Hi. That's right. We should have privacy this way. [Unless certain theories hold weight, but she can't imagine any mysterious denizens of the island preoccupied with catching the latest teenage gossip.]
So, I was just in a fight with my friend before I got here. Ex-friend. Fuck her. She was fucking my ex behind my back. For WEEKS. While I was talking about getting back together with him, and the WHOLE TIME he was fucking her and both of them just lied to my face!
That wasn't even the worst thing he did, either. But I don't even care about him. It hurts worse that my friend could do that to me. I trusted her.
She said I'm not good for him. And he's not good for me. And we should be with people who are passionate about us. I don't think that's why she did it, though.
I don't fucking know. If I knew, I wouldn't still be this fucked up about it. I would NEVER do that to her. How could she do that to me?? We were supposed to be best friends. :( I don't get it. :( :( :(
[ She wishes this thing made real emojis, like good ones, but what can you do? ]
Unfortunately, some friendships aren't meant to last. It's a really shitty way to find out, I won't say it isn't, but this just means you're going to be a lot stronger without her.
[ If you had asked Maddy beforehand, this is exactly what she would have told you she was hoping somebody would say to her. So why, then, does her heart sink, seeing this? It's not like she doesn't have way bigger problems right now. But it still hurts, even though she knows Taissa is probably right. ]
Yea I know. But it's just hard. We've been best friends since we were kids. And I know she's fucked up because of how her dad was. I used to stay at her house all the time. Have you ever had a friend do something like that to you?
Not to me. But when I was a teenager, I watched my friend Shauna's relationship with her best friend blow up over something like this. [Never mind that Shauna participated in the cheating in that scenario.]
Maybe sometimes we have to lose a person to find more of ourselves. I think she came out better from it.
[ It's fine. Samantha also participated in cheating, and Maddy likes her. ] Really? That's what one of my friends back home said. Or I don't know if she's a friend. She's the mom of a little boy I baby-sit for. But she said the same thing, that she lost a friend over something like this, except it was in college instead of high school.
You think so? [ How depressing. ] How did your friend move on and get better?
[ He gives Chloe some time to get in touch after his post, but time isn't something he has in vast quantities and it's already getting dark. ] Hey. How's Chloe doing? [ Tired as he sounds, the concern in his voice is genuine. ]
[Taissa is also tired and having a bad time, but she hasn't been kidnapped for a week so at least she has that going for her. It's been one bombshell of disturbing news after another for several days so she shouldn't be surprised that Chloe is BFFs with fucking El Chapo but here they are. It just adds an extra layer of emotional exhaustion over the physical one.]
Her leg's doing a lot better. Much more mobile now.
I don't know as I'm fit for human company. [ Quietly grave. He thinks to ask if she's alone—the conversation's been stilted—but if she isn't and hasn't elected to say anything, well, there's no point in asking. ]
Listen, I've got his walkie. Salamanca's. Chloe ain't said word one to me, but she tried getting in touch with him after the broadcast.
She trusts him more than me. [ Easy. He doesn't sound like he takes it personally. ] She either doesn't believe he's dangerous or thinks playing nice with someone like that might be worth it. What she's been through, I'd understand wanting protection.
[Her read is that Chloe and Sr. Drug Lord are two peas in a dangerous lifestyle pod and that's probably why they're so chummy. At least, she hopes that's all that's going on.]
I think that no matter what's going through her head, she needs to be kept safe from whatever insane shit he's trying to pull right now.
[ Rust's feeling better—better than he did after having the shit methodically beaten out of him, after staggering through the foothills sick and dehydrated and witnessing the unreal sight of crabs swarming the treetops.
You know, better.
He still sounds like shit, though. The message is similar in tone to an awkward voicemail, but the pauses, the hitches in his voice, happen out of necessity. ] Never heard from you. [ Maybe she did call, one of the days he was delirious with pain. ] You heard about the crabs, yeah? I just wanna know you're okay. Alright? Alright.
We're alright. Heard about the crabs, but they missed us. It's still been a long week.
[If Chloe hadn't also seen a strange cat and then Ben Lalo disappear in front of them, she'd be feeling even more unhinged than she already does.]
What about you? Did you get caught up in it? [She knows, at least, that a certain drug lord wasn't involved in whatever ringer he's been put through this time.]
[ That puts them away from the Southeast, the spot K marked over by the airfield. Not that Rust's radioing to sniff out where they're at: he takes note without even thinking about it.
Her questions meet with a pause. ] I saw it. What they were doing, what they did to the trees. [ He manages, a kind of hollowness in his voice. He'd seen the felled trunks, the stripped limbs: can imagine it happening to an arm, a body. ] I didn't—it was a bad night. [ Belatedly: ] But nothing so much as touched me, no.
[The walkie catches the tail-end of a sigh.] I don't know how you could even believe what I've seen without seeing it. There's weirder shit happening than swarms of crabs.
