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 Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 7:03 pm
She raised a brow at the abrupt gesture and wondered what had happened. "Ambrose? Oh, the wolf guy?" Nita shook her head. "You're the only person I've seen all day. First person I've seen in a couple of days, really."
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Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 7:09 pm
"Ah I see." Richard frowned for a moment, considering something. "I've been meaning to ask him about..." How the hell to you phase this? " the killing that happened right before I arrived. It worries me."
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Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 7:19 pm
Nita froze; her stomach plunged. The killing. It worried him. Nita had been doing her best not to think about Annie and Fee, and even Gaius, who had witnessed it, had barely mentioned the... event.
"What about it?" she asked dully, staring intently at a patch of bark.
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Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 7:26 pm
Richard's head shifted to the side, just slightly. Why the heck did she look guilty? He walked back toward her tree looking at her. "I just know nothing about it other than it occured. The labs are suppose to prevent violence. Right?" His voice was gentle but insistant.
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Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 7:44 pm
"They tried. I saw her being buzzed, but she was crazy. She tore the chip out." Nita chewed her lip methodically, still deliberately looking away from Richard. "She tore the chip out and went for Fee's throat." The girl's voice was dry and toneless. A trickle of blood oozed from her muzzle. Nita wiped it away with the back of one hand, breathing shallowly.
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Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 7:55 pm
"You saw it happen? My Word. Ripped the chip out? How could that be possible?" Richard had felt up his own neck, he thought he found it, embedded in the cartilige between two vertebra. It was so close the spinal cord. Ripping it out? Richard shuddered at the thought of all that damage to the nerve fibers.
Richard was missing the part about Annie changing.
"What on earth possesed her to do that?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 8:02 pm
Nita pulled her knees up close to her chest, her arms wrapped around her legs. "Annie changed. She changed really fast, way too fast. I could hear the bones shifting, her face stretching. And then she just.. snapped. Feral." She spat the final word, caught up in the memory. Richard's presence barely registered.
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Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 8:13 pm
It was caused by the changes? Richard made a mental note to add a line to the welcome letter advising people not to touch anyone under going a change until their rationality is proven. Then he noticed the look in Nita's eyes, he'd seen exact look before. In baghdad, when soldiers talked about instances where they had lost comrads, they weren't in the camp. They were back on the battleground with that look.
There was no point in pressing the girl further. He layed a hand over her foot, her shoulder too high for him to reach comfortably. "Nita," He whispered, "Nita?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 8:25 pm
Nita's foot jerked, nearly missing Richard's head. "Don't touch me," she whispered. "You had to ask. You just had to ask..." The girl clung to her legs even more tightly, shaking, her fingers curling against the fabric of her jeans.
"Please go..."
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Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 8:46 pm
Richard almost turned and walked away. But he didn't.
He look Nita, trying to make up his mind. He made up his mind. "I'm sorry Nita, but I had to ask. I'm just trying to understand this... place. I won't be the last one to ask about it either, I'm afraid. There are thrity more empty duplexes. All of them will seek answers, I could write down for you if you'd like. Hand them a peice of paper so they don't have to ask you directly."
"When you feel up to it of course."
Richard turned to go.
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Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 9:00 pm
Turning her head slowly to face him, Nita shrugged. "I speak for myself," she answered simply. "But I wish you luck. No one really understands this place; perhaps you'll be the first of us to succeed."
With that, she pulled herself to a standing position and disappeared into the foliage, moving more quickly than one might expect.
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Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 9:03 pm
Richard watched her go. Then shook his head. "They're all so damn young..." He muttered before setting off for this mythical stream. He hoped he could find his way back to the village...
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