six…”Sophie counted it down. That watch hadn’t failed him yet. And despite the fear in her gut, she was stir quirking and eyebrow daring it to happen. She didn’t believe in fate. And his story… it didn’t even explain anything! “Two… one…” Sofie held her breath. -02:19 Jul 28
Edgar: Zero… He looked up and the drplay remained in place. He kept his eyes on it but it never moved. Things were going wrong and he looked around. Something else would kill her then, it was always like this. If not one thing then another. His breathing became panicked as he turned this way and that… -02:22 Jul 28
Sofie: Sofie waited for it. And all she was getting was a man looking even crazier. So it was just coincidence after all. She shoved his list back in to his hands. “There you go. Fate’s been changed.” Sofie walked away, right under the arrivals display and nothing happened. She was headed for the doors that exited the station. Suddenly there was a loud pop!, loud enough for it to startle several people in the place. One of the hanging sculpture pieces being suspended from the ceiling swung down, just barely missing Sofie by an inch. But before she could breathe a sigh of relief, another suspension wire snapped and whipped. It caught her across the throat so fast she hadn’t felt it… but there was blood… a lot of blood. Sofie was dropping to the floor. -02:28 Jul 28
Edgar: He rushed to her horror in his eyes the list being abandoned in favor of taking her head and cradling her even as the sculpture swung back and forth. “You have no idea how many times… I’ve watched you die.” he said. “How many times I…” he closed his eyes feeling them growing wetter. “I’ll go back… again. Back to before we met and I’ll save you. For me, I’ve been following you for ten years, and I’ll keep doing it.” -02:34 Jul 28
Sofie: Time…? Ten years…? It didn’t make sense, she couldn’t piece it together… She couldn’t even formulate words. All she could focus on was his tears. And then… there was nothing but the black. -02:38 Jul 28
Edgar: One week earlier he was ready to save her again, and prevent the fire, and the elevator failure rather than avert them, but first he watched her as she got ready to do her job. He really hated this one, it usually involved him suffering a concussion. -02:44 Jul 28
Sofie: Sofie had a wrench. It was possibly the biggest wrench in the whole damned station. And SHE was using it to defend herself from the dog-sized rats that scurried around down in the lower sectors. What the station -needed- was an actual exterminator. Or a zookeeper. Lion tamer. Or maybe she needed a gun? Bah, but the blood… the Wrench was just less messy. Sofie looked over her map once last time to make sure she was headed to the right section. Last thing she needed was to accidentally drop down a shaft. -02:52 Jul 28
Edgar: He did have a gun and knew the rat well, where it would scurry and when it would smell her. She usually saw him as a security guard doing a routine cleanup of the lower sections with his stolen uniform, not knowing his face she would never know who he was, it was for the best. -02:54 Jul 28
Sofie: Creepy little bastards. Rats themselves never bothered her, but they got so damned big down here. And…. and… Sofie was having the weirdest sense of deja vu. Sure she had the feeling all the time, but now… She paused in the corridor, touching a hand to her head. She felt a little dizzy. She just, really… really felt like she had done this before… -03:01 Jul 28
Edgar: He emerged from around the corner just as the rat did between then, aimed, and fired, the hollow point round tearing the thing to shreds. Then he was eying her to make sure nothing else happened as he walked over to the falling body and pushed it over with his foot to make sure it was dead. -03:05 Jul 28
Sofie: Sofie jumped. The feeling was getting worse. She did this before. She really really did this before… The gunfire, the security, the blood… Blood. Sofie blanched, her knees buckling from under her as she slid to the ground. The wrench making a loud clang as it feel beside her. So much blood. Her own blood… Her hand rose to touch her neck. -03:09 Jul 28
Edgar: He heard her fall and his eyes shot to her as he loved to check her over to injuries. “Are you alright?” he asked placing his gun down and checking her pulse. “Ma’am.” he added as part of his cover. -03:17 Jul 28
