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 Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 7:45 pm
Fiona fell silent, watching her carefully and wondering if maybe, just maybe she was telling the truth. 'That's stupid,' she thought, scolding herself. 'People don't turn into animals. Although I guess if anyone was going to mess with human experimentation... it'd be these guys.' Absently her eyes turned to the distant building nestled against the mountain. "Moreau, huh?" She said out loud, skimming her memory for any knowledge about the man. Little came up, but her research efforts prior to being kidnapped did reveal that the founder was some creep with the name Moreau. So she wasn't lying about that.
"If they've injected her with something, I'll just get her to a real doctor and have them fix it. They can't keep us here that long." She said confidently, turning to Emelyn with a tilted brow. "How long have you been here?" Aha, this would prove she was just some laboratory lackey to give her a fright. She would stumble and trying to make something up, obviously. Then Fiona could be sure of what was really going on.
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 7:51 pm
Emelyn sat, cross-legged in the sand, hunkering down to prepare for what might be a long conversation filled with a mixture of denial and heartbreaking revelations... or to watch as Fiona ran into the jungle, intent to find Annie... and/or Moreau. ...Either way, her legs were tired, and she didn't want to risk the slight health she'd so painstakingly regained.
"I have been here... since late August. So I guess that's... what, eight months?" Em said, calculating in her head while she squinted one eye in thought. "Mm. Eight months. ...And it sounds like a grand plan, to get your friend and escape- but unfortunately, none of the existing islanders has ever found a way to escape. Moreau has probably covered up your kidnapping- and this island is... quite far out. I'm assuming it's somewhere, many miles off the coast of Florida." She paused suddenly to pat the sand. "Come on, sit down- no need to exhaust yourself."
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 8:03 pm
The spunky girl eyed the indicated spot with a sudden coldness, a new issue forming in her mind. "What, and if this is all real and you're actually stuck, everyone turning into hedgehogs? You'd just give up? Lie down and take it? Pretend like you're happy so you stay 'safe'?" Her tone became stern and practiced, as though speaking not to one person but to a large crowd. "There's nothing, nothing you can't change with effort and devotion. You know there are thousands of people out there who would pay an extra wad of cash each month to get Animal Planet on their cable, but 'can't afford' to spend a couple bucks every four weeks to support an animal santuary or a starving child. Damned is the man who does nothing, simply because he can only do a little!" Her hands curled into fists and she raised her voice to a passionate note without ever getting a decible louder. "There is never, ever, ever a situation where there's nothing you can do. And I'm going to be damned if I let some corperate big-shot keep me trapped on some freakin' island in the middle of the ocean."
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 8:12 pm
Despite the irritated prickle Emelyn felt at being accused of being a 'lay down supporter'- she admired Fiona's spunk and determination- and told her so.
"That's the perfect attitude to have. For what it's worth- I'm sorry you're here... but I'm glad that the island will have a little more... kick, now. I truly believe that there IS a way off this island... and attitudes like yours will lead us to it." She brushed some sand off her knee, and leaned forward for what more she had to say. "But as for my giving up... I've done everything short of attack the staff, or try to swim out of here like a fish, to defy this madness." She pointed to the basket where it lay, fallow in the sand- and then to the drying rack over nearer the mountain. "See those? I don't live in the village with the others. I don't live in a clean little duplex and do whatever Moreau tells me to. I live out on the mountain. I get attacked by wild animals- I almost get killed. But I refuse to let myself sit dormant while he manipulates my life." What she said was resolute- with a matter-of-fact twinge to it- but no malice.
Finally, Em leaned back into her sit, tossing over her shoulder a stray mass of spines that had fallen forward. "And actually... I'm the only one that's transforming into a hedgehog. Everyone on the island has a different serum."
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 8:25 pm
The redhead sat down and gave her a little nod which, in combination with her determinedly furrowed eyebrows, clearly said: 'Way to be.' But then her eyes softened, and she blew some air through her teeth. "So this is real. This is actually happening. There's some ******** island where they actually test things on humans." She laughed: a short, curt noise. "It's funny, I always told people they wouldn't like it if they were the ones being experimented on... I never thought someone would prove me right." A corner of her lip curled dangerously.
