When They Arrived (Con.)

[Alan Wake]

Alan's stomach rumbled, but he knew what he really needed was some coffee. A good, warm thermos-full of coffee. But he doubted she had any. He plopped himself down on a chair next to the kid, and looked at Tarik. "Water, I guess. And... do you have any bread? Butter?" He would need some kind of food if there was only water available.

[Mark Brown]

Mark's stomach gave an answering growl to her question. "Um....do you have any vegetables? I love vegetables! And water to drink." He really wanted some milk, but figured if she was already getting water for Mr. Alan, it would be easier to get water for him as well.

[Tarik Ante]

Tarik sprang up, and bounded into the kitchen area to fetch the boys what they wanted. She brought them their water first, in bamboo cups, then returned to the kitchen. After a few minutes, she reappeared with a plate of various vegetables, both known and unknown, in one hand, and a plate of different breads in the other. In her teeth she held a little bowl of butter pats.

[Alan Wake]

Alan helped her with the plates as soon as he saw the one in her mouth. He set them down on the table, and took a bit of bread for himself, splattering it with butter. He sat back down in his seat, nibbling slightly. With the water he took one of his Ambien pills: The shadows in the corner of the room were starting to look suspicious. Really, he probably should have been put on pills for anxiety and panic attacks long ago, but the symptoms that came back would make his insomnia act up even worse. And sense the lack of sleep was what caused most of his visions, the doctor's had decided to keep him on the Ambien.

"Thank you." He told Tarik, after putting the pill bottle away.

[Mark Brown]

"Thanks!" Mark eagerly attacked the plate of vegetables, even trying the ones he didn't recognize. Hey, when it came to crops, there really wasn't anything Mark didn't like. He found them quite delicious too. He'd have to grow some of these, whatever they were, sometime. When he got a farm. He gulped down the water in one go, not realizing how thirsty he'd been until just now. As he ate the veges, he would hand down some to Fido as well, who gobbled them up greedily. He loved vegetables almost as much as his owner.

[Tarik Ante]

"You're welcome." Tarik smiled at them as she watched them eat, but then, she noticed the pill bottle. "Medicine?" She took a seat beside Alan, reaching to take the bottle from him. "What strange medicine is this?" She looked at him with furrowed brows.

[Alan Wake]

Alan reached feebly for his pill bottle, then sighed. "It's Ambien. A sleeping pill. It's supposed to help me sleep but... Nothing really works. I pretty much take it whenever I feel nervous now." The shadows in the corner, which had been forming into a tall, shaking man with a hatchet raised over his head, became merely shadows again. His shoulders dropped; he hadn't even realized he'd tensed up.

[Mark Brown]

Mark leaned in his chair to take a look at the medicine, but wasn't really interested in it. He'd had enough of medicine, plus it tasted nasty! So he just continued to eat the vegetables as he waited for the adults to finish their conversation.

[Tarik Ante]

Tarik tipped her head as she looked the pill bottle over. “Am-bee-an?” she said softly. “A sleeping medicine? Well, I have a remedy for sleep, if that is what you seek.” She smiled at him, handing him the bottle. She then glanced over at Mark. “Do you need medicine as well?"

[Alan Wake]

Alan took the bottle, but kept his eyes on her while he put it in his pocket. "I haven't slept in days, but I could try your remedy sometime." He found himself, for once, able to stare at a shadow without immediately fingering The Clicker in his pocket. He glanced at her, then at Mark. Maybe they were... A brighter presence than he'd ever been around. Not that they stifled his avoidance of people. He still didn't quite like Mark: He was hyper, for a teenager.

Tarik was tolerable though. Her lack of knowledge from his world was endearing, as was the fact that he knew just as little of her own. As an author, he was always interested in natives from strange lands: They made for great material.

[Mark Brown]

Mark kicked his feet. "Not anymore! That's why I was on the boat to leave the city!" Fido jumped up on his lap and he pet the cute puppy. He turned to the man. "Why can't you sleep, Mr. Alan?" Sleeping was important for everyone, and he had never met anyone who couldn't. Was there something wrong with him?

[Tarik Ante]

Tarik patted Mark's head gently, before returning her attention to Alan. "Yes, why? If you do not wish for us to know, then do not speak of it." She smiled, before making her way back to the couch. She lazily flopped onto it once more.

[Alan Wake]

"I... See things." He said simply. "They stem from my fear of the dark." He wasn't entirely sure how to explain his visions to anyone else besides his counselor. "They're like... people. But... shadowy..."

[Mark Brown]

Mark stopped munching on a carrot to stare at Alan. "That does sound really scary. Even I'd be afraid of sleeping then!" He remembered a moment on the ship, one night, when he had passed by Alan as he wandered, and the man had been muttering to himself. Was it because of his visions?

[Tarik Ante]

Tarik listened to him, wide-eyed. "Shadows? Spirits, maybe?" Her people were firm believers in spirits and demons, and so, hearing what Alan was saying, it frightened her.