beanstalk_sims | Culpepper Pals: Interlude 1

I have been planning to play the Strangerville mystery with a member of the Culpeppers for so long! It was about time I got it done, and who better to do it than adventure-seeker, Tania Scott!

* * *

Welcome to Strangerville!

Doesn’t it look like such a happy, quaint little town?

Well, Tania Scott definitely thought so. She didn’t even have to drive too far out of Oasis Springs to find it – although it was a little odd that the town didn’t seem to be on the map.

Even so, she managed to bag herself a little house, fire off a quick text to the family to know she was safe, and head out to see what the day brings.

“Hey! I’m new in town!”

The lady sitting on the bench said nothing. Tania continued regardless – probably a side effect of her cheerful nature.

“So why is it so quiet in the town square? Where is everybody?”

Where indeed...

“Well that’s a little...unusual.”

“Hey! I’m Tania! The scientist I was talking at told me to go see you. Are you, like, Strangerville’s tourist centre or something?”

“Tourist? What? Are you from the outside? How did you find us!” Erwin Pries gasped, “Do you listen to my podcast?!”

“Um. No. Sorry,” Tania frowned, as Erwin shook his head, disappointed. She asked, “What’s with this place?”

“Why don’t you take a wander up to the lab in the crater?” Erwin said, quietly, “You should find all the answers you need there.”

Tania followed Erwin’s advice, only to be interrupted by a phone call before she could do any real exploring.

“Dad! No I’m not busy, what’s up? Of course I’m safe!”

“Well it wouldn’t be an adventure if I stayed in Oasis Springs now, would it?”

There was silence for a moment while Tania listened to Travis.

“Look, don’t worry! I’m going to be fine! I’ll call you in a few days, okay?”

It was surprisingly easy to get into the science facility...and unnervingly quiet.

Where had Erwin sent her?

“Well that looks...ominous.”

Tania caught sight of a stack of papers on the right hand side of the door, and wandered over to root through them.

“There’s some pretty shady stuff going on here, I reckon.”

Tania hadn’t been expecting to come across a cover up in the desert, but now she’d opened a can of worms. She had to know more.

Maybe she could help Erwin out, despite her lacklustre programming skills.

And given there was no one around, Tania was pretty sure they wouldn’t miss a sandwich or two from the staff fridge.

Food found in an abandoned science lab was still food, afterall.

Night began to fall, so Tania made her exit, making sure to take anything with her that looked like it could be useful to Erwin.

Back at the little house she’d found to rent, a familiar face had turned up.

“Johnny! It's about time you got here! You've missed so much already!”

“Well I wasn’t going to come today...but your Dad said the town you were staying in sounded shady.”

“Oh, he would say that,” Tania replied, hugging Johnny anyway, “He’s right this time, though.”

“Right about what?”

Tania broke off the hug and wandered over to the desk.

“There’s definitely something going on here.”

“Like what?”

“I’m not even sure! There was this lady being all weird in the trailer park, right? And no one really wants to talk to me-”

“Your cheerfulness can be a bit much for some people.”

“-and then this Erwin guy said to go to the science lab and look! I found all this weird stuff! I think something’s going on here, Johnny!”

Johnny looked over the ‘evidence’ she’d collected, silently, before placing it carefully on the desk. He took her over to the couch.

“What if we just...left. Tonight. Before we’re involved by accident.”

“Johnny...I think I want to be involved.”

“Are you sure? Because we could be out of here, back on the road...in twenty minutes we could be some place new. Having a totally different adventure.”

“Johnny, do you really think that’s the right thing to do?”

He sighed, “Tania...I just think you should be cautious. I want you to be safe.”

“I will be fine, Johnny,” she replied, breezily, “But I can’t walk away now. Not when I know there’s something dodgy going on. Think about the people that live here, John. I want to help.”

Johnny sighed again, “Okay.”

Silence fell over them, and she studied him for a moment.

“Johnny, will you stay with me?”

He looked at her, “Of course.”

Johnny, insisting he was a gentleman, took the couch. Probably just so he could look Travis in the eye when they got back and could promise him there had been ‘no funny business’. Johnny got the feeling Tania’s father already didn’t approve of their friendship; he wasn’t about to give Travis an extra reason to despise him.

Besides, it was probably for the best. He’d hear the front door if any of the oddballs in this town tried to break in.

It meant he woke up before Tania, and thinking he’d be nice and supportive, he attempted to make breakfast for them both.

Which didn’t really go well, but it’s the thought that counts.

Tania seemed to appreciate it, anyway.

A bright new day arrived in Strangerville, and despite was Tania was learning about the place it seemed...normal.

Watching the townspeople go about their business...you wouldn’t think anything was going on here, not really.

The military personnel walking around the place didn’t seem to like her asking questions, though. Tania had a natural charm with people, she was generally well-liked, but the people of Strangerville seemed somewhat hesitant to talk to her.