Sofie: “I was… But it hasn’t-” No, there was so slice across her throat! There wasn’t a think wrong with her. Where did that thought even come from? Was it a memory. “Sorry, I- You.” She could see his face. Sofie knew this face. But not the first time… “I’ve seen you.” -03:21 Jul 28
Edgar: “Its possible, I often patrol topside.” he said without blinking, a well practiced lie. “If you’re not hurt shall I help you back up to C deck?” -03:25 Jul 28
Sofie: “You’re not security. I… don’t know who you are…” Tears. She remembered tears. Sofie reached out to touch his face. He cried for her, but she didn’t remember him them. …Sofie didn’t remember him now! But she knew him. This was really confusing, Sofie was starting to feel sick and she wasn’t even standing. -03:27 Jul 28
Edgar: He looked at her and sat out of her reach. How did he strew that up so quickly? “So I’m not, I’m still here to help you.” he checked his watch and looked up and down the corridors. “We should get you upstairs.” -03:31 Jul 28
Sofie: “Because I’m still going to die.” Very fuzzy memories… After the incident with the rat, there were other moments. Weird moments she never really thought were weird. Not until she saw him. Suddenly she was getting up, her eyes wide and confused. If it was more than deja vu, then she knew exactly what would happen the rest of the day. She would test and it see! Sofie stumbled down the corridor. “What was the next one? Glass and more rats, that’s it…” A whole nest of rats, somewhere down here. -03:37 Jul 28
Edgar: She was…. He grabbed the gun and followed after her. “Where are you going?” he asked “Do you know whats down there?” he was point to knock her out and drag her back if he had to! “Sofie do not go down there, if you do you’ll be killed.” -03:40 Jul 28
Sofie: “Sofie!” she turned around and pointed at him. Her movement shaky and frantic. “You know me. You know what’s going to happen to me!” And she knew too. She was going to prove it. It was totally insane, and she wasn’t thinking clearly, but she could prove it was real! She was turning down the corridor again. The first time it had been an accident to find the nest… this time would be on purpose! -03:43 Jul 28
Edgar: He grabbed her and pulled her back. “Yes I do and I do not want to see you killed again.” he let her go realizing what he had said. “Go.. what difference will it make?” he had already screwed this up, so he would probably have to go back anyway. -03:50 Jul 28
Sofie: Doesn’t want to see her killed again. That was the only thing that made her stop. Made her turn and look back at him. “Ten years… you said it was ten years. Ten years of me dying?” Sofie was trying to wrap her head around that. -03:54 Jul 28
Edgar: He blinked. “When did I say that?” he asked She couldn’t remember.. there was no possible way. “You remember?” this changed everything… “Then you know you can’t go down there..” -03:57 Jul 28
Sofie: “I know, I know!” Frustration…! A headache. Sofie was so dizzy. Her hands were on her head again. She died. She will die. A week from now. Fate? She didn’t believe in fate! “I don’t… I don’t know what I am supposed to do. Who ARE you?” Sofie retreated back to him. A small gesture to show she wasn’t going to run head-first in to her demise. She was listening. -04:02 Jul 28
Edgar: “Come…” he said. “We’ll find a place to sit and I will tell you everything.” he couldn’t believe he was doing this again but he headed to a maintenance ladder that went to a room he thought was safe, nothing had happened in it yet. Once there he sat on a crate and waited for her to sit. “I as Edgar.. most call me Ed.” he started. “I will arrive at the station in two weeks, at least my ship will. We met when you were sent to fit the cooling in my quarters, I asked you out you said yes.. one thing went to the next and..” he reached under his uniform and pulled the chain out that held two wedding rings. “Then you died.. I can’t even remember how now the first time. There’s been so many.. and every time I’ve turned back the clock to try and save you… and now you don’t even make it to meeting me… do you believe in fate, Sofie? That everything that must, will.” -04:09 Jul 28