"This is sick. This is why I hate the commercialist, money-oriented world we live in. I bet you anything that if there wasn't fame and money to be made for inventing cures and crap that this sort of thing just wouldn't happen. God..." she turned her gaze to Emelyn and looked at her scrutinously, verifying her animallistic traits for the first time. "They really are screwing with people's DNA and making them into animals. Well they'll have to knock me out something nasty before they do that kind of s**t to me." Fiona suddenly reached up and touched a spot on her head. "Although I think they've already established that they're damn good at that."
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 8:34 pm
She listened with the quiet sympathy of a soul who has heard many a tale of disbelief and personal ruin... the consumption of which never gets easier with time. Emelyn had been the catalyst for several islander's realizations of their new lives- and she didn't know- nor had she ever devoted herself to thought on the grisly subject- whether she regretted being the bearer of bad news.... or relished it. It was, she surmised, a cursed blessing- to be the one to listen to this outpouring of thought and confusion, and to offer someone solid answers and comfort- but also... to witness the downfall of so many promising lives- it was difficult.
Emelyn watched as Fiona's eyes softened, and as her thoughts drifted out of internal monologue and into a streaming dialogue of consciousness and anger. She said nothing, allowing every word its fair time upon the air... until Fiona touched the spot on her head, musing about her incapacitation. Then Em leaned forward, spotting a slightly swollen, red raised mark on the girl's shoulder. She was tentative and slow- as if to let Fiona realize that she wasn't out to hurt her- and lightly brushed the tell-tale spot, drawing the girl's attention to it.
"An injection," she said softly, realizing these were Fiona's last few seconds of living in a world where she knew her humanity was in tact.
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 8:46 pm
An injection. A chill ran up her spine, and she pulled away from Emelyn in order to get a good look at the site herself. "Well, that's in then," she said firmly, although disbelief added a little waver which Fiona wasn't sure she liked. "I guess I didn't stand a chance." Her jaw muscles squeezed tightly, and she looked the other woman right in the eyes. "And they can put me in a cage, tag my ear, and call me by a number for all I care. But I'll be scraping at the cage door," a small grin sparked, "chewing at the tag, and making their lives hell. Because I don't give up. I'm getting out of here, and it might not be today, and it might not be tomorrow, but it'll happen."
"I hope they stuck me with something special, because I'll make sure they never forget me. I'm going to be the first person to break out. I'll find a way. Start a revolt. How many other people are there here? I saw a lot of the little hotel-room house things on my way here. There've got to be some people that'll back me up. Nobody in their right mind wants to be mutated in the name of science. It'll be a cinch to find supporters. And Annie will help me." Strength truly returned to her voice and her body language when she uttered the name. "She always helps me."
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 8:52 pm
Emelyn nodded, but kept her voice to a soothing lull. There were still things that needed to be said to Fiona- and she wanted the girl to hear them... with an open mind.
"There are just a few things I think you should know, though," Em said softly. "First is... the lab techs and the doctors- particularly those in power- Moreau, Lockheart, and Duvert- know us ... and have chips implanted in us- or some sort of device that makes them able to say "Sleep Subject"... fill in your name- and you automatically drop to the floor. So an attack on them... will fail. And they have cameras all over the island. Surveillance everywhere. So anything you plot- I suggest you be very careful." Emelyn paused for the final matter- almost wanting to not bring up something so... painful.
"And... I know it would be a comfort to you ... to have Annie here. But perhaps you should ready yourself for the possibility that she's not. ...That maybe she got away at the start of all this, and doesn't have to endure this. Maybe- you should pray that you're alone."
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 9:00 pm
Fiona's heart gave a sudden lurch. Cameras and chip implants she could work around. But... not having Angharad with her? It was... it was unthinkable. "Maybe... you're right..." she said unsurely, "Maybe I should hope she got away safely." But inside of her a seperate voice screamed in protest. She was nothing without good old reliable Annie. Her partner in crime, her ever-present voice of wisdom and reason.
"Am I never going to see her again?" The strong, powerful girl that had once sat in front of Emelyn suddenly wilted, like a lightbulb giving a flicker or two. She was... worried. "Maybe I should go back and check. I... I should go look for her. You said they'd put her in one of the rooms, right? She wouldn't be that far from where they put me." 'Where did they put me again? Urg, I should have looked at the number on it. They're all identical! I'll never find my way back!' "I should check. Just in case." Did she really need her friend that much?
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 9:03 pm
"Perhaps you should check," Emelyn said, nodding and taking in a deep breath of sea air. "She may still be in one of the duplexes. It would be right near the one that you're in- they put new islanders quite near each other." She offered.
