[Dated 12/1]

[noonelaughed]

What's fucked is that he didn't drink that much, not really. And there was only just the one pill, lost at the bottom of the bottle he nicked, all bubbles and fizz. Okay, so maybe he'd gone skinny dipping just for the fuck of it sometime earlier, but that's just because he thought he'd be waking up somewhere in the jungle where he'd gone to sleep, not on a bridge in the snow in some city.

It looks like fuckin' London, but that can't be right. Can it?

Chris stands, hands over his bits as he looks around.

"What the fuck?" he says, and begins walking, over the bridge, towards unfamiliar buildings.

Comments

[sugarandbite]

This had not been what Caroline had been expecting to wake up to. A few people had mentioned that in the past the island had changed during the holiday season, but she hadn't thought that it would be this dramatic. It was frankly something of a shock.

Since shorts are now out of the question, both as a fashion choice and as a way to deal with the weather she had assembled an outfit that seemed appropriate given both the new setting and what she could get from the box. The long overcoat was a pretty shade of pink, her long dress a golden yellow which didn't wash her out. Caroline had decided that she would figure the rest of wardrobe thing out once she had surveyed exactly what sort of changes had happened under her nose.

She had been wandering for just long enough to start to feel cold enough that turning around and heading back seemed like a good idea. Just as she was about to turn she saw some guy looking very cold and very naked walking across the bridge. "Oh my god," she said as she rushed towards him, momentarily irritated at the length of her skirt. "Why are you naked? It's freezing!"

[noonelaughed]

"Yeah, well why's it fuckin' freezing?" Chris asks, shivering, though he's mostly just glad that he's come across someone, even if they're dressed like they're from a film or something.

So what, first he'd ended up on the island, now he's in what? London?

"Look, I just went out to the jungle for a bit and now there's this. What's going on?"

[sugarandbite]

"I don't know, maybe because it's December and randomly winter because this place really is as weird as everyone says it is. Because I woke up this morning and found myself on the set of A Christmas Carol along with everyone else? Cause normality is on vacation? Take your pick." Caroline threw her hands in the air in mild exasperation. Today had been weird enough as it was without the random finding of some naked guy. This was sort of the icing on the surreal cake. But seriously, who wandered around frozen streets naked in the winter? That was just bad planning.

Realizing that this was one of those prime times where she could be as helpful as she always wanted to be but never really succeeded in, she eyed the guy for a moment before undoing the dozen or so buttons on her coat.

Peeling it off she offered it to him. "Here Naked Boy Wonder, it's freezing and I'm wearing like a thousand layers right now. You need this."

[noonelaughed]

"Cheers," Chris says, because he's not about to worry about fuckin' chivalry when he's freezing his bollocks off. He pulls his hands away from his bits to take her coat and put it on. Maybe it's a good thing that she's wearing about a thousand layers, because it's not as small on him as it might be, otherwise. His feet are still freezing though, he can barely feel the road beneath his toes, and he hasn't got a clue where he left his shoes.

Well, he left his shoes in the jungle, but that doesn't fuckin' help, does it?

"Is the compound like... even around anymore? Or is that gone as well?"

[sugarandbite]

It said a lot about Caroline that when the guy pretty much flashed her as he put on her coat that she hardly even noticed. There would have been a time when that sort of thing would have earned an obligatory squeal, but not any more. Now it is practically just another Thursday.

Gesturing behind her, she looked briefly back to make sure that she's not giving genuinely bad directions. "It's back that way. It doesn't look like Compound anymore though. It's gone all...Dickensy on us." Turning back to face him, she folded her arms across her chest. "So, why are you naked?"

[noonelaughed]

Chris shrugs. "I dunno, maybe 'cos I was last night?" he says, which isn't much of an answer, but if the island hadn't suddenly ended up this way, his being naked wouldn't even be that big a deal, really. Not unless anybody who saw him heading home wanted to make a big deal of it. And even then, he probably would have been able to find his clothes in the jungle before then.

[sugarandbite]

While that made a lot of sense, it didn't exactly answer her question. Though now that Caroline thought about it she hadn't asked for the specifics of why he was hanging out naked in the first place.

"Okay. Fair enough. Is getting naked by yourself a hobby? Cause I think that Matthew McConaughey already cornered the market on that one. Anyways, no big." She shrugged trying to decide what she should do next. The best bet would find a way back to what was now the Compound. "Okay. We should probably get you back to the Compound which is somewhere. Give me a minute and I'll figure it out."

[noonelaughed]

"I'm not so sure I've got a minute," Chris replies, because he's just tried to wiggle his toes, and it isn't working out particularly well for him. Mostly it feels like he's got these weird sausages attached to where his toes should be, and he can't really feel them against the stone anymore.

"I'm gonna head this way, 'cos it's got to be better than just standin' round here, yeah?" He points in one direction and starts off. Hopefully, it's the right way, or he's probably fucked.

[sugarandbite]

"Wait!" Caroline called out a moment later, having picked a direction just after he had. Waving wildly as if that will make him turn around and notice her. It was already bad enough that he had been out here like this for god knows who how long. She didn't even want to think about how bad it would be if died or something even after she had found him.

"You're going the wrong way! Hey you! Naked Guy! It's this way," she shouted taking a few steps to follow after him. "Don't make me drag you back there, cause I totally will."

[noonelaughed]

"You're sure?" he asks, turning round, and just then, it becomes really fuckin' noticeable, how much he can't feel the road under his feet. It's dead weird, like he's got cotton underneath his feet or something. Or pins and needles. Or somewhere in the middle of that.

Either way, he starts heading back in her direction, walking about as fast as he can manage without turning it into a jog.

"And it's Chris, by the way. I'm not always naked."

[sugarandbite]

"Positive. It's not even that far. We could probably, I don't know...jog or something?"

Caroline wasn't exactly thrilled by the idea of jogging dressed like she was, but it was better to go with the idea rather than be the one responsible for this guy losing his feet. That was not something that she wanted to weigh down on her conscience for the rest of time.

Already starting to head in the direction that she had pointed, she turned to look back at him as she walked. "I'm Caroline and it's nice to meet you. Besides, I wouldn't care if you were. I mean, it'd be kind of weird, but not the end of the world."