Sofie: “I don’t remember this…” A week. Sofie remembered a week that hasn’t happened. She reached out to touch the rings dangling from the chain. Holding them in her palm. Maybe there was a vague sense, but… Sofie looked sorry, confused, afraid. “And you’ve done this for ten years. Saving me, knowing that I am going to die one way or another…?” -04:16 Jul 28
Edgar: “If there’s one way to make it so that you don’t die, I will find it.” he said. “That’s why I gave up my life to try and prevent what happened. I cannot give up now if I do then everything I’ve done is for nothing and the price will be the same. Are you going to run?” -04:18 Jul 28
Sofie: “I am not going to run.” It annoyed her for him to suggest she would. …yet she had, hadn’t she? He told her she did. What was different now, then? Sofie was thinking so hard on it, it was making her headache worse. She pressed her hand to her forehead. “What was the price…? What did you give up?” -04:22 Jul 28
Edgar: He looked at her. “Nothing I wouldn’t gladly pay for your life.” he said. “Keeping you alive is all I have left. If you die I go back and it all starts all over again.” he gave a sigh. “And then you won’t know who I am, or even what I look like. I’ve already undone all of our time together and watched you die hundreds of times. But I can’t stop until I succeed.” -04:29 Jul 28
Sofie: “Is it worth it…? Were we worth it?” He had her stunned. Her voice coming out soft and a little confused. Sofie couldn’t imagine loving someone that much. Yet he’s given her so much time, knowing she wouldn’t live and wouldn’t remember..? There were tears streaming down her face. She didn’t know what else to say. -04:37 Jul 28
Edgar: He pulled the chain over his head and let it rest in his palm. “If it wasn’t I wouldn’t be here still trying.” he said. “The moment I give these up, the moment I give everything up then my task ends, and so do I.” he looked at her. “That is why I keep trying, and keep resetting the clock because if I don’t… then I die. That was part of the deal.” -04:41 Jul 28
Sofie: She remained silent, watching his hands before she finally looked down at her own open palms. Sofie was so sure she had her whole life figured out! Now it turns out she has an expiration date and a denial of what might’ve been. “Then what do we do about it…? I won’t run this time. Tell me what you want me to do. Surely something could be different.” -04:48 Jul 28
Edgar: He looked at her and sighed. “I don’t know.” he honestly didn’t. “Every time I try something different, something else happens and you die. The price was my soul and I can’t even save you. Do I give up and let you live the time you have left without me hanging over your shoulder?” -04:52 Jul 28
Sofie: “I don’t want to die.” she answered honestly. “What’s the whole point of even existing if you can’t choose to live? I don’t believe in fate.” Sofie frowned, scowled even. ….but that expression quickly shifted. “I never remembered what’s happened to me before, have I? This is the first time?” -04:55 Jul 28
Edgar: he looked at her. “Which is why I’ve told you everything.” he said “Do you really think it will be different this time?” he was still looking at the rings. “All I ever do is make you die sooner and I want you to remember what we had.” -04:58 Jul 28
Sofie: “I have no bloody clue if it’ll be different. But I do know that I don’t want to die, and I am not gonna let some invisible hand of fate decide whether or not I get to live. I know the truth now, right? We’ll MAKE it different.” Sofia felt better having a clear idea of what to do. She hated that ominous feeling of doom hanging over her shoulders. As for him… she remember him saving her life four times, and crying the one time he didn’t. Sofie trusted him. -05:02 Jul 28
Edgar: “If I reset again will you still remember?” he asked knowing she couldn’t know the answer. “And now everything could be different, I can’t be sure what will happen when, you’ve never remembered before and even last time things were not exactly the same. I might have to start the list again.” -05:06 Jul 28
Sofie: She grimaced. “The list of all the ways I bite the dust.” Just thinking about the damned thing made her sick. There were, apparently, an insane amount of ways a person could die. “What else are we going to do? I’m sure not going to let myself die. And you- …you said I could trust you with my life.” -05:09 Jul 28
