Welcome to Gaia! ::

Jamal had been sitting outside on his 'porch' smoking a cigarette and watching the silent village with an air of bitterness that shone in his eyes and in the tension of his face and body. He was mulling over his conversation with Vasile currently, wondering the merits of starting a revolt. Would it work? Not yet...maybe with time and with people to back him up, it might...but who would go in on it with him? He was one man and could only get away with so much before they got tired of what he was doing.

His thoughts were cut off as he heard the rumbling of an aircraft overhead. At first, he thought nothing of it, having grown used to such noises and knowing that they from a craft that was associated with the island, but this sounded different. Louder even.

As he peered up into the darkness, he was suddenly blinded as the searchlight illuminated the village as a whole and then a voice blared loudly over speakers of some sort.

"PRISONERS OF THE ISLAND - WE HAVE GOTTEN WORD OF YOUR SITUATION. NICHOLAS MOREAU IS BEING APPREHENDED FOR HIS CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY, AND BACKUP IN EN ROUTE TO FREE YOU AND RETURN YOU TO YOUR HOMES AND FAMILIES. EXPECT TRANSPORTATION OFF THE ISLAND AT 1900 HOURS."

Jamal listened in disbelief at first but common sense was completely masked by pure elation. THEY WERE SAVED!

He didn't know military time, but he knew he needed to pack everything he could possibly pack up into whatever bags or boxes he could find....at least the important stuff. No way was he leaving his pot behind.

For once, Jamal felt like he was going to explode with pure relief and joy at the same time as he waved enthusiastically at the helicopter as they turned and flew away. Surely by now the cops in Detriot had stopped looking for him...hell, Moreau might have made up a fake death for him or something. He could start over!

The black man barged into his duplex...he had work to do.

Jamal took surprisingly little time to pack, his sullen mood slaughtered now with the hope that he would be able to escape this place. Sure, he looked like a freak right now, but they surgeries and stuff that might be able to fix some of it. The eye color thing...maybe colored contacts would work. He wasn't too far gone!

With everything he owned shoved into plastic bags, the luggage he came to the island in possession of, and a few tattered boxes, Jamal was now ready to go outside and stare down the sky until he could hear the helicopter(s) coming. He was NOT going to miss this chance.

Jamal nearly pranced back outside, his face twisted into an expression of cheerfulness that seemed oddly out of character for him as of late.

"Goin' home, goin' home, GOIN' HOOOOOME!" he chanted to the sky as he did a little dance outside his duplex.

Jamal didn't hear her or see her at first as he danced about, chanting the same "Goin' Home" over and over until he paused for a breath, dropping his chin downwards, and caught sight of the girl. Whoops. >>;

He stopped dancing, but didn't stop grinning, and for once he looked far from threatening. He just looked all around happy.

"Did ya hear?!" he exclaimed, not even bothering with the whole greeting thing. "Did ya see da helicopta'?!"

Jamal didn't miss a beat, nearly dancing around in a circle again, and threw a hand into the air to point about where the helicopter had hovered and blasted it's searchlight down on the village.

"A ********' helicopta' came ova' da jungle...it looked like some sorta' army thing but it was red 'n' white wit' Marines on da side," he jabbered, almost running his words together thanks to his ghetto accent. "They're comin' ta save us! Peeps know what's goin' on herr 'n' they're comin' ta get us outta herr...ta take us back home!"

"I ain't shitta ya!" he crowed. "I saw 'em 'n' heard 'n' ev'rythin'! They said they got that big shot doc...at least, I think that's what aprehendin' means....but we're SAVED!" Jamal motioned to his duplex. "I packed right up as soon as they flew off. They said they be back 'round 1900, whateva' dat means. Military time, I guess."

He gave a huge sigh of relief and stared at his hands. "'n' when I get home, they can fix dis s**t...plastic surgery if I gotta...but I gettin' it fixed."

Jamal smirked and wriggled his claws as he contemplated the whole battle scar theory. He didn't mind thinking about it like that. "I dunno...I think peeps might have a fit if I walked 'round Detriot like this...at least, da tail has gotta go. Da claws 'n' whiskers kin stay if they gotta, but I'll be damned if I'mm keep this thing stickin' outta my a**." He gave the stripes on his arms a conflicted stare though. The whole turning white thing wasn't cool either. He wondered if there was anything that could be done with that.

"I might keep da stripes too...they ain't so bad," he said finally with a nod, then gave her an envious grin as he looked at her under the guise of his next statement, though he was appreciating 'other' aspects too.
"You get ta go back normal, at least. No problems fo' you."

"Oh..." he said blankly, obviously out of the loop with the whole Angelina being sick thing. However, it sounded oddly familiar to his circumstances back on the beach the few days before he changed. He had thought he was immune too.

"Well, we'll see. I ain't worried 'bout this changin' thing no mo' 'cause gettin' off this ********' island is most important. The rest...I figger I'll deal wit' later."

Even if he couldn't go back to his original home, he wouldn't be oppressed by the staff here and he could go where he wanted and do what he wanted. That in itself was amazing.

"I ain't seen no one else outside yet 'cept you, so I dunno if ev'ryone else knows o' not. I dunno how they didn't hear da annoucement...I figgered peeps'd be runnin' 'round all crazy like me."