Regan Abbott

This is Regan's phone. Leave any text messages or transcribed voicemails here.

late March/early April

Regan doesn't really like admitting when she's wrong about something. That's mostly because she tries not to say or do anything without being sure it's the right thing; she likes to make sure she does her research and knows what she's talking about. So when everything with Richie goes down, she's sure she's right... at first.

But then a few days go by, and he doesn't say anything, which seems... weird. And then a few more days go by, and she hasn't said anything either, and there's this gnawing sense of guilt in her gut.

Regan leans against the counter, frowning at the kettle as she waits for it to boil water. She's been pretty quiet the last few days, she knows, hiding in her room as she considers her options — and her decisions. Now, she's come down to the kitchen to make herself some tea and... well... consider her options and her decisions.

Mid-May 2022

Prom itself takes place in a nice hall rented by the school's student-council-appointed prom committee. But afterwards, after the dancing and the music winds down at the hall, the after party is at the park. It's a beautiful night, and even before the committee settled on it, they knew they wanted to enjoy the weather while they could.

Things could change so quickly here, after all.

The theme of prom and the subsequent after party is... unusual, at best. Everyone had their own ideas of what they wanted it to be, and nobody could really agree on one over the other. At one point, the student council was on the verge of a meltdown, so the vice principal, of all people, had to step in and tell them to just focus on making sure students had fun. The overall theme, then, was glitter and gold, something sparkly and delightful. But here and there were smatterings of Emma Tremblay's enchanted forest suggestion, Cale Harris's under the stars hope, and even a little masquerade ball nudged in by Karly Holbrook. It made for an eclectic, colorful decor, but what else could anyone expect, in Darrow?

There are tables of refreshments set up, and a few chaperones so nobody gets too rowdy and ruins it for everyone. A lot of students have changed out of their prom dresses and suits, and are instead wearing more comfortable, casual clothes, though a few kids either didn't think to bring a change of clothes, or simply chose not to use them yet. Since it's a party, there's still music, with a deejay taking requests and making sure the atmosphere doesn't get too dull.

[ Very delayed, but prom!!!!! Well, post-prom! It's an after party at Petros Park, but it's still essentially endorsed by the high school(s) so there will probably be a couple chaperones. That doesn't mean you can't get up to shenanigans if you want to, though! Can't keep an eye on everything everywhere all at once, after all. It'll be a gathering, so tag in, tag around, and have fun! Open for as long as it needs to be. ]

Dec 3, 2021

The entire first day after Sylvie had helped her, Regan had felt hollow. Dad's dead. Mom and Marcus and the baby should be safe at Emmett's, but Dad's dead. They had to leave the farm. And then so much had happened, in such a short period of time. She doesn't know how she's the one that did all of that.

But she did. She remembers it.

She remembers the way the metal rod vibrated in her hand as she'd stabbed it through the creature's vulnerable face.

A few days later, she's wandering the city after school, just sort of... remembering things. Remembering these new memories like she's had them this whole time. It's so weird. She can see Emmett's face and remember the anger she'd felt. But she can also see him slumped against the wall, bleeding, having helped her and protected her.

She can remember the marina, and the little girl, and the man who'd been so close to taking her.

She's looking out at the beach, now, as she walks, and she realizes she's close to the home of another somewhat grizzled, quiet man with sad eyes. She gets her bearings and heads there in earnest, texting him to make sure he's at least home.

late April 2021

This is bad. This is probably awful, actually. She's going to get grounded, she's going to lose her phone, her computer, and her TV privileges. She's going to be forced to break up with Richie, because she's going to be grounded to never, ever leave the cottage again, and he's going to get bored and break up with her.

That doesn't even make sense. But Regan doesn't care, because it's all true, anyway.

Greta's at a parent-teacher conference. Greta's at Regan's parent-teacher conference. She's going to find out that not only is Regan very nearly failing English and History, but she's also forged Greta's signature on one of her report cards, because at the time, that'd seemed like a better option than letting Greta see the report card for herself.

And now she's going to see it anyway. With the forged signature on it.

And Regan is going to be grounded until 2079, or something.