Edgar: “And you can.” he closed his fingers around the rings and looked at her. “I’m not going to let you die and if I fail I’ll do what I have always done. That’s the one thing you can count on me for.” -05:12 Jul 28
SCENE END~! -Sofie
A FEW DAYS LATER! -Sofie
Sofie: Dying was taking a toll on her. Staying alive was not as easy as it sounded, when everything seemed to be working against you. And to still keep every memory of it…? Sofie has had very little sleep, can bring herself to eat. …at least they were now on their longest stretch of time with her memory intact. A few days. Though she might have been shaken, she still took it better than he did… maybe because for him, it had been years. “You need to relax.” -05:37 Jul 28
Edgar: He laughed at her words. “I can’t even remember the last time I did that.” he said eying the pipe and making sure she kept away from it. “You read the list right?” he asked “You know what happens here.” he looked at her his face impassive and only a tightness around his eyes betraying his fear. -05:41 Jul 28
Sofie: “Yeah and you’ve mentioned it about twenties times today. We HAVE to cross here, it’s the only way I can reach the Tacaturn boilers. We’re already beating our last record. Just ease in to it?” She was wary too, of course she was. But she hated being so afraid that she couldn’t even make a move. …they already tried that and she ended up dying in her own apartment twice. “C’mon Ed.” -05:45 Jul 28
Edgar: He followed looking around, something was going to happen he could feel it. “I’ve been on longer.” he said. “And my only comfort was you wouldn’t remember the pain of death… now you do.” he eyed the pipe at it it would be intimidated by his glare. “Lets cross.” -05:48 Jul 28
Sofie: “Yep, and if I get my way it won’t happen again.” Sofie didn’t bother to hide how it affected her. He needed to know she was safe and well, and apparently that could be anything from a simple cold to tripping over her own shoes. Sofie stepped on to the catwalk first. She didn’t bother looking at the pipe, she was more concerned about where her feet were going. These high up places always bothered her. -05:51 Jul 28
Edgar: He followed her closely ready to grab her if the pipe burst, he knew the sound it made first and was ready. “If you ever want to stop dying…” there it was and he grabbed her to push her out of the way.. but nothing happened…. -06:16 Jul 28
Sofie: Christ…! She almost lost her balance just from being grabbed! She had to still her own heartbeat even as she lay a hand on his arm. “You’ve got me. Relax. I’m not kidding, Eddie, you’re getting me all wound up when you’re jumpy…” It was now a common thing for the actual event not to happen, and then something else go off entirely. Which made him even more paranoid! And then made HER even more paranoid. -06:20 Jul 28
Edgar: He walked forwards and took her hand, he needed to feel her even if he tried to keep his face calm, then there was a straining snap and the catwalk gave way… Now he was looking scared, holding onto a cable with on hand and her hand with the other and looking down past her at the fall below. -06:24 Jul 28
Sofie: A snap and her startled scream. These damned things never failed to surprise her. Sofie held tight to his hand. …or at least was trying to! “I-I’m okay…! Still got this..!” Oh Christ, she looked down. That was one hell of a long fall. -06:30 Jul 28
Edgar: He held onto her the fear of losing her yet again in his eyes. “I’ve got you.” he said gripping tight. “I’m not letting you go.” he started to swing her back and forth back towards the uncollapsed section the way they had come and managed to deposit her onto it before smiling at her. “There we g….” the pipe blew. -06:33 Jul 28
Sofie: Safe..! And the last thing she saw was that forlorn, grim expression on his face. The pain was harsh, but brief. She was gone. …….and just like that, as if she had only blinked in a dream, she was waking up in bed without a scratch, but her mind still searing from the memory. He seemed to like making sure she came to in bed. Less of a shock for her…? Sofie groaned anyway. -06:42 Jul 28
