"Pelican Town to Sims Town" - A Stardew Valley, Sims 3 Fanfic
*UPDATE 7/29/2022* This is no longer an active story - it has been completed. YAY! 😁 - so reading from here on out you will get to enjoy all the Chapters at your disposal without waiting for more up...
As the day wore on into the late afternoon, Abigail, Leah and Maru found themselves in a dusty area, surrounded by a low chain link fence, just down the hill from an old vacant gas station and gift shop. The enormous statue of some reptilian creature they just passed intrigued them, but also gave them the chills. But what was even more chilling, was running into skeletal remains of possibly just such a creature and they instantly froze in their tracks.
“Does this mean those giant reptiles actually exist!?” Leah asked with a shiver. “These are SO cool!” Maru said with excitement. “On the bright side Leah, this one is dead,” Abigail grinned. “NO! They HAVE to be extinct! Please oh please God let them be!” Leah cried, eyes closed and hands clapped together in prayer. “They most likely are,” Maru assured, stepping closer and placing her hand upon one of the bones. “These bones look ancient; and are fossilized. I’m gonna give one a quick scan with my handy dandy scanner here.” After a minute doing that, she informed, “Yup. These bones are 68 million years old.” “Oh thank you Lord!” Leah praised. “And they’re known as Dinosaurs,” Maru read on. “And they are indeed classified as reptiles.” She continued reading on in her head. “Hmm, this is fascinating. The existence of these creatures is WAY cool! But yeah, wouldn’t want to be alive during the same time as they were.” Leah shuddered again. “Do you think a fragment of these fossilized bones will be of any use to us?” Abigail asked. “Useful? I doubt it, but definitely great for studying and analyzing.” Abigail whipped out her phone again. “I’ll call Harvey again and ask just to be sure. He kinda blew me off earlier when I asked what his thoughts are on the barrier I ran into because something came up on his end I guess.” She shrugged and dialed.
“Hey it’s me again,” she greeted when Harvey answered. “Why did you blow me off earlier?” “Sorry about that,” Harvey said, “we were trying to have a discussion with a guy at City Hall and...it wasn’t going so well.” “How do you mean?” “It’s,” he hesitated, “too much to explain over the phone, we’ll have to meet again as a group and talk about it later.” Her brows furrowed. “Okaaay. So anyway I called to tell you that we happened upon some 68 million year old bones from these giant reptiles called Dinosaurs!” “Really? That’s awesome!” “Yeah, so should we grab a fragment of one of these things? Will it be useful to us in any way or just for studying?” “It’s possible both. But yeah please do grab some fragments, I’d love to take a look at it.” “I figured as much,” she smiled. Definitely keeping one for myself!
“So you guys haven’t run into any magical barriers too?” Abigail then asked him. “Nope,” he replied. “I doubt there will be any in town, but I’m sure if we traveled far out in the opposite direction from the hills we would.” “And what are your thoughts on the barrier?” “Well, it’s now apparent that magic is involved in this world. Perhaps the Wizard is trying to keep us contained into one area of it for the purpose of the quest.” “Ugh...that just makes me feel claustrophobic!” “It certainly creates a suffocating feeling for sure.” “But WHY though? And is this even a real world out in the cosmos or just one the Wizard created to watch us in like a snowglobe!?” “I don’t know Abigail, we’ll have to figure that out later. Right now I’m trying to find out where the Hospital is…”
“Yeah and you shouldn’t be driving and talking on the phone at the same time Harvey!” Shane raised his voice to purposely reach Abigail, straight through Alex’s ear it seemed. “Oh you’re driving?” Abigail asked. “You coulda told me that…” “Well we’d just gotten in the truck when you called and I didn’t want to ‘blow you off’ again,” Harvey said, “Plus I’m driving so slow here in town that I figured--” “He figured that HE, mister high and mighty, is okay to do it when normally he’d get after US for doing it!” Shane leaned over to yell once again into the phone. Harvey sighed. “I gotta go…,” he told Abigail, with an unamused look. “Yeah, good idea. Catch up with you guys later!”
Shane leaned back into his seat, arms folded and with a proud smirk, but the feeling was short lived. As he watched the same buildings pass by again out the window, he let out an exasperated sigh. “Why do we need to find the Hospital right now anyway? None of us are dying or anything…” “Because,” Harvey snipped, carefully studying each building, “I wanna make sure I’m not the only living Physician around here.” I sure hope I’m not…
He was still trying to recover from what the three of them were continuing to discover. When they stopped by the Library, Gym, Art Studio, City Hall, and other random offices and stores, they encountered the same android-like persons as the woman in the Grocery Store; carrying very little intelligence with pre-programmed responses. And they were all just manning the front desks, there were no other workers or residents mingling around. It was quickly becoming apparent that the twelve of them from Pelican Town were the only living and intelligent life forms on this planet...at least in this town, which seemed to be shut off from the rest of the world, as Abigail had recently informed. Harvey wasn’t ready to believe it, or to accept it, for many concerning reasons.
