towerofanimus | [00|01]

Entry tags:

[ou] henry townshend

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Characters: Henry Townshend and you.
Setting: Floor Thirteen.
Format: Starting with prose, will match responses!
Summary: Synopsis and exploration, Henry is once again left with too many questions and no reason why.
Warnings: Possible disturbing imagery, oh SH protags and their memories. Also TL;DR.

The sleep paralysis had been the worst part. When his eyes wouldn't open when he felt himself snap awake, expecting to see the ceiling of his newly moved into apartment. His mind had worked over time the longer the seconds dragged on, keeping him still in the dark and he saw the stark red lines of veins running through his walls, sickly mounds forming on top of them, pulsating and squelching, distracting, until a gray skeletal hand suddenly ripped it's way through --

and then his vision was flooded with light and he was greeted to a sight sadly no more comforting than the nightmare he lived through. A strange room with three untouched beds, a trunk with some of his things, and two pieces of paper that explained very little of the things he needed to know.

Let's all be happy here?

Henry had hoped he was finally finished with strangeness and misfortune once he had helped Eileen move out and gotten a new place of his own.

His first day had been a quiet one, of following the letters advice and going to the cafeteria, taking stock of his things (getting out of that suit) and everything he knew. It wasn't much and his list of answers was rather short. There were other people here that he could talk to, ask questions of, but unable to stop feeling the collar around his neck -- what had he become, a pet -- he decided to take more time for himself.

So today he is exploring and without a trace of irony he can't seem to leave the thirteenth floor.

He wasn't expecting a cathedral. Then again, when had anything that happened to him in the last month been expected? Not a particularly religious man, Henry's still always found the aesthetic appeal of churches. There's a peaceful quality they seem to emit too, even when one is lacking in faith. That church in Silent Hill had done the same, his last visit, despite the evil the town itself housed. Was it even really the town or just the people that had come out of it? He still didn't know and the pictures he once hung up with pleasure were abandoned quickly in the trash.

...did any of that even matter? He didn't have a shred of evidence that town was also the reason he was here now. His world was destroyed? How could that even be true? He feels so tired, he ends up taking a seat in the back.

"What am I doing here...?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A clunk and a tinnish bang were the first heralds that something was coming. Even with the church's strange, almost muting quality for sound, the yelp that accompanied the racket managed to get through the church. The source? Luke had tripped up the stairs, coming up to the church. His bag was sprawled at his side, but luckily not spilling out down all the way to floor twelve.

"...bugger all..."

Luke let himself the momentary grump, getting up in stages, and straightening his hat. He'd scraped his knee on the stairs, but that was basically a daily occurrence with him anyway.

Henry had heard the clatter and bang surprisingly easily. It had taken him off guard after soaking in the still silence the church had offered. He'd thrown a glance over his shoulder before getting to his feet, noticing the sprawl of a small body at the entrance. Before he could move too fast the body was getting up and as he got closer, oh, it was a kid.

...the fact that there were children here also was another thing that bothered him. Children being taken from their homes and he couldn't help but think of what he learned about the Wish House, what had been masquerading as an orphanage and the water tower that stood in the distance, no. He didn't want to think about that anymore. Nor was now the time.

Instead, Henry made his way over and by habit leaned down when he spoke, hands on his knees to steady himself and bring himself closer to the boys' height.

"Are you okay...?"

He noticed the spillage of the bag on the floor beside him and also made a gesture as if to help him clean up.

Luke seemed to lean back some when Henry bent to his height, clearly not used to people coming to his level. He almost looked like he was going to spout out something equally grumpy for a moment, but shook his head 'yes' instead.

"It's just a scuff, nothing I haven't been through before." Luke gave his knee a quick look, and frowned when he noticed it was pricking with blood. Stupid stairs.