Edgar: The knock came to her door and he waited. If she remembered she would know why he was here if she didn’t he would excuse himself. This time he had been so sure.. so close and… hope was a a now low and he was inches from tears. He didn’t know if he could take more, he wasn’t afraid, he was in hell and he knew it. What other explanation was there?” -06:48 Jul 28
Sofie: Sofie got up and staggered to the door, letting it slide open as she leaned against the wall for support. Though there was not a scratch on her, she was even more weary than before. That expression on his face… Sofie took his arm and pulled him in to the room. “Don’t be upset. I’m okay. Look see? Strong as ever.” she flexed her arms for him in a silly pose. -06:52 Jul 28
Edgar: “That’s because we’re back as square one.” he said “Back at the beginning and nothing we did made any difference.” he sighed. “You’re fine so I’m going to go and steal a fire suit just in case.” he turned and took a step away then stopped as if waiting for her to stop him, then turned back. “Got anything to drink?” -06:55 Jul 28
Sofie: “It’s making a difference. They’re small differences and it hurts like a bitch, but it’s something.” Sofie nodded. Swaying as she cross the room over to her shoddy excuse for a kitchenette to pour him a good drink. ….she poured herself one too. “I almost always hear something pop before it happens. …The unexpected ones. And you’re too tense. I might need to get you drunk before I take you places.” -06:59 Jul 28
Edgar: He sat down and rested his elbows on the table and his head clamped between his forearms. His breathing was deep and forced to be steady as he tried not to break down. She was alive.. again.. but for how long? -07:05 Jul 28
Sofie: “Edgar. ….Eddie.” She said his name softly, resting her hand on top of his head. He was a second away from flipping out. It hurt… it hurt worse seeing him like this than it did to die. Sofie pushed his glass over to him. “You have to stop freaking out every time something happens. I start to panic and then everything gets worse.” She heard it. That POP. Her back stiffened and she tried not to alert him that she was looking for it. In a split second, something in the back of her icebox blew out the back and it tilted forward. She dodged being crushed by it and it fell against the counter, sending stuff spilling everywhere. But the fall also shook stuff off the counter behind her. A floor now covered in spill and glass… It was over in seconds. A slip, a scream, a fall. A bottle’s glass stuck right through her. -07:22 Jul 28
Edgar: He was mortified, so much that he just sat there watching her die as tears streamed down his fame, then in a listless and automatic manner he pressed a button on his watch and everything was reset… then knocked on her door, tears still flowing freely down his face. -07:26 Jul 28
Sofie: Sofie was gasping when she woke up this time. Clutching at her chest almost expecting there to be a big shard of glass still sticking out of. The knock. Sofie rolled out of bed, hitting the floor when she did. Her stumble across the room was less the graceful, and so was her opening of the door. She was relieved to see him! …but not like that! That was bad. “Eddie.” Sofie pulled him inside and closed the door, immediately pulling his head down to give him an urgent kiss. Two. A third. “Stop. You have to stop… be calm. I’m right here.” She stroked his cheeks and gave him more gentle kisses between her words. -07:31 Jul 28
Edgar: He was afraid to hold her, afraid to loose her again but her kisses were making him melt again and he leaned into her putting an arm around her. “Can we live like this?: he asked. “Your deaths constantly….” he trailed off and just closed his eyes. “It wasn’t meant to be like this…” -07:34 Jul 28
Sofie: “Don’t think about death. Think about me.” Every time he panicked. Every time he was fatalistic. That was when things got worse… Sofie didn’t know how it worked! But she had to calm him down so they could speak about it. “Just put your arms around me and hold me, Eddie. Don’t let go and don’t think about anything but you and me.” With his face still in her hands, she didn’t give him any room to argue. Her short gentle kisses turned longer. Coaxing him to let go and return his kiss. -07:38 Jul 28
Edgar: He put his arms around her but did not kiss back, though he did sigh and relax considerably. “I should die instead…” he whispered as the tension slowly faded. -07:43 Jul 28