She did, however, learn that the military guys tended to hang out in the local bar.

Well, there was no harm in going along, was there?

And who knows, maybe after a juice or two they’d be more willing to offer her up some information.

Tania ended up taking her newfound knowledge to Erwin, the only guy who really seemed to know what was going on around here.

He’d been happy to trade a keycard for the lab in exchange for the information she’d gathered.

The morning rolled into afternoon, and Tania wandered back up to the lab as the humidity climbed, turning the keycard over and over in her hands.

What lay beyond the door?

The steel doors slid back, and a small cloud of spores burst through the air. Tania immediately coughed, but seemed unharmed.

“That can’t be good,” she said.

She turned her back on the door, and left with a confident stride, despite the anxiety eating away inside her.

What had Tania just unleashed on the town?

Tania, what have you done?

Unsure what to think, Tania went back to the bar.

“Hey, did you see that crazy dust storm brewing up outside?” She smiled shakily at the military officer.

They studied her for a moment, “Lady, that ain’t no dust storm.”

Tania felt her blood run cold, and nodded, leaving the officer to their drink. She needed more information, and she needed it now.

Her first tactic was seduction, which wasn’t something Tania had ever really had much experience at. Naturally, it didn’t go well, and Tania couldn’t help wishing her friend Dolly was here – she’d have the guards eating out of her hands in moments.

Instead, Tania changed plan, and went with a good old fashioned bribe.

Night had fallen by the time Tania made it back up to the lab.

“Hey, Johnny? I’m going to be home late. No, everything’s fine, there’s just a couple of things I need to do first. Yeah, I saw the dust storm brewing...yeah, I hope so too.”

Tania hung up the phone and took a deep breath.

She was going to get answers.

The spore clouds were thicker downstairs, the air harder to breathe. Tania wasn’t even really sure what it was doing to her, she just pushed forwards, desperate to find out more.

She couldn’t keep going, there was no way she could breathe that air for that long. It left her feeling light-headed, and dizzy...

...a little dazed, in fact.

Tania was feeling more like herself when she got back to town. But there was still one last stop to make before she headed home for the night.

She explained the situation to Erwin, his eyes growing larger as her story continued. It seems things in Strangerville went far deeper than even he realised.

He offered her a hazmat suit, but unfortunately it was missing a pretty key component. She thanked him, and took it anyway. There had to be some way of getting it repaired.

It was pretty late by the time Tania got back, but Johnny still hadn’t gone to bed. Miraculously, he seemed unaffected by the spores in the air. She was full of relief when she hugged him.

“It’s so good to see you,” she murmured.

“You’ve only been gone a few hours,” he chuckled, “The weather tonight is pretty crazy, isn’t it?”

Tania swallowed, “I don’t think it’s the weather, John.”

They walked down the street, watching the cloud on the horizon, as she explained what she had happened earlier that day.

“So it’s my fault, John. I opened that door, and let the spore cloud out.”

“You were right,” she said, and her voiced cracked a little, “If we’d just left and gone home...none of this would have happened. Strangerville would have been okay if I hadn’t come here.”

“I don’t know about okay, Tania.”

She looked at him, “But this only happened because I didn’t listen to you. I interfered, and it wasn’t my place to.”

“Tania, you were trying to help,” Johnny looked up at the sky and back to her, “And this...this was already in progress before we got here. Some of those people, in the bar, they knew about this, Tania.”

“But I let it out, John. I put people in danger.”

He pulled her into a hug, “It’s okay. I know what you’re like Tania, you’re not going to stop until you figure this whole thing out.”

“Do you think I can fix it?”

“I have no doubt that you can.”

A new day arrived, but the spore clouds still hung in the air. It seemed more and more people were succumbing to the spores, stumbling blindly through the streets.

Still feeling guilty, Tania managed to find one of the scientists. It was funny how they never seemed to be up by the lab, despite claiming that’s where they worked.

Thankfully, one offered to make Tania a filter for the hazmat suit, but only if she did something for them first.

Despite having instructions from the scientist, Tania still felt like she was clueless when it came to the tech in the lab. An infection profile, apparently that was what she was making.

Hopefully she’d done it right.

Back in the town, things were getting worse, with thick vines growing out of all the plumbing.

The pressure was on to sort things out quickly.

Things went well with the infection profile, though. The scientist held up their end of the deal, too, and a filter for the hazmat suit would arrive the following day.

Johnny and Tania sat on the porch that night. Despite it feeling like the world was ending, the night was warm and peaceful, like summer nights back home. They might as well make the most of it.

“...so I’ll get the filter tomorrow, and then I’m going into the lab. I’m going to find out what’s down there.”

“How dangerous is it?”

“Honestly, I have no idea.”