More important than that was the fact that his mostly-empty thermos was rocking slowly back and forth on the stairs still, with its two cups not far from it. Luke scooped up the little white bags that had also spilled out first, stuffing them in his satchel before Henry could help with them. Those weren't infinite, and had been hard-earned...he didn't want to waste or lose any of the tea ingredients. He was more okay with accepting help with the rest of the spilled goods. "Um, thank you."

The knee doesn't go unnoticed. If he's not bleeding too heavily the blood will slow and clot on its own. Now that Henry's right in front of him, he can see he isn't too young and knows how to handle a scrape, so he'll give him a nod.

His lips will quirk slightly at his next response before he heads over to the still rocking thermos and cups on the stairs, bending down and picking them up easily. Handing them over, he'll gather up whatever else is left scattered on the floor.

"Here you go."

"...thank you." You already said that, Luke.

For some reason the kid seemed a bit stunned by Henry's presence as he sorted his things back in to his bag, hovering for a moment on the last thing- his harmonica. Instead of tucking it away, Luke just held on to it, shuffling sort of awkwardly like he wasn't sure what to do. What was with this oppressive atmosphere?

"...this place gives me the willies." He wasn't sure why he was talking about that, honestly. "Uh, but sorry if I disturbed you or anything."

Despite the fact he hasn't seen the entirety of the tower, he would think the whole damn place would. Is he here by himself with no one to look after him? How selective were they with taking people? He's going to get a headache thinking about this.

"It's a big place, I don't think anyone really expected this to be here," he shrugs slightly. There were worse places to turn up unexpectedly, he knows; he has, too many times to count.

"It's different... from the churches I've seen before."

Not just in style but in feeling, it wasn't unnerving and it was almost settling, the way the quiet seemed to wash over him.

"Are all the floors this..." What? Out of place? Safe? This place feels more safe than it should, when he knows danger has to be lurking in the tower somewhere. "Surprising?"

"No, I mean...a couple people loiter here. I usually try to sneak by so I don't disturb them..." Luke rubbed the metal of his harmonica, glancing around to see if anyone else was about. Didn't seem so.

"The only church I've ever been to is Temple Church, by the Thames." And that had been due to historical significance, not any religious means. The architecture had been quite interesting. "I really wouldn't know."

Luke pursed his lips at Henry's inquiry, seeming to consider his options while sighing out of the side of his mouth. Eventually, his eyes pointed that way too. "There's a floor below this one that has no walls at all."

Hopefully, that'd answer his question.

...what the hell? No walls? In a tower of all places? The first thing that comes to mind is it sounds like a death trap. An easily accessible one, at that.

...yet a part of him wants to see for himself, how it's structured exactly to work and still be another level.

Everything still felt so surreal.

"Um, I'm Henry," he decides to introduce himself, it can't hurt, right? "I came here yesterday, so I'm not really... use to anything yet." Use to. Did he want to be use to this place? No, not at all and he didn't want to find out if he would get a chance to.

"Oh, you're new too?" Luke frowned, crossing his arms and knitting his brows. "That's intriguing...maybe they do bring people here in batches. I suppose I should look in to this."

The kid looked up from his musing, dropping an arm and extending his other out to shake. "I'm Luke. I've only been here for two weeks, maybe. Time's a bit funny around here. It's not really worth growing accustomed to. It's quite boring around here, when all's said and done."

Henry will lean down a bit again at the offered hand and gently takes it, his larger hand practically engulfs the boys and he's careful not to squeeze too tight in the handshake.

"Boring?"

Was this place really all that quiet? Two weeks is a good stretch of time and it knocks him off balance to hear such a thing.

"You've never seen anything dangerous happen around here? Anything frightening?"

Perhaps he's paranoid, especially after everything he's been through, but he finds that hard to believe. Nothing?

The mention of frightening things made Luke abruptly freeze up for a moment, before shaking his head no rather hastily. He had to be brave. The Professor wasn't here to watch out for him, so he had to handle it himself.