She's been so nervous that she actually did all of her homework. Like, for all of her classes. In a single afternoon. She hasn't done that in weeks, maybe months, but she's filled with so much nervous energy that she couldn't help herself.

As the end of the evening draws nearer, and Greta's due to be home, Regan finds herself pacing. Her phone is in her hand, and even though it hasn't buzzed with a new text, she finds herself checking it every few minutes, anyway. And then, when Cu and Sadie perk and head towards the door, Regan knows she's going to be in for it. She's seen Greta mad only once or twice, ever, since coming to Darrow, and she prepares herself for the worst of it, now.

Regan stares down at the assignment in her hands. It's an English paper, a report on a book she'd read last month. She'd thought she'd done alright on it, but there's no grade on the front, and on the last page of it, where teacher's notes go, is a red message that reads See me after class.

As the rest of the students stand and file towards the door, Regan stays seated, and Shannon stays beside her.

See me after class. What's that mean? Other than the obvious, which, duh. But... why? Why isn't there a grade at the top? She'd done the assignment, she'd handed it in on time; there should be a grade. Even if it's a C, or something, that'd suck, but at least it'd be something. But there's nothing.

See me after class.

The last of the students leave, and Mr. Dorne moves to close the door. That means this is important. He doesn't want to be overheard by anyone walking by. Regan feels sick. He speaks, and Shannon interprets for him, but Regan doesn't move for a moment. She just sits there, feeling sick and swallowing down the sudden excess of saliva in her mouth. Finally, she moves to a desk closer to his, like he'd asked.

"Regan, I'd like to talk to you about your paper," he says. Shannon has positioned herself so that Regan can look at Mr. Dorne while he talks, and still see her. It makes Regan feel a little outnumbered.

Mr. Dorne explains that her assignment is 'severely lacking,' and doesn't live up to the 'standards she'd set for herself,' and that he thinks she can do better. He's giving her the opportunity to redo it, instead of taking the D he'd been planning on giving her.

"You're a very bright girl, Regan," he says, in that kind way he has. "I wouldn't normally do this for my students, but I know you've got something better in you. I'd like to give you this chance, if you'd like to take it."

She knows if she says no, this'll get back to Greta. If she tries to explain why she'd done poorly — had she really done so poorly? — then he'll feel obligated to make a phone call. Of course he will, because he's a nice man, and a good teacher, and he'll want to make sure Regan's okay.

And she is. She's okay. She's fine. She's just overwhelmed. Watching Saoirse, and spending time with her friends, and learning how to shoot a crossbow, and volunteering at the elderly dog shelter, these are all good things, but there's so many of them. Something had started to give, and it'd been school. Of all things, it'd been school. How had she been so stupid?

She agrees to take the opportunity for a redo. Mr. Dorne is right. She can do better. She will do better.

Meeting over, Regan gathers her things and goes to the bathroom, instead of her next class. She hides in one of the stalls and tries to get her breathing under control, to push back the burning in her eyes that means she's about to cry. She's fine. This is fine. Everything's fine.

Everything's fine.

Regan's been into the woods plenty of times, now. She and Daryl are out here often enough, and even if they weren't, she's familiar with the easy paths thanks to practicing with her drone.

Which is in her book bag today, because she'd made sure to bring it so she and Stan can head straight out to the countryside after school. Normally she'd linger to watch Richie be a theater kid and do some homework, but she's actually excited to do this. She likes Stan, and wants him to feel like they can be friends. She's never bird-watched before, not officially, but that doesn't mean she doesn't want to.

It just isn't something that ever occurred to her to try.

When the final bell trills and the world around her lifts up as students stand to leave, she seeks him out with a pleased smile.

"You ready?" she asks, hopeful he hasn't changed his mind.

The internet was great, except for the times it wasn't. No matter how much she searched, she couldn't find any information on the creatures, or on Darrow's weird dream thing. It's Regan's hope that the library will have something. Maybe, somehow, physical newspaper copies from home would have made their way into the city, and where better to store them than a library?

Well, there was one other place, but she has a feeling Martin would have texted her if anything had shown up there.

