05 | voice | day 108

[intelligently]

I know that this sounds odd. [ And isn't really a question that people generally ask. Also what isn't odd, around here? It's her justification ] But with what's been happening I'd like to know.

[ There's a pause. It's a touchy subject, obviously, and she's not even sure where the conversations might go ]

I want to know about your experience with death. [ She's going to try and go slow on this. As slow as Lydia Martin wanting to know something can. But things are pretty messed up. She feels pretty messed up. And she'll even tell her reasons for asking if she's asked ]

Not just if you know someone has died but... if you've seen it. [ A two second pause ] Or nearly died.

It's happened here, and could have happened a lot more. [ If Dirk hadn't put out that useful message. People were still taken but at least they were warned ]

But- Can people come back? [ It might sound crazy, but it's happened before. It happened to Jackson - twice, although that was a supernatural thing. But it leaves the possibility, right? ]

( PRIVATE: Allison Argent | "Stiles" Stilinski )

I'm going to the library. Hopefully it's as useful as it should be.

Comments

private video

[nedofpies]

[ Ned honestly doesn't even know where to start. ] Sometimes when people die here, they stay dead and don't come back, like normal. [ He is thinking of Wallie. He doesn't want to let himself hope that it will be the same as it was with Jesse, that he'll show up after a week or two with absolutely no idea what had happened. If he starts hanging his hopes on things like that, he's going to go absolutely out of his mind ]

But sometimes they do come back. It happened to a guy I used to live with, and, uh... [ He hesitates here; it's not something he talks about much, not something that a lot of people know about - just him, Erik, Charles, and River. Even Daneel doesn't know ] ...to me. I, um. Died. [ He chews on the inside of his bottom lip, decides that is probably plenty of detail for the purposes of this discussion, unless she asks for more. ]

[ Though he and Lydia had found Wallie's body and he'd refused absolutely to touch it or go near it, he hadn't given the reasons why. But with her asking, now, he wants to be honest. It's just a bit peculiar, even now, revealing his powers to others, not knowing how they'll react, if they'll treat him differently after. He wants to let her process the whole I-died-and-came-back thing before he dives into an explanation of his unusual ability ]

private voice

[intelligently]

You died?

[ Lydia sounds surprised. She is. Other than Jackson (and knowing that she'd resurrected Peter stupid Hale) she hadn't seen or spoken to anyone that had died before. Until now. And it seemed that it wasn't just limited to him, either ]

When?

[ She's not asking how, it's too traumatic no doubt, and she's not sure that she wants to know how, either. But she might ask how he came back, if he knows ]

[nedofpies]

Forty-six days ago. [ Maybe it's weird that he answers her down to the day, but at least he doesn't go so far as hours and minutes, even though he probably could. He notices that she doesn't ask how, and is grateful for it, offers other, easier information instead ] Apparently, I was only dead for maybe a quarter of an hour, but I uh. Was definitely very dead. [ She's just going to have to take his word on that. He says it with plenty of conviction, and a certain amount of discomfort ] Things were a bit strange that week and I had these healing powers, so it was probably that. Other people... it's taken days before they show up again, without a scratch on them, and they don't know how or why.

[ Even if Ned's accustomed to thinking of life and death as less unchangeable than others, that had still been startling to him. He still doesn't know how their captors managed it. ]

There's something else, too. [ He draws in a long breath, says in a rush ] I've got this thing. This... ability. When I touch dead things, they come back to life. I don't really know why, though best guess according to people I've met here is that I'm some kind of mutant and it's in my DNA. That's why I wouldn't- it's why I made you check for his pulse. If I'd touched him, he would have come back to life, and then I would have had to kill him again in a minute or else let someone else die. That's how it works.

[intelligently]

[ Lydia isn't quite sure what to say to this, first to his statement about dying, and then about his power. If she thought about it more (and she wasn't thinking in depth right now) Lydia would be able to understand why he didn't touch Wallie. It sounded a little horrific in itself ]

Did your... thing, was that was brought you back to life?

[ She doesn't know if it's a healing power, it sounds it (sort of) or if it was an experiment by the people that brought them here. She doesn't know what she'd rather think it was, either ]

[nedofpies]

[ It's not exactly the question he'd been expecting, but he's secretly glad that she seems ... at least to believe him, and be taking it all in. Not telling him that he's lying or a freak or any variety of other colorful scenarios ]

No, it wasn't. Everything was sort of... upside-down, that week. I didn't have my usual power. I know, because I tested it. I could touch dead stuff and nothing happened. But I could make things grow, just by touching the ground and sort of wanting it to happen, and whenever I got hurt- [ He says it as if it happened rather a lot, even though it was only for the space of a few days ] -I healed.

But like I said, everything was insane that week. Daneel turned into a human and River turned into a tree spirit and half my friends were vampires for some reason.

[intelligently]

Has that happened before? Everything changing like that?

[ She doesn't know if she wants to believe it but she does. It's weird enough that it could happen but horrifying enough that it shouldn't - that it's wrong ]

[nedofpies]

Not just like that, no. But... unusual occurrences of one kind or another are common enough. But you probably already got that. [ What with the weird dreams and the weird sea monster and the weird... everything ]

Lydia... [ Ned isn't quite sure it's polite to bring it up, but his curiosity (and concern) is getting the better of him ] Can I just ask- why the question and answer session about all things morbid?

[intelligently]

[ Lydia nods. She's starting to figure it out, anyway - from what's been said and the things she'd seen. This place is another strange place

But then she just looks at him or at the video, just for a moment. She'd expected someone to ask sooner or later ]

I keep finding bodies. Not just Wallie but I found one at home, and apparently I'll find more. [ If what Stiles said is true, anyway, and she believes him. He wouldn't make up this crazy crap ]

[nedofpies]

[ Ned listens, running a hand over his mouth. Finding bodies is something he's done a lot of, too, in his life, but the way she says it makes it sound different. He thinks back to how she'd behaved and asks ] Do you always go into a trance like that, beforehand?

[ He doesn't even question how she knows she is going to find more. Stranger things happen around here than getting a glimpse into one's future. ]

[intelligently]

[ Lydia nods slowly ] I did before. I'd got into my car to go to the store and ended up at the pool.

[ Sounded dangerous, right? Apparently she could still drive and do so well despite everything ]

[nedofpies]

[ Yes, she'd said something about driving at the time. So from the sound of it, the trance state and the stumbling across bodies are in some way connected, and not a result of any tampering from the scientists, since it happened to her back home. Ned tries to think of any similar cases he's heard about, or what it could mean, but he has no frame of reference for this ]

That sounds... alarming. For you, I mean.

[intelligently]

Yeah. It probably wouldn't be as bad if there weren't bodies at the end of it.

[ It would still be bad, and frightening - or more weird, but less scary and freaking-out-y than having a body there too ]

[nedofpies]

Dead bodies generally spoil things, yes. [ Ned knows the feeling behind that statement all too well. He wants to reassure Lydia as much as possible, without trivializing what must be a pretty frightening and unpleasant thing for her ] But you're not killing them, or causing them to be killed, or really harming them in any way. You're just uncovering them, right? [ That has to be some comfort ]

[intelligently]

There's that. [ It was the smallest upside, anyway ] I just wish I wasn't doing that either.