[PRP] WAKE UP, AMERICA (Gwen/Jer)

[AMItotic]

It had started with rain.

Now, rain was not particularly uncommon in September, given the change of seasons, but with it came the strange population of jelly...things that littered the beach. Everyone was calling it a fish-kill for jellyfish, but they didn't have tentacles and didn't look like any jellyfish Gwen had seen washed up on the shore. She was too scared to actually touch them barehanded, in case they were still actually venomous, but she'd nudged a few with a galosh-covered toe and none of them did anything resembling a nervous response. No one official had given anything resembling a reasonable statement, and it was driving Gwen bonkers.

And then, in the midst of being sat down by her mother to write her college entry essays, there had been an earthquake. A legitimate, honest to god earthquake in New England, where there were no volcanoes or fault lines or even traffic heavy enough to simulate the sound, the feeling.

Her mom made her stay home to finish her essays, but the very next day Gwen found herself in the lobby of the Ashdown Police Department, staring determinedly at the door of one Detective Lieutenant Jeremiah Mercer. In her hands she held a well-worn journal, a stack of hand-written papers, and a mason jar containing one of the strange jellied things. The receptionist had told her that Mr. Mercer was out on a call, that there was no knowing when he would be back, but it was a Saturday and Gwen had nowhere else she needed to be.

She was getting answers.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah Mercer very nearly did an about face when he saw Gwen standing there in the front waiting for him. How did he know it was for him? It was always for him, the Chief would not talk to her.

Except that he had things to handle and a report to make and-

Taking a deep breath he opened the door and stepped inside. The person at the counter gaving him a look and he just flicked a hand towards them.

"Miss Catigern," he said, an eyebrow raised at just how much she had brought with her this time, "to what do I owe the honor of your presence today?"

AMItotic

 

[AMItotic]

The girl was so focused at the office door that she nearly jumped when she heard the man's voice coming from the front. She should have expected that, really, she'd known he wasn't actually going to come out of his office, but once she was in the zone it was hard for her to focus on anything else. Nevertheless, her eyes lit up when she heard her name, and she wiggled out from her chair to stand as he approached, clutching at her supplies.

"Detective Mercer, good morning!" Gwen began, always taking the time to be polite on her visits. "I have a couple of--oh!" A hand shot out, just barely catching the mason jar as the objects in her grasp shuffled. "A couple of questions and maybe a theory or two for you for when you make the official statement about what's been going on." She smiled sweetly, like she always did--it felt good to be a helping citizen for her town.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Ugh.

Jeremiah did not pinch the bridge of his nose but he certainly wanted to. Instead he just waved her to follow him to his office. They would go past the front and towards the back, past the desks of the detectives, to get to it.

The door was held open for her and closed behind her.

"As you've clearly put effort into this," his office was so much less covered in paperwork as it had been, "let's hear it." Whatever her theory was, whatever she thought was the case. Jeremiah was eyeing the mason jar and then looking to her.

AMItotic

 

[AMItotic]

“Oh, absolutely! It wouldn’t be worth your time if I didn’t come prepared,” Gwen nodded, and as they entered the office she placed the jar of goo on the Detective Lieutenant’s desk. This gave her the room to rummage through her journal, opening to one of the later pages darkened by line after line of handwritten notes and calculations.

“So, the questions first, as they may clear up a few misunderstandings before I present any theories,” she said, clearing her throat with a soft cough. “Given that no outside news outlet is reporting on the earthquake, it’s reasonable to assume that we were within 100 miles of the epicenter. Is the station equipped with any kind of…” She paused, glancing down at her notes. “...seis...mography equipment that might have recorded what we felt? It’s essential to have this information to assign the event a value on the Richter scale.”

“I brought the equations with me, so I can give you a rough estimate on the fly.” She laughed, perhaps nervously.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah was eyeballing the gloop that was in a jar on his desk as if it was suddenly going to explode and possibly turn into Slimer or something equally gross. "Miss Catigern, while the station has nothing that can record what was felt, I can tell you that there are those that do locally and they did not register anything on the richter scale."

He was watching her as she was reading through her notes. "In fact, the only reason we know that it happened is because we all felt it. There was no structural damage whatsoever to any buildings. It's hard for there to be news outlets making reports when there's nothing beyond our word that it even happened and it only happened locally."

AMItotic

 

[AMItotic]

"But that's..." Gwen frowned, and was instantly thumbing through her phone. "A seismic event capable of moving furniture couldn't possibly register as nothing. I mean, everyone felt it. I had reference materials fall from a shelf!" She tilted her screen, showing him an instagram of a pink-walled bedroom with floors covered in papers and books, with a number of overturned figures covering a desk.

"There has to be some kind of...equipment failure on a massive scale to even possibly get numbers like that." As always, she turned back to her notes, skimming page after page. "Between that, and the rain, and the possibly massive fish kill we're looking at if the beach slimes are truly jellyfish, albeit incredibly out of season...I just don't understand why there's no report on it? On any of it?" She stared up at him, wide-eyed, and for just a moment her gaze quivered in such a way that might have resembled fear.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah frowned briefly and it is possibly the most emotion she has seen on his face in a while. "Miss Catigern, there are plenty of reports about the other occurrences. I've been handling some of the releases for the department for the Chief but I am saying that the seismic event is one that has not been registered at all. Everything else? Reports."

There was one on his desk about the beach slimes, even a picture that was clipped to it, but the report was inconclusive. No one was able to ascertain what it was.

His own phone was pulled out, his own instagram brought up, and first shown was a picture of his veranda that was turning into a jungle from the plants that had to be moved due to the rain. The next was a picture of them knocked over. "I experienced it as well but what I am telling you is that we have no answers."

word count: 491

AM1totic