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 Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 7:05 pm
Outside was much nicer to hang around in than inside. Inside was white walls and confusing labyrinths of hallways. Outside was freedom. Sunshine. Blue skies.
Which would be great, if he could remember how to get outside. Instead, he was inside. Inside the building, but outside of a barricade. Obstacles like this just dared to get busted open like a watermelon on the beach.
First order of business was to kick at it experimentally to see if anything would dislodge.
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Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 7:20 pm
The only reason Gale was even inside the barricade again was because of a desperate need to just get away. That, and the fact that the sheer amount of teenagers - and the people who assumed he was one of them - were giving him a headache and flashbacks to when he had been the only adult on an island full of children.
Or at least, the only semi-adult, he couldn't even remember how long ago that had been.
Or a lot of things, for that matter. Gale rubbed at his face.
He heard footsteps outside and tensed, waiting to hear Mark's plaintive voice or maybe Lucky's confused one - but instead there was the thump of something against the barricade, as though someone was trying to shove it down. Or maybe throw something at it.
"Hey - "
Gale climbed to his feet, annoyance flaring, and peered over the top of the barricade.
"Stop tha...."
But he trailed off, because the face looking back at him was unmistakeable, even half a dozen years younger. Gale opened his mouth, then shut it again. Opened it once more, and shut it, and finally just said, with restrained incredulity,
"Er. Hi, Otto."
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 4:53 am
There was someone actually behind this mound of trash. And for one reason or another, he seemed to know who he was. Otto lifted his gaze to the somewhat-older looking man, scrunching his features in thought. Or irritation. It was hard to tell which one Otto was currently experiencing. "How'd you know my name?" Maybe despite how young this other guy looked, he was actually someone who worked here. Or maybe Otto had already earned a bad reputation here at Deus. "The ******** is this thing? What's it for?" He asked in a pubescent voice, kicking at a large piece of furniture in front of him.
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 9:52 am
Whoops. He'd forgotten he probably shouldn't know kid Otto's name.
"Er," said Gale, thinking fast, "I saw you, er, running around earlier. I'm trying to keep track of where everyone is. You're Otto Graves, aren't you? Don't be alarmed; my name is Gale, I'm, er...I work here."
He glanced at the barricade, then at Otto again.
"It's to keep stupid people out."
Meaning Mark.
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 9:57 am
Well, if he worked here, then he must know at least a little bit about him, he supposed. Maybe he could grill the guy about why he'd been nabbed from his home. "Stupid people? Tch. What's that supposed to mean?" Otto asked with a curled lip. Was that supposed to include himself? He already hated this guy's guts if that were the case. He wouldn't admit he really was stupid. Not to this clown. "I got questions for you, buddy. Come on outta that shitty lookin' fort." At fourteen, Otto was already intimately familiar with bad language.
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 2:04 pm
[ "Mark," said Gale, by way of explanation, which wasn't much at all. "He, er - well, anyway, he's a bit of an idiot, we're trying to - anyway - "
He cleared his throat, giving Otto a pointed look, then sighed. It was kind of like talking to Otto when he'd first come to the island, all snark and sass and obnoxious mannerisms.
Still, Gale climbed over the fort, if only because he wanted to actually talk to Otto. He slid to the floor on the other side of the barricade, turned to look at Otto -
- and probably broke off in a sputtering of laughter he couldn't quite control because Otto was shorter than he was.
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 2:19 pm
Otto bristled like a startled cat as Gale laughed at him. At him. "The Hell is so funny?!" He squeaked back at the other blonde, his cheeks going red from anger. But mostly from embarrassment.
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 3:15 pm
"Nothing," said Gale, clearing his throat. "Er, yes. You said you had questions?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 3:29 pm
Should he just let it go? He'd hold a grudge for now, but he really did need information first and foremost. "Yeaaaah..." He gave the taller boy a judgemental glare before continuing. "So like, what is this place? Why'd I get taken here?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 3:37 pm
Gale was trying - mostly unsuccessfully - to wipe the smile from his face.
It was very hard.
"This place is called Deus Ex Machina," he said, after a second's consideration, Gale gesturing around at their surroundings. "It's a...research facility of a sort. We exist in order to protect, er...gifted teenagers."
Maybe if he stretched it very far.
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 3:39 pm
Gifted? Otto's face was suddenly vulnerable, all the spikes and barbed wire falling off his normally scowling expression. Not once, in his entire life, aside from his Grandfather and drumming teacher, has ever had the slightest bit of faith in him. "Really?" He asked, awe glowing under his freckled skin.
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 3:54 pm
Gale didn't ever swear, but he did now.
s**t.
The look of hopeful eagerness on Otto's face was not one that Gale could ever recall seeing on his friend's face. He and Otto had been through a great deal together, going from at each other's throats to a grudging respectability to an actual friendship - and still, that look was not one that Gale knew existed.
He cleared his throat again, awkwardly.
"Er...yes," he said, wondering how much this was going to bite him in the behind later. "Yes. Everyone who's here on Deus is gifted in one way or another."
Well, it wasn't wrong.
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 3:56 pm
"Oh.." He wasn't sure how to read Gale's discomfort. Maybe Otto had let too much of himself show just then. He coughed and rubbed his neck, trying to nonchalantly find out more without seeming eager. "So uh.. what uh.." He flicked his gaze to the floor then back at Gale, "What's my gift then?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 4:00 pm
Gale drew in a breath, calling upon years of Deus experience to school his features into something as calm and stoic as he usually was. Otto was given a considering look.
"What do you feel like your gift is?" he asked instead, making sure to keep his voice level and not condescending - Otto had never done well with being patronized, after all.
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 4:09 pm
"Um.. I'm real good at drums. Been drumming for six years now." He tried not to let it show how much he enjoyed this subject. He failed. "Grandpa bought me my drum set and got me lessons when I was eight. He died four years ago.. and Mom n' Dad made me cancel the lessons cause they didn't wanna pay for'em. But I been practicin' every day there ain't a funeral goin' on." He eyed Gale curiously then. "But uh... why would you folks go so far to get me outta my folk's place just cause of my music?"
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