First little lie ♰ Keep me breathing as the water rises up again

[beingdifferent]

[The first image the camera captures is a pair of large brown eyes, blinking sleepily before widening. They dart back and forth as their owner pulls the communicator back, showing a small pale face framed by dark curls, mouth curled into a frown. Zoom back a little more and the starry expanse from the deck is visible in the background.

The girl in the foreground bites at her bottom lip, licks it, looks around again before frowning at the communicator. She pulls it up closer, staring at the screen, and speaks one word with a distinct note of fear in her voice.]

...Mommy?

Comments

[beingdifferent]

The people here say such strange things. This isn't a lie? Like when Danny said the woods were haunted?

[routemistress]

It's not, no, but I wouldn't blame you if you didn't believe it. Lots of new passengers don't till they see for themselves.

It is very strange 'ere. That's why I like it. Most of the people are pretty good, though.

[beingdifferent]

They said this was supposed to be a place for bad people. A prison.

[routemistress]

People who've done bad things, at least. I'm not entirely sure I believe in bad people - or good ones, come to that.

Most prisons are just for dumping problem people in to keep 'em out of the way. That's not what we do 'ere. We're 'ere to give problem people a do-over; time and space to work out what went wrong and 'ow to right it.

Makes it very interesting.

[beingdifferent]

What did you do to be here?

[routemistress]

[She grins.]

Volunteered, lovey.

[beingdifferent]

Are you one of the people in charge?

[routemistress]

...Yes and no. I'm a warden, aye. That means I get assigned a prisoner to work with. I'm not in charge of the boat, you understand; the boat does 'er own thing. Does mean I'm in charge of getting between anyone on a murderous rampage and any bugger they're rampaging at, and it means you can come to me if you need owt.

[beingdifferent]

They do that here? Murder each other?

[routemistress]

Now and again, aye. Doesn't stick, but that doesn't always stop people.

[beingdifferent]

How can it not stick?

[routemistress]

No one stays dead 'ere. Getting killed 'urts, and you feel like crap for a week, but you come back.

'Elps people get tired of murdering, in my experience.

[beingdifferent]

Shouldn't you stop people from murdering each other in the first place?

[routemistress]

Mostly, we do. But no one can be everywhere at once, not even me. And you can't keep someone chained up just on the off chance they decide to kill someone. That's no way to get someone to change.

[beingdifferent]

What do you mean, not even you? Are you one of the special people?

[routemistress]

There anyone that's not special? I'm not human, though. I'm a traveller in space and time.

Bein' in the same place twice is against the rules, any road. Not that I've not done it. But it doesn't 'alf give me a migraine.

[beingdifferent]

I suppose we are. [Esther blinks and looks up at Iris again, noticing nothing less or more than human about her.] Then why do you sound like you're from England?

[routemistress]

Oh, I spent a long time living there, it sort of stuck. You know 'ow it is.

[beingdifferent]

Where were you from before then?