“Tania...I need you to come back, okay?”

“John, nothing will happen down there. I’ll be fine.”

“But just in case…” Johnny hesitated, clearly thinking deeply about what he wanted to say, “Tania, after all of this...I…”

She pulled him closer.

“Johnny, let’s worry about after this later. After we’re finished with this,” Tania murmured, “If there is an after.”

“There will be,” He replied, and fell silent for a moment, “What would you like to do this evening?”

Tania thought for a second, “Let’s do something ordinary. Something we would do if we were back home.”

* * *

Despite the fact the apocalypse literally seemed to hang in the air, the postal service was still pretty efficient. The filter arrived, as promised. And instructions for vaccine of some sort.

It was time.

The lab seemed to go on forever, an endless maze of steel and lights. Row after row of tanks, holding the same plants that grew outside…

“What IS that thing?!”

Tania turned on her heel, and left the cursed thing in there. It was far too big for her to deal with yet.

She took out the instructions from the scientist, and got to work.

If the plants were making people ill, perhaps there was a vaccine that would cure them. She spent the afternoon gathering ingredients and tinkering, before heading home to Johnny.

He was clearing out the vines when she got home; they seemed to grow back everyday. Now Tania had seen why. She knew what they were joined to. She recapped her day for him.

“And I’ve got this potential vaccine...but I’m so scared of failing, John.”

“Well, don’t be so afraid you don’t even try, Tania. You never know, it could work.”

The night passed uneventfully, gradually giving way to the pink light of dawn. Who knew that the apocalypse could look so pretty?

Another busy day lay ahead.

“Today’s the day, John,” Tania said, after breakfast, “I’m going to put a stop to this nonsense today.”

“Just come back safe so we can go on a real vacation, okay?”

Tania put an arm round his shoulders, watching the spores drift around inside the house. They were everywhere now, no home was safe.

“A real vacation,” Tania repeated, with a smile, “Now what would that look like?”

“Somewhere tropical, I reckon,” He replied, “Somewhere with good food. Maybe a hot tub.”

“Well, if we survive this, we’ll do it.”

Tania set off as soon as possible. The morning had barely begun, but she was already throwing her homemade vaccine in the faces of anyone who happened to cross her path.

Miraculously, it seemed to work.

The next problem was trying to rally people to join her; to fight the mother plant in the basement of the lab.

“See, all the spore in the air? That’s the only way we can stop it. The only way we can save our loved ones.”

Thankfully, most people seemed on board with her quest.

Late afternoon was threatening to turn into evening by the time Tania made it back to the lab. The concentrated spore clouds had dispersed, the need for a hazmat suit gone.

She took a deep breath, and opened the door to the mother plant.

Weed killer. It was the first thing she’d thought of.

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to do much good. After battling it out for twenty minutes, Tania backed off, tired and dazed.

Perhaps the vaccination she’d invented would help. Maybe that would be stronger.

It was.

With the help of the townspeople she’d rallied together, Tania was able to take down the mother plant in a narrow victory.

The townspeople rejoiced – the mother plant lay dead in the pit, while the Saviour of Strangerville played the vuvuzela triumphantly above.

Gradually Tania’s new friends started making their way back to town, the air above already beginning to clear up. Night was falling, and soon the sky would be full of stars instead of spores.

Tania had to find Johnny. She had to celebrate the good news.

She found him near the town square, not far from their own doorstep. Filled with adrenaline and excitement from her victory, she immediately ran to his side.

“Johnny we did it! The town is free!”

Without even really thinking about it, she reached up and kissed him, taking him completely by surprise.

After a moment, she stepped away, “Oh...Sorry...heat of the moment?”

“It’s okay...you know, I’m actually glad you kissed me.”

Tania chuckled, “As long as you didn’t want to be the one to make the first move.”

“So wait...you have feelings for me? Because I do...but I didn’t want to make it awkward.”

“You’re making it awkward now, John,” she laughed, “Let’s kiss again, yeah? Properly this time.”

“What about after?” Johnny asked, tilting his head towards hers.

“We’re going to get out of here,” she said, simply, and kissed him.

As they parted, she took his hands.

“Where are we going to go?” Johnny asked.

“On a real vacation,” she smiled.

Well. As close to a ‘real vacation’ as Tania can actually get.

But despite being in the middle of the jungle, and not on a sun lounger by a pool, Johnny was happy. Maybe adventure wasn’t so bad, afterall.

* * *

So!

This was the first time I'd actually played the Strangerville mystery - somehow I'd made it this far without spoilers? There are definitely things I would have done differently, like maybe infect Johnny so he could help save the day, but I had a lot of fun playing it!

Also, this whole thing took place in a throwaway save rather than the actual Culpepper save, Tania and Johnny's real first kiss actually took place at the end of Summer 3, when I was playing the Bell household: