Gareth Hendrix and the Bunker Bigfoot [TriCube Tales Solo Actual Play], Part 4 - The Party by the Lake

Gareth walks late into the lake house party with a sense of wonder. Tommy had been the one kid in school below Gareth in the pecking order and now all the old gang, and many others Gareth barely knows, are here basking in Tommy's hospitality. His dad's at least. A pre-celebration for Jack Fall's arrival next week. Many folks wearing the t-shirt, asking for Tommy's autograph. 

There wasn't a lot of bullying during their days at Bunker, but the kids were sometimes rough. Bloody noses happened more than once due to practical jokes. Playing dodgeball with baseballs led to broken noses and even a broken arm. One kid took to shooting industrial strength staples at other kids with a high grade slingshot meant to chase off small game. Two separate kids needed stitches from that terrible Tuesday. The kid doing the shooting was Jake Lollings, currently hanging out with a pair of twin women that Gareth thinks must have went to Athens Private, the other school in Bunker. [1]

There's Tina Day and Timothy Bryce, ridiculously attractive band geeks who also headed up the SGA and yearbook committees and were Prom Queen and King (and now work at their parent's grocery story and tax firm, respectively). Tina wears an engagement ring and Gareth has no idea if Timothy gave it to her. Julian Edgars, high school quarterback. who played football for A&M before an injury shifted his career into public speaking and then his dad's cancer brought him back home to care for his family. Dozens of such stories. Folks who represented the joy of Bunker but are also trapped in the crumbling streets and sagging homes: minor stars still riding a bit higher than the horizon for a while. 

Tommy is with Valentina Hill. She went off to nursing school down in Mobile, dropped out to marry a Marine, fast tracked a broken engagement two months later when she got pregnant with some mechanic down in Pensacola, and is now back in Bunker with a kid that her parent's mostly raise. She does look good, though, despite the mismatch of her clubbing top and pajama bottoms. Tommy is enjoying the attention. New skinny Tommy. Bunker's #1 party planner among washed out 21 year olds and various others. Gareth has never felt so proud of his dumb ass friend.

Out on the half-dock, half-back-porch, a raggedy outdoor couch that has been there since Gareth was in middle school is occupied by Lina as she furiously makes out with a red-head roughly the size of a deep breath. Gareth does not recognize Lina's new conquest but he does catch Kametra nearby (everywhere on the porch dock is "nearby"), shooting the shit with some of her and Lina's mutual friends. [2]

Kametra spots Gareth looking out the screen door and makes a claw mark gesture towards him, pointing out the still quite visible marks on Lina's neck. 

Jesus, Gareth thinks, what did Lina say?

Gareth contemplates going on out and just disrupting his packmate's fun (she'd do the same for him, poor Stacy got caught in a few pranks) when a rough hand grabs him and yanks him back. Tries anyhow. Gareth's gotten good at remembering to act like his skinny frame looks. Turns only a half second after the insistent tug. Nate Callum. Officer Nathan. The guy that dared Tommy and Gareth to leap off the mill roof. The guy that dared Jake to shoot the other kids with the heavy duty staples. Mr. Lord of the Flies himself. 

"Some trailer trash rolled up into the party. Want to get fucked up, Hendrix?" And Gareth has no idea if this is an offer of beer or a threat but knows that Callum being a cop that the potential for deep problems runs rampant on either end of that spectrum. 

"Hey man, what you drinking? I can....ummm?" Nate's eyes gloss over while a smile forms on his very drunk face. Gareth still does not if Nate is being friendly or threatening but can see some folks starting to stare, but all at Nate. Gareth is just a blank page for Nate's drama to unfold upon. [3]

Nate suddenly lurches over, hard, to his right and collapses into a couch. Lina is there beside him. To all witnesses it would have looked like she gently patted Nate on the shoulder but Gareth knows that even in human form Lina needs a very small running start to punch through a full defensive line of your most rugged footballers and then through a brick wall on the other side. [4]

Gareth is trying to figure out if Lina did this to protect him or Nate (her previous "killer" comment still stinging a bit) when his recent ex, Stacy Callum, blonde and beautiful, materializes from some side room. Accompanied by a stranger - probably a Cresthill local - in a Harley jacket with arms completely covered in tattoos. [5]

"Get up, asshole, Matt's going to take you home." 

Lina pokes Gareth in the ribs. "She upgraded real hard from you, Hendrix. Hot damn." 

"Shut up, Lina." 

The petite red-head (head just barely reaching Lina's chin so Gareth has to actively look down to see her face) shows up with the full bowl of chips taken from the snack table. Munching away, lips stained in powdered cheese, eyes clearly bleary from some mood altering substance. "You hicks throw a fun party." 

Later, outside, back on that small porch dock, Gareth and Lina and Kametra lean back against the railing as the red head exhales a series of large vape clouds between her and Lina's worrying series of snack and beer runs. Gareth sipping a warm beer himself that does less for him than pot but the only thing weirder than a kid not drinking or smoking something around here would be if he had gotten down on all fours and drank directly from a doggie bowl. The beer is a metaphor for Gareth's own pretend normality.

Every time it just the two of them, Kametra has been filling him in. Her name is Lana Starky. One of Jack Fall's interns ("Paid," Lana chimes in with a big grin when Gareth asks a few minutes later) who is sent out to scout out an area, find some fun stories and great location shots. Pre-gaming a show that has found itself on a tighter budget and time allotment with the in-fighting behind the scenes. Lana implying more than she knows for sure. 

Lina and Kametra had come across Lana about half way between Bunker and Cresthill on Highway 44. The company car broken down. Lina and her had hit it off, immediately, and they were able to get the car towed to Jamal Stallworth's garage. Jamal was one of Kametra's cousins who had been a previous conquest of Lina but apparently there was no bad blood between them. The two local women had offered to be tour guides and temporary location scout deputies. Which apparently was a mix of Lina and Lana furiously making out in the backseat with Kametra driving the trio around to a lot of spaces on the other side of Bunker. 

"Wouldn't want her to catch you all wolfing out, would we, like Hooter caught your dad?" 

Gareth nearly chokes on his metaphorical beer. It makes sense, though, of course Lina had talked to the Lanes about it. Kametra and her mom are family to Lina in a way that most of the pack is not: Gareth and Ms. Macy being the only real exceptions and Gareth admits readily he's been letting down the team. He feels an immense gratitude to the Lanes, at least Kametra and her mom, for giving Lina that space. Gareth fears Tommy would have freaked so hard that werewolf kidneys would have ended up Ripley's Believe It or Not. [6]

At some point in time, Lina had even worked Gareth into the tour. Upon introductions, Lana had went "Oh, the cousin with the gorgeous photographs!?" and had treated him like the celebrity. 

Watching his "cousin" and her new lover laughing by the nearly empty snack table - Lana eats more than Barlow by all accounts - Gareth wonders where Tommy and Valentina have gone. Tommy is probably off somewhere taking a bullet for all the single guys in Bunker, tonight, and a few of the married ones as well. The party has died down with a few passed out folk making up the bulk. Jack is hanging out with some high schooler that has snuck in, the two of them bro'ing out over some X-Box game.

Kametra slumps against his shoulder, falling asleep while standing up, whatever heady mix of drugs and alcohol she is on finally catching up. Without even a grunt, Gareth easily and gently picks her up and takes her over to that old couch and lays her down to sleep, head in his lap, and stares up at the nearly full moon knowing nearly all of his hair have also turned white. 

Gareth searching so hard for a metaphorical home he might have overlooked the very real one right here on this old couch where he and Tommy talked about cartoons and videogames. 

Feeling a sense of belonging to all these Bunker idiots he had forgotten about. 

-- Mechanical Notes --

1. "Was bullying a problem in their highschool." Joker --> Shift (new event), follow-up card = 6. Event = "monstrous activity" so I went for a rowdy high school but not one with actually bullying, a bit more free for all meets camaraderie. 
2. This will take a half second to show up in the narrative but "Is Lina with anyone" came back Ace of Diamonds --> Shift (new event) and then 8 of Hearts...so "yes, and..." but the absolutely lowest value of "yes". Someone she just met but they hit it off right away. The event was 2,1 --> Broken vehicle.
3. Crafty challenge to handle the social scene. Pulled a 6 of Clubs so "standard". Gareth gets a success.
4. The main scene card was a Jack of Hearts (positive progress on Gareth's track) + King of Hearts (positive progress on keeping the show from finding out about the pack) + 2 diamonds. In other words, easy brawl challenge but two positive shifts. Lina scores an exceptional success and not only knocks Nate over before he can antagonize Gareth but does it so well that no one can tell that she hit him with the force of a small car. The positive shifts we will get to...this scene sort of plays out in reverse from the card draws.
5. Got 1,4 on the person table: "biker"
6. "Does Kametra know about the Kai Yotes' secret?" Queen of Heart. A fairly large Yes, And... Lina has told more than just Kametra. Not only do the Lanes know but have been helping to cover it up to protect Lina some. At least until Barlow got photographed.

--Doug's notes --

Another case of a scene meant to be a quick aside, a sandbox to figure out Gareth's place in the town. Upon starting it through I got two positive shifts and an easy challenge and it felt right to have the "brawn" be Lina instead of Gareth himself. Lina and Gareth might be on a collision course to a bloody fight but with two positive shifts I felt it was a good time to show them in the other light: the hereditary leaders and partners in crime. 

I like this version of events a lot. Gareth is not really good with people, but the people also do not really hold it against him. They think of him as another Bunker idiot. At last before they decide to shoot him full of silver. The die has been cast a bit for Gareth and Fall to meet up, to become one of Fall's human interest stories.

All in all, we are about done with the establishing scenes and I have one more quick aside planned before Jack Fall shows up and things start building up to their more panicked and hectic conclusion.