So I heard. [ He says it evenly—from everything he can tell, Tai had Salamanca's number, held him in the appropriate amount of contempt, but it's not worth getting into over the walkies. If he had to guess, Chloe's out of earshot, but that could change. ] Well, it got passed along.
[ A crease of concern in his voice: ] Y'all aren't out there looking for him, are you?
[She's surprised that information has already made the rounds, even to non-Rust islanders.]
Hell no. [It's blunt enough and emphatic enough to make the next question easily rhetorical.] Where would you even begin to look for someone who vanished into nothingness?
[Sorry, Benlo. They have enough problems. And it's not like she'd put it past him to turn up like a bad penny whenever it suited him. There is a more pressing question, however, given the man's scars that Chloe had described to Taissa and Chloe's anxiety about her own safety on the island.]
[ The walkie doesn't pick up his scoff at the suggestion, but there's a trace of it in his voice. ] That'd be a first.
When we met, you know, it was right after I broke outta that cell. He turns up, spots me on the beach, acts like it's all a big coincidence. Fuck. [ Soft, drawn out, and derisive. That's enough reminiscence for his tastes. ]
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text | MZ114C
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So, I was just in a fight with my friend before I got here. Ex-friend. Fuck her. She was fucking my ex behind my back. For WEEKS. While I was talking about getting back together with him, and the WHOLE TIME he was fucking her and both of them just lied to my face!
That wasn't even the worst thing he did, either. But I don't even care about him. It hurts worse that my friend could do that to me. I trusted her.
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Did she give you an explanation?
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She said I'm not good for him. And he's not good for me. And we should be with people who are passionate about us. I don't think that's why she did it, though.
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Why do you think she actually did it?
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I don't fucking know. If I knew, I wouldn't still be this fucked up about it. I would NEVER do that to her. How could she do that to me?? We were supposed to be best friends. :( I don't get it. :( :( :(
[ She wishes this thing made real emojis, like good ones, but what can you do? ]
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Yea I know.
But it's just hard.
We've been best friends since we were kids.
And I know she's fucked up because of how her dad was.
I used to stay at her house all the time.
Have you ever had a friend do something like that to you?
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Maybe sometimes we have to lose a person to find more of ourselves. I think she came out better from it.
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You think so? [ How depressing. ] How did your friend move on and get better?
RE419S | audio
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Her leg's doing a lot better. Much more mobile now.
[Perfect for peacing out soon, apparently.]
How are you doing?
audio
[ That's about as lighthearted as he's capable of being. Sobering: ] How's she otherwise? I know she liked him.
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It's not good news finding out your drinking buddy leads a goddamn drug cartel. But I'm watching out for her.
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You shouldn't be alone after this. Maybe try to meet up with some of the people from the base? Safety in numbers.
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Listen, I've got his walkie. Salamanca's. Chloe ain't said word one to me, but she tried getting in touch with him after the broadcast.
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[A sincere question. Though determined to protect Chloe, she also knows that the other woman doesn't tell her everything.]
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But I hardly know her. What's your read?
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I think that no matter what's going through her head, she needs to be kept safe from whatever insane shit he's trying to pull right now.
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RE419S | audio | Day 31
You know, better.
He still sounds like shit, though. The message is similar in tone to an awkward voicemail, but the pauses, the hitches in his voice, happen out of necessity. ] Never heard from you. [ Maybe she did call, one of the days he was delirious with pain. ] You heard about the crabs, yeah? I just wanna know you're okay. Alright? Alright.
[ Some static, then the walkie clicks off. ]
Audio
[If Chloe hadn't also seen a strange cat and then
BenLalo disappear in front of them, she'd be feeling even more unhinged than she already does.]What about you? Did you get caught up in it? [She knows, at least, that a certain drug lord wasn't involved in whatever ringer he's been put through this time.]
Audio
Her questions meet with a pause. ] I saw it. What they were doing, what they did to the trees. [ He manages, a kind of hollowness in his voice. He'd seen the felled trunks, the stripped limbs: can imagine it happening to an arm, a body. ] I didn't—it was a bad night. [ Belatedly: ] But nothing so much as touched me, no.
[ A sharp little breath. ] Alright, your turn.
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Salamanca is out of the picture. Again.
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[ A crease of concern in his voice: ] Y'all aren't out there looking for him, are you?
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Hell no. [It's blunt enough and emphatic enough to make the next question easily rhetorical.] Where would you even begin to look for someone who vanished into nothingness?
[Sorry, Benlo. They have enough problems. And it's not like she'd put it past him to turn up like a bad penny whenever it suited him. There is a more pressing question, however, given the man's scars that Chloe had described to Taissa and Chloe's anxiety about her own safety on the island.]
You're not going to try it, are you?
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When we met, you know, it was right after I broke outta that cell. He turns up, spots me on the beach, acts like it's all a big coincidence. Fuck. [ Soft, drawn out, and derisive. That's enough reminiscence for his tastes. ]
You saw it too, huh?