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The first thing Pearl noticed when she woke up was... how bright the sun was. Streaming in through the improvised windows as she sat up in bed. Cleo hadn't come back last night and frankly, it worried her a little that they still weren't back by morning.
Giving a casual headpat to Oscar, the large fossilised cat's head on the shelf, she decided to head outside to catch up with everyone. The town seemed to have had a rather large party last night and - OH GOODNESS THAT'S A DEAD BODY OUT IN THE OPEN.
By the time the few minutes that it took Pearl to recover had elapsed, she realised there was more than one body. Was this... everyone in town?! Well, not everyone. Some of them weren't present among the burnt wrecks of all the other houses they'd all restored in their time here.
There was also a lot of ash, however, and some discarded clothing. Pearl began to identify the bodies and collect the clothing. Scott probably wouldn't want his big fancy coat getting all covered in dirt and ash, after all...
Then again, where WAS Scott? There were quite a few people who weren't present here. Suddenly, Pearl felt very... worried. Very alone. The upbeat lighting of the sun and its clear blue skies suddenly didn't have much pleasantry to it anymore.
...
Grasping at her shovel, it had taken Pearl most of the day to get the holes dug out for the bodies. Discounting breaks, of course. The most difficult one was Cleo's. Cleo had arguably been one of her more closer friends here in Oakhurst, in fairness. Guess there was a hint of truth to Cleo's claims of plague after all. Well, how else could anyone explain the bloody mouth missing several teeth, and the sunburnt skin taking on a slightly greenish tint? It certainly wasn't decaying at a normal rate. She decided to bury Cleo a little deeper than the others. Didn't want to pass on the sickness. That's how it works, right?
After that, came the need to look around the area. She wanted to check on the strange beacons. Some of them were red, some were that creamy colour. She concecrated at them all until they were all the same again. It felt... better. Like a fog had been lifted from her feelings. She could even hear birds in the trees. She was certain it had been weeks since last she heard that sort of pleasant music.
Though, she hadn't any idea what occurred last night between the others in town. Shelby did mention the strange and the unusual. Had they found Bigfoot? Was Avid right about Vampires? She'd arrived back 'home' at the only building still standing, not that it counted for much, and was about to head inside to think about her next course of action when she heard a voice behind her.
"Uh, excuse me. Do you live here?"
She turned around to address the voice, which had come from a rather fetching redhead in some sort of fancy military attire. A soldier from a well-off family, perhaps? Hard to say.
"I mean... kinda? I guess I do, huh?"
The stranger tilted her head, uncertain by Pearl's uncertainty. Regardless, she responded.
"Well... Nice place you got here, I think? Sure does look... like it's seen better days though. What happened here?"
The two briefly looked around. It was almost comical seeing how Pearl's simple house was the only one untouched by the devastation.
"No idea. Everyone musta gone crazy last night or something. Whatever it was passed me by. I'm Pearl. Nice to meet you, I guess? Sorry, I'm a... little out of it. Woke up and found most folks dead or missing."
A twitch of a frown on the officer's face. She looked around again before focusing on Pearl.
"I'm sorry to hear that. My condolences. I'm Captain Gemini. Though you could call me Gem for short, if you prefer."
It... almost sounded like Gem was concealing her first name for some reason... Not that it really mattered to Pearl. For now.
"Gem. Nice to put a name to a face! What brings you to Oakhurst?"
"Oh, THIS is Oakhurst? Dang... and I thought all the stories were exaggerations. Me and my squad were moving through the woods when some thick fog rolled in. We got all turned around and I got seperated from them. Next thing I know, I'm here."
Pearl took a moment to process that. It seemed a little... outlandish, yet logical for this place.
"Well, you're welcome to stick around until you can find your way out. I don't really know if I'm staying either."
"Didn't you say you live here?"
"Not for very long, and I don't think I've got much reason to stay anymore..."
Gem's frown returned, though briefly, before she offered a warm smile in hopes of lifting the mood.
"Well, I suppose you won't mind if I stay with you, then? All those other buildings look a little... burnt down."
"No problem! I'll introduce you to Oscar!"
"Oscar?"
"Yeah, he's my cat."
Pearl spoke like HE wasn't just the head of a cat she'd looted from someone's crypt. Though that was besides the point and soon, she was leading her new roommate towards her property. Hopefully this one would last longer than the previous one.
"So, how much DO you know about the area?"
"Oh, really not as much as it sounds. Mainly that a few hundred years ago, another country's soldier was sent here to build an outpost. They were never seen again, and their name was lost to time."
"That sounds dreadful. And... oddly familiar..."