The rocky bits, Tuesday morning

[designateddadfriend]

Travis had spent most of yesterday and a good chunk of the night making sure the fire station was as prepped as it could be to absolutely any disaster he could imagine. Earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, even an asteroid strike. He had at least a week's worth of fuel for the generator and vehicles, dry goods and potable water to support up to fifty people through next Monday, sand bags, first aid supplies, epipens, antibiotics, insulin, saline, loads of warm blankets, sunscreen, chemical heat- and coldpacks, bug spray, oxygen tanks and masks, and a hell of a lot of spare fire extinguishers. He was, he believed, as prepared as he could be.

When the ash started to fall from the sky, he stepped out, holding a cloth over his nose and mouth, and scanned the horizon, assuming the volcano he was sure he'd heard rumors about had started to erupt.

Instead, there was some sort of...eerie purple glow coming from the rocky bits across from the station.

"Aliens," he muttered. "I definitely am not prepared for an alien invasion."

Still, never let it be said that anyone from Station 19 in Seattle let nerves keep them from investigating anywhere they could possibly help. He headed across the street, ignoring the mounting dread in his belly, and poked one of the glowing rocks with a stick.

"That's just not right."

[OOOOPEEEEEN! Did you know that Travis canonically gets arrested for assault after an angry bar fight? YOU DO NOW. Come discover the rage-making rocks with him, I dare you]

Comments

[hatesparadise]

Steve had gone out on his dumb morning exercise even in this, therefore Danny was out trying to drag him home. It was sort of their thing. They traded off on it.

"Do I even wanna know?" Danny asked, spotting the new guy poking at a rock.

[designateddadfriend]

"It's glowing," Travis said, stepping back a little so Danny could get a look. "I'm no geologist, but...I'm pretty sure that's unusual. Right?"

[hatesparadise]

"So, you're gonna poke at it?" Travis. Travis, no.

[designateddadfriend]

With a stick, Danny! It wasn't like he was doing it with his bare hands!

"If it's going to explode when something touches it, it's better if the person doing the touching is prepared and at a safe distance."

[hatesparadise]

"At stick distance," Danny countered. "I can assure you, radiation doesn't care about stick distance."

He'd know for sure when he dealt with his first dirty bomb!

[designateddadfriend]

"An entire stretch of the island is full of glowing purple rocks," Travis said. "If they're radioactive, we're all already screwed anyway."

[hatesparadise]

"I hate this place," Danny sighed, looking along the line of those dumb rocks. If Steve was near here, he was gonna yell.

[designateddadfriend]

"Right?!" Travis kind of loved you in this moment, Danny. "Finally, someone is reacting to all of this appropriately!"

[hatesparadise]

"Everyone else acting like this is normal and reasonable? It's some kinda Stockholm Syndrome, I swear to god."

[designateddadfriend]

"Summer yesterday? Got offended when I told her it was crazy that these things happen on a predictable weekly schedule."

[hatesparadise]

"Probably because she's been here too long." Or came from an even crazier world.

[designateddadfriend]

Or both those things!

"And she's a bartender," Travis allowed. His gaze was being drawn back to the rocks. "Not a first responder."

He hefted his stick, but didn't poke again yet. "So...you ever seen anything like this around here before?"

[hatesparadise]

Well. Bartenders saw Some Shit too.

Danny sighed heavily again. "No, no I have not. I can check any reports on it once I get to the station."

[sharp_man]

The rocks were very visible from his house, so Hannibal had taken a minute away from his planning with his contractor to wander a little closer.

Now he was just watching this fight and wondering if he should help the polite firefighter, try to ingratiate himself with the police, or simply get his first aid kit out for whoever lost.

[designateddadfriend]

The polite firefighter was not nearly so polite just now.

He would be very, very embarrassed a little later when the rage rocks wore off, though.

[sharp_man]

It was fascinating, really, the amount of rage the average person could hold. Hannibal did wonder if this were a natural or island-induced thing, but he wasn't particularly anxious to do anything to find out. He'd just watch the fight and either critique their moves or learn from them.

[designateddadfriend]

Danny won out, mostly by virtue of not being fueled by directionless rage, and Travis eventually found himself slumped on the road, rubbing the back of his neck and waiting for the adrenaline spike to fade and his pulse to slow back down.

The pervading dread of the island was not making that an easy or quick process at all.

[sharp_man]

Hannibal strolled up after the fight was done and gestured at Travis's neck. "Are you injured?"

[designateddadfriend]

"Only my pride," Travis said, letting his hands drop back in his lap. "And I guess probably a bruise or two. I'll be fine." He glanced up at Hannibal sheepishly. "I guess you saw all that, huh."

[sharp_man]

"Enough to know I don't want to touch those rocks," Hannibal said. He offered Travis a hand up. "Would you care for some tea or coffee? At my hotel or the coffee shop," he clarified, "the gas and electric are still off here."

[designateddadfriend]

"I should probably keep an eye on the station...." Travis said. As much because of an impulse to hide as any sense of civic duty.

[sharp_man]

And Hannibal had reason to appreciate that manning the station might be a good job. "I'll bring you some, then," he offered. "This is your first experience of the island's...unique dangers, isn't it?"

That usually meant buying someone a drink or three, but not while they were on duty.

[designateddadfriend]

"On Sunday, I would have said 'no'."

He'd had sex with an alien thanks to pollen! That was a unique--well, situation rather than danger. His night with Stark had been lovely, all told.

Travis shook his head. "Come on in, then. You can see what I've done with the place."

[sharp_man]

Hannibal grinned. "You've already seen what I've done with mine," he said, gesturing wryly at his house. "I'll meet you there, then. Coffee or tea?"

[designateddadfriend]

"Coffee," Travis said. "I'll provide the donuts."