Having gone up and down the streets of the small town a couple of more times and not discovering any sort of medical clinic (“Hey! There’s the Bar!” Shane exclaimed), Harvey pulled the truck over, stepped out and abruptly closed the door behind him, leaving the other two within. He wove his hands together behind his head and stared off into the distance, trying to catch his breath. Alex shot a questionable look at Shane, who just scowled and sunk back into his seat.
Why are there no medical clinics or a Hospital here? Why aren’t there any real people? And why the barrier? Harvey asked in his mind.
He gazed up toward the sky. “It doesn’t make any sense!” he voiced. “WHY!?”
Then he lowered his head. What is the meaning of all this? This is not what we signed up for. We were just supposed to go on a quest; do a favor for the Wizard. He sighed. God help us...if You’re even there.
“Harvey?” Alex gently asked, he and Shane approaching him from behind. “You okay?”
Quickly pulling himself together, the Doctor replied, “Yeah. I will be.” Shane folded his arms. “Are you seriously getting emotional over the fact that there’s no Hospital?” he asked while rolling his eyes. “We’re not gonna need one.” “You don’t know that…” “The Wizard is playing some game with us in this made up world. We’ll solve it eventually without hurting ourselves.” “Again, you don’t know that.” “Don’t treat me like some mo'ron Harvey! I’m smarter than you think!” “He’s not saying you’re a mo'ron Shane,” Alex stepped in. “Harvey, it makes sense there aren’t any medical clinics here because the residents aren’t human.” “But WE’RE human. The Wizard knows this.”
Alex gulped. “Well, if anything does happen to any of us...we’ve got you. You’ve been patching us up back home for a while now.” “True, but,” Harvey paused to turn and face them, his bangs plastered to his forehead from the perspiration, “there’s only so much I can do. I’m no specialist or surgeon and beyond that I have no medical supplies. The Grocery store had nothing except for band-aids and a few pills to cure a headache and alleviate allergy symptoms.” His tone grew louder. “I don’t have much to check basic vitals with. I can’t run tests. I don’t have any needles or thread for sutures, nothing to start an IV with or IV fluids. Hell I don’t even have a defibrillator! I have NOTHING!” The two stared at him blankly now. “We don’t know what’s out there,” he said, pointing behind him, “what dangerous wildlife there is or foreign illnesses to our systems. You two understanding now!?” His wet bangs now dangled over his stressed eyes, giving off that mad scientist look. It made what he was implicating pierce into Shane and Alex’s minds all the more.
After a moment of silence, Harvey brushed the bangs away from his eyes and continued in a softer tone, “I’m not going to trust that the Wizard has removed all harm in this world from us or if so, will protect us from it. He is not that powerful.” Alex lightly nodded, some of the concern rubbing off on him. “We’ll figure everything out Harvey. We’ll be alright,” he said to comfort himself more than anything. “I say we could all use a drink,” Shane expressed, with his arms still folded. “Unless you don’t drink Doctor?” he disrespectfully asked Harvey with a raised eyebrow. Harvey met his gaze with a stern look and replied, “I drink...just responsibly.” If he was implying anything, Shane didn’t care to acknowledge it. He was just finally happy to get his way. “Alright then, let’s head on over to the Bar! The day is done and we have certainly carried it.” He then swung on his heel and made for the truck, promptly getting himself in.
Alex and Harvey shot each other a curious expression at the term Shane just used, not sure if he knew exactly what it meant, or if it was even truly accurate, but they both shrugged it off and got back into the truck themselves.
******************************
When Harvey pulled up to the bar, Shane gazed upon it from the window like he’d just found buried treasure.
Finally, he thought, pulling the elastic cuffs from his sleeves further down over his shaking hands. He could no longer control them now and it’d taken a great deal of deteriorating mental effort to do so. Soon this will all be over and I’ll be just fine.
Upon entering through the swinging doors Shane stopped right before the bar, drawing in a breath and exhaling it pleasurably. He could swear it smelled just like the Stardrop Saloon back home. The guy behind the bar was mindlessly drying the glasses; he expected as much.
Alex took a seat at the end of the bar, reading the available drinks from a small chalkboard on the wall. Harvey stood between him and Shane, thinking it probably best that he refrain from drinking since he had already become the designated driver.
“Bartender,” Shane happily addressed while sitting down, “get me a ‘Boilermaker.’”
The man stared blankly at him for a moment and said, “I don’t know that kind of drink. What can I get for you this evening?” Harvey couldn’t help cracking a smile while Shane facepalmed. “Just give me the strongest drink you have.” “You got it!”
