voice | murder .9

[heltersskelter]

[he doesn't post to this forum very often, but when he does there's always some meat to it. Tate likes to see what people will do, he's a provocateur, digging at a wound to see what it'll look like as it bleeds and the reaction it'll get.

this is nothing like that.

his hands are trembling and he's bitten his nails down to the quick. there's something raw and volatile in his voice, and it shakes when he speaks. less like tears and more like fear.]

I can't find— I can't find Hayley.

Comments

[culver]

Tate?

[heltersskelter]

She's not here. [there's a soft sound, footsteps as he paces. he's in her room, and it's empty.] She's gone.

[culver]

You looked everywheree?

voice;

[cons]

[ there's a short period where she thinks of playing optimistic, volunteering to look around more. but Tate wouldn't come on here and say that unless he's already exhausted all the options, really looked.. ]

M'sorry, kid.

voice;

[heltersskelter]

No, this isn't— she said she wouldn't. She said.

voice;

[cons]

[ there are 101 tactful things she could say here, but instead- ]

Brendan said the same.

[ comes out and it sounds more sad that it should ]

We can't control whether we stay or go, you know that. She didn't.. intentionally leave you.

[ throwing logic at his face won't help either, idiot ]

Where are you?

[no reply]

[hallowedqueen]

[ Oh.

This can't be good.

This could never be good.

And he isn't responding because the last thing he wants to do in a moment like this is remind Tate that he's here. He will be hiding. Elsewhere. Permanently. ]

voice.

[unsoldiered]

[That's

not good.]

Do you know if her pod was empty?

voice.

[heltersskelter]

[his voice cracks] She's gone.

voice.

[unsoldiered]

['Gone' means a lot of things to him, man.]

Comm messages not going through, then.

voice;

[sweetmotherofgod]

[He's been here long enough to have worked his way through all the have you trieds she can think of. Tries Hayley's communicator, and knowing it would bounce doesn't stop the little pang when it does. Hayley seemed like a good kid.]

Oh, Tate. I'm sorry.

What do you need?

voice;

[heltersskelter]

You're not sorry. [he bites back.] You don't know sorry. [but he sounds like he's not sure if he wants to get angry or sob]

audio;

[tumbleweeds]

Come here.

audio; locked

[20mentholkools]

Jaye.

audio;

[heltersskelter]

No.

[but it sounds petty, childish, a boy having a temper tantrum; but somehow, it doesn't seem to invite to ignore him. like if he was ignored he would scream louder.]

voice;

[20mentholkools]

[They've done this before. The last time Tate lost someone, he'd flipped, turned angry. Riddick can hear this time's worse, and he should stay back, watch the inevitable without getting involved. But he doesn't.]

She's gone.

[He doesn't phrase it like a question, even though he doesn't bother to check the girl's comms or anything related. Other people have already done that.]

voice;

[heltersskelter]

[Riddick had told him it was better to be alone. he knew he should have listened, but how can you control that? when someone got under your skin like a blade?]

Did you fucking know?

[it sounds like an accusation]

voice;

[constructum]

[ as much as she wasn't sure what to make of hayley, ariadne did care about her in some unknown way. so the idea that she was perhaps gone as well, only seemed to cause a pang in her heart for herself as well as tate. ]

It's better that she went home.

[ and it's only meant to sound as caring as she could, as she could only assume how he must have felt. ]

voice;

[heltersskelter]

It's NOT BETTER!

[something drops off the edge of him when he hears this, like static flicking on a television and when he wails it's something awful, like a banshee. in the room he stands, the light flickers.]

SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO STAY WITH ME! SHE SAID SHE WOULD!

[voice]

[jurisimpudent]

[His voice is urgent.]

You're certain she went in before the jump?

[voice]

[heltersskelter]

I watched her I watched her get in there and she didn't come back out—

video;

[sugarpills]

[ Okay, so Ryan doesn't know Tate all that well. But there's just something that he can recognize.

And (stupidly enough) he doesn't know what to say. ]

I'm sorry.

...Do you need anything?

voice;

[heltersskelter]

I need her, I need her back.

[video]

[vivelavenir]

[He remembers you from the gardens.

There's of course no easy solution or good thing to say in this situation, but...]

I'm sorry.

I hope that she returns quickly.

[Maybe there's that bit of hope?]

voicel

[heltersskelter]

Returns?

[he stops and he trembles and he turns on that little bit of hope like something rabid; but it lasts for only a second and he sounds just as despondent a second later.]

She wasn't supposed to go at all.