"W-well. When I arrived, the power was out...and I can hear the others talking about these weird ghosts sometimes. But, I personally didn't see or hear anything."

Which totally had nothing to do with the fact that he'd hid in his room the entire time. The harmonica was still being fiddled with, now more than ever. "...people, died. But they came back to life when the lights returned." Luke was clearly not enjoying this conversation.

...shit.

He shouldn't have asked a child that, no matter how old he carried himself.

People had died here. They came back but they had died. A pit that was slowly forming in his stomach makes itself known here. Heavier and fuller and he's done asking those sorts of questions now.

He bites his lower lip briefly,

"...do you want to sit down?"

Luke's head shot up, looking at Henry with an unreadable expression, before softening to that border between discontent and feigned bravery. "No, I'm fine." He straightened himself out, and finally put away his harmonica, readopting his mature attitude. "The people come back, right? So it...can't be that bad."

Luke puffed another sigh, looking off at the pews. "Um, but if you want to sit down, I will too." Totally not a hint.

It's a load of bull but Henry's not going to call him out on it. Instead he'll look back to where he was sitting before and gesture to the area with another nod.

Wordlessly, he'll reclaim his seat, forearms on his knees with his hands cupped together.

Luke made some sort of relieved face when Henry motioned back, and Luke followed quite eagerly. His bag was a noisy clanking mess as he plopped down, but he didn't seem too bothered by the noise. The church mostly gave him the creeps because it was so quiet.

He itched at his scraped knee absent-mindedly, searching for a way to fill the silence, before coming upon the easiest subject he could think of. "How far down have you gone in the tower?"

"Not too far... I've gone down to the cafeteria but I've only stopped in here and the floor below it."

He'd heard there was a library, he definitely wanted to spend some time there.

"Most of the other floors are strange anyhow. It's an architect's nightmare in here." Luke gave a sour pout that was less than serious, before brightening a bit and pretty much reading Henry's mind nonliterally. "Oh, but the library is nice. I've mostly been sitting there reading, to be honest."

~~Since nobody would give him a damn puzzle up in this joint grumble grumble.<.strike>~~

Finally something good to hear, he might as well keep it up.

"What sorts of things have you been reading about?"

"Archimedes principles and mathmatics."

Said with a totally straight face.

...he's not really sure what to say to that.

Definitely not an ordinary kid.

"Oh."

Yeah, he's got nothin'.

"Archimedes invented the loculus Archimedius." Luke seemed quite unaware that he was going over Henry's head a bit. " That's one of my favorite sorts of puzzles."

It took him a moment to consider. "...though, I suppose it is a bit strange to be studying at a time like this. It helps calm my nerves."

"...puzzles?"

Just keep asking question Henry, just keep asking questions.

Questions, a protagonist's best weapon.

"Puzzles, like- oh, how did he tell it?" Luke took a moment, seeming to think, before a mischievous grin came over him. At least the kid was feeling better.

"Let's say there's ten siblings living together. You're the eighth child. The oldest daughter is the second son's younger sister and the third son's older sister. The fourth son is the second daughter's older brother and the oldest daughter's little brother. There are no boys in between the third and fourth daughters."

Deep breath. Man, that was a mouthful! "So, is the third-youngest child a boy or a girl?"

For a moment, Henry's visibly caught off guard before his brow furrows, thinking through what he's been told. His stare is intense when he thinks but eventually he looks up at the ceiling, blinking once as the image slots itself into place in his mind.

"...a boy?"

"Exactly!" By now, Luke was positively beaming. "It's a trick question, a lot of people have trouble with that because they secondguess it~!"

Luke kicked his legs some in his seat, gripping the edge of the pew. "I'd give you a prize, but I don't think I have anything you'd want, unless you like gum."

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...oh, Luke.

Shoutas gotta cute- I mean.

Pfffffffffff

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i am so sorry

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...okay he is cute.

And thus Luke conquers the mind of yet another- I mean.

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