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 9:09 pm
"Thanks. I'm gonna go. I guess I'll see you around, then? Um..." she paused, struggling a little with the words. "Sorry for, yanno... accusing you of being one of them. It kind of messes with your head when you're conked out in Alberta and you wake up on a tropical island. Anyways, seeya." She stood and brushed the sand from her skirt, turned to leave, and then smirked. "Oh yeah- power to the people. The animal people." Fiona winked impishly and then started off towards the village at a light jog. Life had changed... yeah, life had changed a lot.
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 9:15 pm
Emelyn couldn't help but laugh as the thin figure jogged off towards the village.
"Power to the animal people. ...Indeed." She said to herself, smiling as she stood and stretched- ready to get her basket... and get back out of the sun. ...It was never good news when a new islander arrived- for it meant that Moreau's reign of terror had eclipsed yet another soul. ...But at least, Emelyn thought- there could be such a bright, vivid soul to keep them all on their toes.
"Be well, Spunky," Em said to herself... then went about what life she had.
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Posted: Mon Apr 03, 2006 1:48 am
New RP
Angharad was lost, both mentally and physically.
She'd almost run down the steps of the strange apartment-like place she'd woken up in, and stared around in confusion at the more and more alien landscape. How could she be on an almost tropical island, having been in the middle of Canada only yesterday? Be more realistic, she thought bitterly. They must have been keeping us unconscious... Her mind would not allow her to think that Fiona was not there as well. It was all just some strange dream she was having, that was the most likely possibility.
She stood in the village, circling round in one place, trying to take in as much of the surroundings as possible. This was insane, was she in an island prison? Just for breaking into a laboratory?
A large building caught her eye, higher up the small mountain that seemed to dominate the island. Was that writing on the side...? But it was obscured by thick jungle trees, and no matter how she strained her eyes, it did not become clearer.
She ran down an almost worn path, unfamiliar sandals pattering on the compacted earth, breath catching in her throat as she looked for signs of life or a way to see. She kept craning over her shoulder, that sign stencilled on the side of the building still frustratingly difficult to see.
Sand started scratching against her toes as she came out onto a shallow beach, curving away in a golden line against the blue. Shading her eyes, the girl peered at the building, its message all too horribly clear now.
Feral Laboratories.
Her legs almost gave way, and she sat down in an unceremonious heap on the sand. The police had let the lab people do what they wanted? Or perhaps.. the police had never been called...
"This is a dream, this is a dream," she kept repeating fervently, over and over again under her breath.
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Posted: Mon Apr 03, 2006 2:06 am
Chubbs finally got out and about on the island since he got shocked. He finally knew the power of those at the wheel and what they could do to anyone of them at anytime. He didn't see it coming, it was that quick, and when he woke up, he was back onto his comfy bed, staring at the ceiling.
He eventually decided to get out, go for a walk, deffinately have a smoke at least. They calmed him down like tranquilizers some days, Chubbs was glad they had his brand. Slowly shuffling along the paths and onto the track out to the beach, Chubbs was glad for the cool breeze on his face, or rather fur now days. He took a deep puff and and his ears flickered at a suddenly muttering nearby. Peeking about, he stuck to the treelings at least and sniffed out a smell he hadn't quite smelled before. It was all new and fresh and following it lead himto a woman on her knees in the sand.
Chubbs thought for a moment, new person he hadn't seen, no sigh of a change, looking lost in the beach sand. Newbie it spelled out to him, least that's what he called the newcomers. The girl was going to know what would happen to her soon enough, but he thought he was the worst case person to tell her in the condition he was in. Just in case, he hid in the shadows of the tree's, took a puff of his smoke and spoke to her.
" Ya alright hun?"
Yeah Chubbs, stupidest question ever.
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Posted: Mon Apr 03, 2006 2:12 am
Angharad looked around at the sudden voice behind her.
And scrabbled backwards, a scream strangling in her throat. Was it an animal? It could talk? Her eyes widened, and her already fragile state of mind threatened to shatter.
This is a dream this is a dream this isn't real...
"A-a-a... wha.. what are you?" Came out in a stuttering whisper. She knew that Feral Labs were unscrupulous, but to dress... well, it looked like a bear, with a strangly flattened face, and wearing clothes.. and having a smoke? What had theydone to the poor bear??
She kept her feet drawn up under her, ready to spring and flee, the morbid curiousity somehow surfacing. At least if it was a dream, she would find out what odd theories her mind had come up with.
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