Sofie: “No. I wouldn’t turn back time to get you, I’d go all necromancy and then we’d both be soulless bastards.” she gave him a teasing smile, nudging his cheek with her nose. He was relaxing, but not enough. Another kiss, this time with a slip of her tongue against his lips. “We’re going to live. I promise you we are.” -07:47 Jul 28
Edgar: This was completely unfair. To him she was his wife, who he had watched die countless times, and to her he was some guy who had failed to save her a few times. He pulled away from the kiss and turned his head away. “You can keep that promise?” he asked letting his arms slide from her. “We should sit down.” he was tired, and wanted that drink more than anything… except maybe more kisses but those were making him feel worse when he thought about losing her. -07:52 Jul 28
Sofie: Stubborn. But he was calmer. Sofie pulled him over to the couch where she nudged him to sit down. Then she was straddling his lap. It wasn’t a sexual gesture as much as it meant a serious not-going-anywhere discussion. “I can keep that promise. I know I can because we’re both here. You’re not going to let me go, and I am not going to let you give up. Do you understand? Because I have an idea…” -07:56 Jul 28
Edgar: He didn’t want sex, he knew that much, that was why he had turned away from her kiss. “I can’t give up.” he said. “I’ve done this for too long already.” he was already looking around for the best place to push her off where she wouldn’t be killed! -08:10 Jul 28
Sofie: “Look at me. Listen.” She took his head again and forced him to face her. “I. Trust. You. I trust you. I might not remember us, but I know that a man who would defy time for me is a man I can love.” Sofie brushed a kiss against his forehead. “I know you will protect me. …but you can’t do it if you’re so full of fear that you can’t think straight. When you fear for me, things get worse. Have you noticed? Have you heard the pop or crackle when your heart starts to ache?” her fingers were brushing softly against his cheeks as she examined his face. “I don’t know how it works. …but I’m figuring it out. You have to trust me too… If you want us to live, you have to trust me.” -08:18 Jul 28
Edgar: He took hold of her shoulders and pushed to hold her away from him. “I’ve selfishly let you die time and time again because I can’t let you go. Is that the kind of man you’d love?” he asked. “I do trust you, I really do. But you’ve just died right over there in your kitchen. Maybe you should sit down and I’ll get up those drinks?” -08:23 Jul 28
Sofie: Sofie gave a wry smile, and she felt like a jerk for it. He’s had to endure that pain for so long, and she was asking for a lot. “Is it selfish? Or was it something so amazing, to lose it so soon was a crime? Are you really so afraid that I will die again… or are you more afraid that I won’t fall in love with you a second time?” Sofie wanted to know. Both because the conversation was effective at keeping him leveled out, but because she was curious too… -08:27 Jul 28
Edgar: He looked at her and looked ready to push her off anyway. “Both.” he said “I thought things would go back to how they were but they never can now. We had a dog. though I can’t remember her name. We thought you were pregnant too, I bought you a super stretchy top and we looked at catalogs. Never got the chance to find out if you really were or not. I can’t remember the dog, I can’t remember what killed you.. details slip away it feels like forever ago.” -08:31 Jul 28
Sofie: There was a sudden pang she wasn’t expecting to feel. They could of had a baby together. Sofie really would have liked that… this wasn’t helping push her away from him. If anything, it made her wrap her arms around his neck and bury her face at his shoulder. “I’m sorry I left you. Christ, I know I didn’t want to.” Sofie held on tight. If he tried to push her away again, she wouldn’t let him. “I want a chance at that life, are you going to deny it to me now because you’re afraid? Do you even still love me, Eddie? Or are you hanging on just out of guilt…?” The thought of that hurt too… What if that WAS the case. She’d have been sitting her running her mouth for nothing. -08:40 Jul 28
