Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was several hours before the black man started to stir on the cool metal of his enclosure. Night was falling swiftly over the island by now and the blood on his claws and hands had long ago dried to his pale flesh. A groan passed his lips as his eyes flickered once...twice...three times before parting fully, taking in the sight of the smooth metal cage roof, then turned in the next second on his side to see bars now instead with a backdrop of duplexes and whatnot in the background.

"What da ********?...." he grumbled, not fully comprehending his situation, and turned to get on all fours. A quick glance around gave him the sight of bars on every side, a metal floor below, and a metal roof above. It was like a cage.

A cage?!

This was not the beach bar. This was not the beach.

Jesus ********' christ. This was Aubrey's fault. He -knew- it had to be.

"I AIN'T A ********' ANIMAL!" he roared abruptly as he got to his feet, rage contorting his face as he ran for the nearest wall of bars, latching onto them with his hands, and trying to shake them, bend them, or SOMETHING. "I'll KILL her. I'LL DO IT, I SWEAR!"

A strangled bellow sounded from the cage as Jamal's insides felt like they were going to explode. The anger was almost unbearable.

How could they do this to him?

He was truely trapped now. Trapped in a body that isn't fully his own, trapped on an island somewhere uncharted, trapped in someone's twisted game, and now physically trapped like the animal he was becoming.

He couldn't take it.

Jamal started to punch, kick, claw...whatever possible...at his enclosuring, paying little attention that they didn't budge and were quickly causing bruising on his hands, arms, legs, and feet as he continued to assault his 'home'.

Zach had woken up farily late that morning, and after showering and dressing, he stepped outside his duplex. He was met with the sound of a loud roar. His eyes bulged, and his immediate thought was of Rex. Panicked thoughts ensued.

He jaunted down the stairs of his duplex, following the echoes of the noise. There, in a large metal cage, was Jamal, the tiger. An icy feeling gripped Zach as he watched the man kicking and flailing against his veritable prison. With every ringing slam against the bars, Zach winced. Did the man feel no pain? There appeared to be no way out of the metal box - not a lock, not any form of door or handle.

He was just about to approach and see what he could do when Awen arrived, sparing him the trouble. She trailed an IV. He remembered the previous night, and the note she'd handed off to Rex. How she had injured herself was beyond him, but the island was looking bleaker and bleaker everywhere he turned. He didn't dare wonder what was next.

After staring for a while, he realized he'd be more useful taking a look at the cage. He approached, though he announced himself in case Jamal wanted blood. He didn't think so much as simply speak.

"Jamal! Awen! What the hell is going on?"

Jamal didn't miss a beat when Awen approached the cage, continually throwing himself at his prison in succession, failing every time to cause any damage to anyone but himself. Any body surface that had struck the cage was beginning to swell and he somehow managed to split his lip in the process, the blood trickling down his chin to smear on his tank. His eyes had a crazed gleam to them; he was beyond hearing. The tiger was furious at being caged in this manner but was at a loss of what to do now that this 'attack' was not working.

Jamal finally started to pant, frustration still evident but his body simply unable to continue the abuse. Finally, he fell to his knees and gave a choking cough, flecks of blood from his lip splattering the metal flooring below. His chest heaved painfully but he wouldn't admit he was defeated. Not yet.

After a long pause, Jamal's head lifted and he saw three people staring at him. Like he was some sort of animal at a zoo. The black man bristled and bared his fangs at them, even Awen, and snarled weakily due to still being out of breath.

"Enjoyin' da show?!" he barked, trying to get back to his feet for another round of bar-crashing, but his knees wouldn't hold him because they were so bruised and he was so tired.

"How can they do this?" he growled. Rhetorical question. Rather than tower over the obviously hurt Jamal, he got down on his knees. The man needed every comfort he could get while he was trapped in this little mind game. Unfortunately, he couldn't find any words he thought would get through to the raging black man.

Zach's face showed disgust. Not at Jamal, but at the island. And here the other day Rex had told him to make the best of it. Deep down, he realized it was no wonder he couldn't. This was a fate that awaited all of them; to be no better than a broken beast in a cage, putting on a show for the cameras.

It was a mockery of human life.

He glanced over at the new guy, and looked away just as quickly. Whatever he was, he wasn't all human any more, and it was obvious by the brown fur. Zach didn't need distractions right now. Looking at another changed islander only served to remind him of Rex's sudden and drastic transformation.

"Jamal," he said slowly, "don't keep hitting the bars. The more you fight this thing, the worse you'll hurt yourself." He could see the desperation and insanity in the man's eyes, and was afraid that in enough time, there could be no way to get rid of it.

Jamal finally hauled himself to his feet after crawling to the nearest wall and using the bars as a support, wobbling briefly as his knees almost refused to take the weight, his face twisted in silent fury.
"I'll ********' kill that b***h," he growled lowly. "Lyin' ta me and ev'ryone else...lockin' us out of our duplexes on purpose...." He shook the bars again as he spoke the last phrase, panting again when he ceased, then finally looking at Awen as though he just registered what she said.

"I ain't hungry," he growled irritably, but it was a lie. He was actually very hungry, having been out for quite some time, but...this was all just too reminiscent of being at the zoo, only he was on the inside looking out. It reminded him of the signs that were always around the cages: "Don't Feed The Animals". The black man turned his icy glare to Zach, taking a moment before he recognized him as the man at the cafeteria when he fought with Ambrose. His face twisted into a sneer.

"I tol' ya this placed is ******** up, didn't I? But no. People like Ambrose 'n' dat ********' bitchass ho Aubrey act like it ain't nuthin," he said snarkily, almost in a taunting manner as he slid back to his rear, turning so his back was against the wall he had been holding onto. "Puttin' me in a cage fo' punishment ain't gonna stop me...they can't keep me in here fo'eva..."

Aubrey? The name would stick. He had yet to meet her, but he didn't like the sound of her and these twisted antics. Zach was now facing Jamal's back. "You're right. But Jamal, that's why we need to find a way off of this hellhole. All of us. We can't let them put you into another cage, or..." Or transform another person and rob them of their future like they've done to these former humans.

He allowed himself to be cut off by suddenly noticing the toppling IV. The webbed girl was working herself into a frenzy. His eyes darted in the direction she yelled, wondering if indeed there was a camera eyeing them back. Deep down, he wished he could join her in it, but it wasn't justified. After all, he'd hardly been on the island, and these two must have been there for a while. The experience felt more like being a silent witness than an active participant.

He balled his right hand into a fist nervously, ignoring the sharp sensation of the band-aids ripping at the delicate hairs on his hands. Wait, Jamal said this was a punishment. His eyes lit up suddenly. "What did you do to get put in this piece of metal, anyhow?"

Something, anything to distract the guy. Zach rose to his feet and delicately began probing at the bars, feeling only cold and solid metal. There had to be a lock of some kind on here. If they'd sealed in Jamal permanently...

Not even hearing Jamal's answer at first just angry with the staff in general at the moment she opened her mouth. "Just for that? Oh that is complete bu--" And then something clicked. Aubrey? The...Aubrey that just saved Awen's life earlier? She fell silent. She wanted to support Jamal, how badly she wanted to support the black man.

But to try to kill someone? This wasn't the accident Jamal had described the last time as. No, this was deliberate. She..couldn't blame him. His animal was vicious, he was strained beyond belief they all were especially with the last two months. Moreau, sure she could understand, she might even support. But.....Aubrey had just saved the manta's life.

"Au-aubrey? You tried to kill...Aubrey?"