Polar Eyes

08/18/2016
Blackthorne Mountain Pass

Zeke slowly trudges up the Blackthorne Pass, covering his mouth with his scarf as the cold wind and falling snow pass him by.

ZEKE
There’s only two ways for a human to turn into a snowman...
The first happens three days after being stung by one.
The second is to murder someone with the same type of catalyst as you.

ZEKE
You probably don’t remember what it was like to be human.
I'll remind you just this once...it's love.
That's what makes us who we are.
If not for the love of my life waiting for me, I'd be walking right there with you.
Just as cold, just as inhuman.
I don't know how you ended up here, but one thing is certain:
Astra Dominus makes snowmen out to be a lot scarier than they really are.
If you were from Blackthorne, a snowman wouldn't have gotten the best of you.
So...what kind of person did you come out from?
Was their death unlucky or just plain stupid?

Standing around the halfway point down the Mountain Pass, Lonnie kneels and lowers the rifle for a moment to wipe the scope. As he looks back up, he notices more snowmen at the plateau where Zeke is headed. Zeke trips over something, and one of the snowmen behind him gets a little too close for Lonnie’s liking.

As Zeke gets back up, he hears the muffled crack of Lonnie’s rifle in the distance. Turning around, the snowman closing in on him takes a direct hit to the head before it can do anything. Aware of the other snowmen trailing behind him now, Zeke turns and makes a break for the plateau. Lonnie chambers another bullet and prepares to clean up the rest of the snowmen.

06/25/2016
The Lavender Bar

Zeke walks into the Lavender Bar for the first time, hesitant to move further from the door as he scans around before noticing Lonnie waving at him.

LONNIE
You must be the one Abel took in yesterday.

ZEKE
Yeah. I owe him everything, he saved my life.

LONNIE
I heard about what happened, I’m sorry about your folks kid.

ZEKE
I’ll be okay. If they weren’t killed first, they probably would have taken me out sooner or later.

LONNIE
Your own parents wanted to kill you?

ZEKE
I’m definitely not the easiest kid to take care of, but...their pressure doesn’t make things any easier.

LONNIE
That doesn’t justify anything. It’s just a lazy parent’s excuse, so don’t take it to heart.

ZEKE
I never did. It’s probably part of how things got to where they did...

LONNIE
Now stranger, are you gonna come sit down and tell me your name?

ZEKE
Right...sorry. The name's Zeke.

LONNIE
Welcome to Blackthorne, Zeke. I’m Lonnie, and this beautiful building is called the Lavender Bar.

ZEKE
I’ve never been in a bar before. It’s nice in here.

LONNIE
Indeed it is. It’s my home, in a way.
So, Zeke, have you looked around the rest of Blackthorne?

ZEKE
Not really. You’re the first person I’ve seen at all since Abel.

LONNIE
Don’t worry, almost everyone pops their head in here throughout the day. You’ll find out pretty quickly that there’s never a dull moment in the Lav.
Want something to drink?

ZEKE
Is vodka an option?

LONNIE
It depends. How old are ya?

ZEKE
Turned 13 a few months ago.

LONNIE
Then for another 8 years, no. Vodka’s not an option.

ZEKE
Damn. What about beer?

LONNIE
No alcohol at all, sorry.

ZEKE
Boring...what else you got?

LONNIE
I’ve got...water, milk, some sodas, apple cider...

ZEKE
Just water then, please.

LONNIE
Wait, what about some tea? It’s cold outside, something hot wouldn’t hurt.

ZEKE
Until it spills. But no thanks, I’ve never really liked tea.

LONNIE
Alrighty...one water comin’ right up then.

ZEKE
Thank you, Lonnie. You know...maybe things happen for a reason.

LONNIE
A lot of things definitely happen for one reason or another...thinking of anything specific, Zeke?

ZEKE
With my parents...I always kinda felt like that wasn’t how family was supposed to be. Maybe everything that happened was so that I could find my own. A real family, you know?

LONNIE
...I do. That’s what Blackthorne’s always been to me, and a lot of others.

ZEKE
Then I’m happy here.

Zeke raises his water.

ZEKE
To new family?

Lonnie raises his glass, already nearly empty.

LONNIE
Sure. To new family!

08/18/2016
Blackthorne Hollow

Lonnie rounds the corner and enters the hollow, greeted by Zeke’s side-eye.

LONNIE
So is this where you’ve been disappearing off to?

ZEKE
...may I ask what you’re doing here?

LONNIE
I’m watching your back like I said I would. Someone’s gotta get you home safe, yeah?

ZEKE
I’ll be fine. There’s just too many snowmen down there right now...I’ll wait them out.

LONNIE
Zeke, I have more than enough firepower to smoke them if we need to. I don’t leave Blackthorne without it.

ZEKE
Well...I don’t. I wouldn’t be much help in a fight either, I...think you should just go back.

LONNIE
Okay...now what’s really going on?

ZEKE
I’m...waiting for someone. It might be a while.

LONNIE
What kind of friend would I be if I left you up here in the dark?

Lonnie sits against the wall opposite of Zeke, resting his rifle beside him.