In no time at all the bartender shook up a drink and poured it into a martini glass, sliding it before Shane. It was lime green in color which he found to be a bit strange for their strongest drink, but this world was bizarre and at this point he didn’t care. He promptly lifted the glass and began to drink.
No sooner had the liquid touched his taste buds that he abruptly spit it out, projectiling forward, and barely missing the bartender. It certainly caught everyone’s attention. “What the HELL is this!?” he cried, wiping at his lips. “This isn’t beer or whatever the hell you machines call it over here!” Harvey came up to Shane’s side. “It probably contains a different form of alcohol.” “No! I KNOW alcoholic beverages, and yes I can even pick up on a foreign style of it, and this ISN’T one!” “Shane you can’t possibly--” “Oh yeah Mister smarty-pants if you don’t believe me try one yourself!” Harvey sighed and reached for Shane’s drink. “Not mine! Order your own!” Begrudgingly Harvey ordered a completely different drink and took a small sip of it.
Licking his lips a bit he said, “Hmm. Delicious. That’s the healthiest bar drink I’ve ever tasted.” “Shut up Harvey!” Shane murmured while rubbing at his forehead. “You’re right though Shane, this doesn’t taste alcoholic at all. It almost tastes like...juice.”
In that moment, Shane froze; the color draining from his face, beads of sweat dripping from his brow and his heart pounding within his chest. Genuine fear radiated in his eyes as he gazed at his reflection in the bar mirror and he could feel his airway becoming constricted. Oh no…
“Bartender,” he addressed again with a choke, “What are the names of your drinks here?” The man paused to think for a second before replying. “Spritz Juice, Martini Juice, Daiquiri Juice--” “That’s enough,” he stopped. “Juice?” he then questioned, staring at him with a twitch in his eye. “ALL of your drinks are made out of JUICE? The stuff squeezed from fruits!? Even in a BAR!?” “Yes sir. Squeezed only from the perfect quality fruits,” came the cheeky reply.
Shane was fuming. Crimson red outlined his vision. Unable to control his rage any longer he sprang forward and grabbed the man by his shirt collar, bringing his face before his, causing numerous glasses to fall and break onto the floor. “Hey! Shane!” Harvey addressed, gripping his chest to pull him back. Alex rushed over to help. “Quit with the bull sh'it!” Shane hissed in the man’s face. The mechanical man simply stared at him in terror, not uttering a word. “Are you telling me that there’s not a FRICKING drop of alcohol in this entire town!? Da'mn you all and the Wizard to HELL!” “SHANE!” Harvey shouted, finally pulling him away from the bartender. He gripped his wrists to better hold him in place and ordered, “That’s enough!”
Surrendering, mostly from his own weakness, Shane hated meeting Harvey’s gaze as he tried to catch his breath. His chest rose and fell rapidly like he’d just run a marathon and Harvey could feel his pulse palpitating through his wrists and witnessed beads of sweat rolling past his bloodshot eyes and down his cheeks. Realization suddenly set in and the Doctor couldn’t believe he didn’t recognize it sooner. “Shane...you’re really not okay are you?”
“Get your hands off me!” Shane fumed, jerking free from Harvey’s grasp, and dashed toward the swinging doors. He kicked the trash can over with great force before shoving the doors open and exiting. “Shane, where are you going?” Alex called out. “Home,” came the sharp reply. “Screw all this investigating, I’m DONE!”
“Geez,” Alex whispered, then glanced upward from hearing the hail rattling on the roof. “We can’t let him walk all the way home in this.” “He’s not really giving us a choice,” Harvey said, pulling out his phone and searching through his contacts. “But he might get hit by a car or something! You saw how he was staggering!” “I know, and that’s why we’re going to stealthily follow him home. If that’s actually where he’s going.” He held the phone up to his ear and waited for Elliott to answer.
“Hey, we’re done for the day and heading back. Shane will arrive there before us.” “Huh? Why?” Elliott asked. “He’s in deep distress because he’s suffering from alcohol withdrawal and decided to walk home. We’re gonna trail behind him a ways to make sure he does, but once he steps through the door I need you to approach him calmly and keep a close eye on him. Make sure he doesn’t attempt anything...crazy.”
Alex’s eyes widened, same with Elliott’s on the other line. “Once we get there I’ll see what I can do to help him.” “Okaaay, but...I doubt he’s gonna let you near him Harvey, especially when he’s feeling like cr’ap. It’s no mystery he doesn’t like you.” “I know,” Harvey sighed, “and that’s why I’ll need help from you and the other guys. He’s gonna need to be closely monitored for the next few days because...he’s gonna get a whole lot worse before he gets better. He’s going to need all the care and support we can give him.”