Edgar: “If it were guilt then I would have given up years ago.” he said. “Every time you die it hurts, hurts as much as it did the first time. I just… tune it out. There’s no limit to the amount of times I can try.” he cuddled his face against her shoulder and held onto her. “Sector five, overlooking the hydroponics farm, that’s where we lived, you earned most of the money but with my income we’d go on dates all over the station and once planetside.” he sighed and just held her. “I want that more than anything. That’s why I hold on.” -08:48 Jul 28
Sofie: “Then lets have it now?” Sofie sat up to rest her forehead against his. “Screw death and fate and time too. I’ll die every day, I don’t care. Be the man I am going to fall in love with. Take me on dates. Even if we’re stuck in this moment forever.” -08:53 Jul 28
Edgar: He looked at her. “Listen to yourself. do you really want to live when you die over and over again? We could be on a date, or having sex, or sleeping next to each other and we both die so I can’t come back.” his hands still on her shoulder he moved her off of him, to tried to anyway. “I just saw you die, that does not help any sort of mood.” -08:59 Jul 28
Sofie: “Are you so lost that you aren’t seeing progress when you’re finally getting it…?” This time she was moving herself off him. Sofie was pissed off. She couldn’t ease his depression if he didn’t WANT it to be ease! Did he want to just continue as they had been? Her unaware and him dying on the inside? She stalked to the kitchen to get those drinks. Repeating the process of setting out glasses and pouring, if this time a little less gentle. “Have it your way then. No. I don’t want to live if I am just going to die. I’ll take my next death. You don’t have to bring me back. Go on…! Get tenses up and afraid! Let it rip on me!” -09:05 Jul 28
Edgar: He stood and looked at her, then turned and walked to the door without a word, opened it and stepped out. If she was determined to die she would do it without his help, he gave up, slowly he removed the chain from around his neck and let it drop to the floor. His benefactor would come… soon. -09:08 Jul 28
Sofie: Sofie was ready to spit in death’s face. She pulled out several kitchen knives just to toss on the counter as a taunt before she realized he had walked out. …Just left. Quit on her just like that. After all that time and all that struggle, to walk out the door… Like hell he was! Stubborn ass! Sofie abandoned her kitchen of knives the fetch him back! -09:12 Jul 28
Edgar: Next to go was the watch, dropped to the floor. The thing that let him reverse time gone. If she wanted to die… There was a popping sound and he felt a presence. He wasn’t afraid, he was somehow knew it would end like this. There was only a mild curiosity as to how HE would die. -09:16 Jul 28
Sofie: Sofie found the chain and rings by her door first. …that almost made her cry. Immediately they were snatched up and the chain draped around her neck. She kept stomping after him. “Eddie!” -09:21 Jul 28
Edgar: There was a small explosion down the corridor, it’s cause immaterial. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as he watched a shard of metal tumble through the air towards him. His heart, that’s where it would hit, he knew it, he could feel it as if it had already happened. Closer, and closer… He heard her voice, equally slowed and turned, feeling like he was floating… and when he looked back he found he was, a spray of blood comically sticking to his chest as his arms lazily jerked out in front of him. He waited as a piece of rib spun though the air, his rib, before he hit the ground on his back, blood raining down on him like rain. “Sofie…” he called out, the volume of his voice pathetic at best. “You don’t have to die anymore.” -09:29 Jul 28
Sofie: She skidded to a stop and dropped to her knees besides him. Her eyes wide from the panic. Blood had become a part of her daily life, but this was his blood. “Eddie, you stubborn ass! What have you done!” Sofie searched him for the watch. It wasn’t on him! He dropped it like the chain. She searched for it! -09:35 Jul 28
Edgar: He tried to pull her back to shake his head at her but he was too weak, and cold. His hands were shaking an he couldn’t keep them up nor could he lift his head, or think. He was lapsing into shock and he wanted his last sight to be her face. -09:37 Jul 28