ZEKE
What are you doing?

LONNIE
I’m just getting comfortable...you said we’re waiting for someone, right?

Zeke gives a melancholic smile.

ZEKE
...yeah. It’s Tizona. I think you’d like her.

LONNIE
Why don’t you tell me about her while we wait?

ZEKE
I could go on forever. Did I tell you how we met?

LONNIE
Plenty of times now, but...go on.

07/19/2016
Blackthorne Plateau

The snowman melts into the ground, leaving nothing between Tizona and Zeke. He rests his sword against his shoulder and gives her a half-assed wave.

ZEKE
Hey. Are you hurt?

TIZONA
No! I could’ve handled that myself, you know.

ZEKE
Famous last words. I’m sure that thing thought something similar...

Zeke points to the melted snowman with the tip of his blade.

ZEKE
...the same way my parents did.

TIZONA
I appreciare the gesture, but I don’t plan on becoming like that thing...now or ever. I know what I’m doing, I come here all the time.

ZEKE
You freeze your ass off for fun?

TIZONA
Saints, no! I get to start fires for fun. See that little cave over there?

ZEKE
Mhm?

TIZONA
That’s my hollow. It’s where I set up my fire and watch the birds.

ZEKE
Wait what’s wrong with the birds?

TIZONA
??

ZEKE
Why do they have to be watched? Do they attack people now or something?

TIZONA
...no? You just...observe them.

ZEKE
Oh. Phew. So you just watch them for fun? From up here?

TIZONA
That’s what I do, yes.

ZEKE
You can see that far?

TIZONA
Usually I bring binoculars-- shoot.

ZEKE
What?

TIZONA
I may have forgotten them at home. Well, there goes my plan for the evening.

Tizona walks past Zeke and into the Hollow.

ZEKE
So what now?

TIZONA
I’ll make do. Can’t waste a perfectly good opportunity to light a fire still, you know?

Tizona gathers some sticks and twigs from her stockpile within the Hollow. Kneeling down over her pile, she holds a twig with both hands and ignites it in one swift, vague motion.

TIZONA
Ahhh...sweet warmth. Maybe forgetting the binoculars was a good thing...I don't need them to have a nice evening.

ZEKE
Not to be a dick, but...this feels like a lot of work for stuff you could do just fine somewhere else. Then there's no risk of snowmen, catching a cold, you know. All the crazy shit going on here.

TIZONA
I disagree. This is my spot, and I love it enough to look past its flaws.

ZEKE
I-- Look, if you really know what you're doing, then...

TIZONA
Yes?

ZEKE
...then it's your funeral. I just really don't want anything to happen to you, especially with the world as cruel and fucked up as it is.

TIZONA
Mmh...I'm not your parents and you're not mine, okay?

ZEKE
Right. That'll be all from me, then, I'm sorry.

TIZONA
Thank you. Now I'll tell you what: I'm going to make myself some tea and catch up on a book I brought. If you want to stay in my spot, you've got until the kettle's boiling to tell me who you are and what YOU are doing up here.

ZEKE
Eh, you know what? Fuck it. Got nowhere else to be.

07/19/2016
Blackthorne Hollow

Zeke sits down across from Tizona as she empties water bottles into a little teapot and holds it carefully over the fire.

ZEKE
The name's Zeke. I'm from Astra Dominus originally, but around a month ago I ran away from home and ended up in Blackthorne.

TIZONA
Why'd you run away from home? Don't you have a family?

ZEKE
No, actually. Not anymore. And honestly...it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I’m free now.

TIZONA
H-how could that possibly be a good thing?

ZEKE
Look past the trees.

Zeke points at the distant walls of Astra Dominus’ border.

ZEKE
Those walls in the distance, have you ever been inside there?

TIZONA
Is that...Astra?

ZEKE
Yes. Astra Dominus.

TIZONA
That's a mouthful. My family just calls it Astra. And yeah, we visit my grandparents every few months. Though, with my brother being the way he is, it’s been...

ZEKE
It’s hell. Success is all that matters, even if it means shaving off parts of who you are in the process. My parents were reducing me to nothing for the sake of a salary.

TIZONA
...that’s awful.

ZEKE
Now that I’m free from the pressure...the expectations...I’m not so scared to lose who I am anymore. What good’s crawling out of hell if you never learn to walk...you know?

TIZONA
Success doesn't have to be such a rigid thing, either. Sometimes it can just be writing a neat little poem. Or maybe learning how to fold paper swans.

ZEKE
Exactly. But what about finding a flamingo on a cold mountain?

TIZONA
Seeing a flamingo at all sounds like a pretty big success to me.

ZEKE
I saw one up here on the same day I ran away from home. It was just looking down at me, like...

TIZONA
Oh! Oh! I wonder...

Tizona ruffles through her satchel and whips out a notebook looking as though it's on death's door, decorated in stickers and the residue of stickers no longer in tact.

ZEKE
What the stars is that? It's falling apart.

TIZONA
It's just a little old, it used to be my brother's. Whenever I see a new bird, I read about them and write a few pages in here. Let's see, flamingo...

END

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