So she goes to the library, backpack on her back, with the assurance to Greta and Saoirse that she'll be back in time for dinner.

dated Oct 12

It's an entire week before Regan can bring herself to check in on Martin. He'd been one of those lost when the creatures had come. But not actually lost, she knows now. It'd been hard to wrap her mind around, but apparently the entire thing had been a very vivid dream that she'd shared with so many people. It seems impossible, but so does a deep, glittering snow in the middle of July, and that'd definitely happened.

When she'd first realized that everyone who'd gotten hurt was fine, she'd wanted to rush out and check on everyone. But she hadn't been able to bring herself to check on most of them. How would they react? They'd be angry, right? Upset with her, like it was her fault, even though she hadn't meant to do it.

She doesn't sleep well for the first few days, too scared she'll end up waking up at home again. A couple of nights, Saoirse makes Cu stay in bed with her, so she'll feel his heavy presence. It helps a little.

She finally decides she's being dumb: if Martin is angry with her, she'll just have to deal with that. But she wants to at least check in on him, make sure he's really alright, like everyone else. So she asks Greta where she can find him, and makes her way to the archive.

At least, she thinks she's in the right spot. The building in front of her looks more like an antique shop from the outside, weathered and worn and not at all what she imagines an archive would look like.

Not that she'd know, really, but still. She approaches the door hesitantly. The sign in front tells her she's in the right place, so she reaches for the handle and pulls the door open.

Inside is warm, and a little musty in a weird, library sort of way, though there aren't any bookshelves with books in tidy rows like she'd expect in an actual library. She does find herself looking around, though, taking in her surroundings rather than looking for her original goal.

dated: Oct 5/6

It's been over a week, and nothing has happened. Nothing bad, anyway. Her family is getting used to the idea of her strange, uninvited friends crashing with them. So far, everyone's followed the rules, and most of the people who'd followed her here have enough of a grasp on Sign Language to hold and follow silent conversations.


And thanks to her mom, Regan's able to keep people somewhat entertained with board games that won't make a racket.


But it's still weird. Regan still doesn't know how she's here, or how all of her friends are here, too. She's come home, but she remembers Darrow. She didn't think that was supposed to be possible.


And yet here she is, standing off to the side while she watches all of these people that she's grown to love and care for, trying to adapt to this new, silent life. How long will they be here for? Is this forever?


It's time to get more fish, because the incredible excess of mouths to feed means they're going through their food much faster. Some of the people who'd come along are more than capable of fending for themselves, so Dad organizes them into groups, with whoever he decides is trustworthy and smart enough to keep people safe and quiet to lead each one. Regan can tell Marcus is relieved he doesn't have to go.


But she still wants to. There are enough people that she allows herself to get easily lost into one of the groups, and they make their ways out, each going in different directions. It's just smarter that way. The fewer people going through the same sandy path, the less likely they'll be to make a fatal mistake.


At least, that's the plan.


It's nice to get out of the yard for awhile, anyway. Some people have stayed behind to help Mom and Marcus get more sleeping areas set up. If they start to think this is permanent, then they'll probably have to find a way to house everyone. They can't all cramp into one space. That's a surefire way to get killed. But for now, spreading out beds is a good move. People need their privacy, and their space.


She doesn't know how it happens. She doesn't know the cause. But suddenly, people are trying to scatter, trying to hide.


And there's a creature. They move so fast, it's easy to overlook them, but she sees it. She'd recognize those movements anywhere, she thinks. And her body responds in instinct, hands clamping over her mouth and staying stockstill.


[ Another gathering! As before, jump in at any point in the post that you want to. Be one of the hunting/foraging parties that gets attacked by one of the creatures, or stay at home and maybe have an encounter of your own! Tag each other, tag around, utilize the NPC Abbott family as needed. Whichever group you want Regan to be apart of, she will be, because Darrow is MAGIC and reality is what we make of it XD be the reason the creature hears your group, or be part of a group completely unscathed and just have a nice little vacation trip to the waterfall! As before, any questions you have can be directed here, and I'll do my best to answer them! ]