Sofie: “Got it…!” She put the blasted thing on as she crawled back to him. Over him in a second. Now she understood that face he made at her. The grief, the forlorn look. The only difference was that she had no intentions of giving up. “Eddie, I’m here… How do I use it? Tell me!” -09:40 Jul 28
Edgar: He coughed and blood ran down his cheek. He fumbled with her arm the blood pooling in his throat not allowing him to speak. then feeling blood on the watch face and her arm he popped the face open that revealed a large number of gears and a button, then his hand slid off of her and his head flopped to the side, his body giving a final convulse expelling more blood from his mouth, then he lay still. -09:45 Jul 28
Sofie: “Eddie…!” she choked on his name, shoving him twice before her shaky hands fumbled to turn the dial and press the buttons. Before she could even blink everything shifting so quickly she felt like she was going to be sick. Sofie may have even passed out in the process. When she awoke, she was… in bed…? Not the apartment bed, though… “Eddie…?” she mumbled. -09:55 Jul 28
Edgar: The Labrador skidded on the carpet as it rounded the corner into the bedroom and barked excitedly rolling over and waving it’s paw in the air before a foot appeared around the corner and straitened the carpet again and the rest of the person carrying a tray of breakfast appeared. “Morning sleepy.” he said smiling wide at her and placing the tray on the bed for her to sit up and felt herself. “Feeling queasy.” He grabbed a piece of toast and nibbled on it looking at her and grinning. “You look like you slept well and its your day off, that’s why I though I’d surprise you.” -10:01 Jul 28
Sofie: “Cheetos!” …she knew the dog’s name! But it wasn’t the dog that had her so captivated… Sofie flung her blanket off so quickly she almost knocked the tray over. She DID knock HIM over when she tackled him rough enough to send them both rolling to the floor. The dog quite happy to steal the lost piece of toast. “You’re alive…!” Sofie kissed him hard, and could taste the butter from his toast. -10:07 Jul 28
Edgar: He chuckled and put his arms around her. “I was only in the kitchen for what? Twenty minutes?” he said brushing his hand against her cheek and kissing her back. “Ready to send a search party already hmm? Motherhood got you that worried?” -10:09 Jul 28
Sofie: “You don’t remember…” Sofie was confused. …motherhood…! She remembered that too. Remembered their life, their wedding day… that day they met when she was called in to fix something for him and he hit on her the whole time… Sofie grinned wide. “We’re married… and alive. I don’t ever want to leave you, Eddie.” -10:13 Jul 28
Edgar: “Of course we’re alive.” he said massaging a spot on her forehead with his thumb. “That bump to the head you took yesterday left you feeling okay?” he kissed the spot and looked at her concerned. “Come on toast is getting cold.” -10:19 Jul 28
Sofie: “Bump to the head…? I don’t remember that…” Her head was a little sore but… she had died a dozen times, her whole body felt a little weird! -10:23 Jul 28
Edgar: “Yeah.” he said looking concerned again and moving to lift her onto the bed. “You fell and hit you head on the table, that’s why the doctor ordered you to spend the rest of the day on bed and sleep it off. I’d love to know what you were dreaming of. You kept talking in your sleep, but then my dream wasn’t exactly boring either.” -10:26 Jul 28
Sofie: Sofie slipped her arms around his neck and held him close. Had the whole thing been a weird dream…? She rest her head against his shoulder and laughed sheepishly. “I guess I’m a little confused. I dreamed I was still working in maintenance and you came back in time to save my life… It was a little sad…” -10:31 Jul 28
Edgar: He picked up a piece of tomato and pushed it against her lips to feed it to her. “Come on you need to eat we’ve got a big date today.” he leaned in close to whisper into her ear. “Or did you forget is out anniversary?” he chuckled playfully and looked at the bedside clock his sleeve being pulled back as he reached for a piece of bacon to reveal the watch, already almost transparent and then it faded away entirely. “I’ll make sure today ends off happily… if you know what I mean.” -10:37 Jul 28