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 Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2007 10:30 pm
Wesley gave an answer with a quivering lip. "F-f-fine." The major pain was over, but everything was still extremely sore. Hell, he wouldn't even be able to count to twenty now using his digits. Taking a cue from Leonard, though, he slumped to his side and rolled the mere hundred-eighty degrees to be ankle deep in the water. The pain certainly ebbed then, flowing away a hot fluid down a drain. Regardless of the drenching water, though, he felt heavier. It seemed as though the new-skin had simply rolled over the rest, just addng layers. In many ways, the same thing had happened to his ears and feet - Feeling with his nerve endings, he couldn't even feel five distinct toes on the foot now - only three, as if they had been like that forever. No phantom limb syndrome, no feeling of physical 'loss'.
He would ponder these things slowly, he decided. No point rushing things - the body parts wouldn't go off and leave him, they were attached and there to stay - he hoped.
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Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2007 8:50 am
What to do... Well, he didn't think Leonard wanted (or needed) any assistance. Wesley still seemed in pain, though probably better than before, and there was nothing he could do to relieve it. Or at least, he didn't think there was anything he could do. That only added to the disappointment and weirdness of the day. In truth, this was probably one of the worst days of his entire life, minus what got him here, of course. After staring for for what seemed like se eral eternities, he asked, "Uh... d-do you n-need anything W-wesley? Or are y-you okay l-lying th-there?"
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Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2007 10:16 am
Forget counting to twenty, Leonard wasn't going to be able to get to the double-digits any more, unless he included the growths on his stomach and face.
"You know what? I think I speak for Wesley when I say we could really use those fish you caught." As if in agreement, his stomach growled, and the little growths there twitched. For the past two weeks he'd been eating almost nothing but fruit, and now this change, he had no energy left. "I'm willing to eat those things raw at this point."
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Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2007 11:36 pm
Wesley's mind began reforming as he lay there in the water ebbed and flowed about his body. While he had been aware of many things, the sensation of touch on his back felt different; that was something he didn't expect. After Leonard and Ian, though, he should have. He closed his eyes shut for a moment, trying to physically map all of the new sensations, tissue, and limbs his body had. It was completely something else, putting it mildly. At the mention of fish, though, meat most of all, his body craved it. As his mind used its once powerful processors again, he realized that this sort of thing probably sped up the metabolism. He made a mental note to make food a priority on the list of things to do in an emergency like this.
Opening his eyes and bringing his head out of the water, he fished a hand into a supping pocket, bringing a small metal object out. "Cook it. We don't want to catch a REAL disease."
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Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2007 10:11 pm
Oh right, the fish. Skye had totally forgotten them, what with all the excitement that had occurred within the last 20 minutes or so. He ran to fetch them, both still on the ground where he had dropped them earlier. They were a bit sandy, and there were flies all over them, but he didn't care. The way he figured, by the time they got cooked, all the germs would be gone anyways. He did, however, go back to the sea and rinse the fish off, getting most off the remaining sand off.
Trudging back through the sand, he showed the fish to his two other 'companions'. Which, he supposed, they were, though he had never really thought of them as such. "S-s-so, f-fry them th-then?" He took the lighter from Wesley, incredibly grateful. If he had had to start a fire by himself...
that wouldn't have been good.
He then went over to what possibly could have been a fire pit at one point, in front of one of the buildings, and started a fire using Wesley's lighter. Taking some of the sticks he had found earlier, he skewered the fish with great difficulty and stuck them over the fire, hoping that his arms would hold out until they were done.
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Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2007 10:26 pm
Leonard's mouth watered from the fish even before they were cooked. Once Skye started to actually cook them, he became even more hungry. "Oh man, I've wanted a real meal like this for I don't know how long. When we get rescued, that's the first thing I'm going...to...do."
Leonard's brain skidded to a halt as a realization hit him; what was he supposed to do if he was rescued, looking like this? "Uh, Wesley?" He said, deferring to the older man's knowledge. "What are we supposed to do if we're rescued? I mean, I can't imagine going to work looking like this... Hell, I don't know if I'd be able to work, not without my damn fingers." Less than an hour after his change, and he was already including himself when talking about the infected.
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Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 12:04 pm
Wesley slowly got up from the water, dripping like a small fountain. He picked up his staff from where Skye had left it, and tried to move around a little. He almost tripped, even with the rod. "Yes, it would be best to fry them. It's almost the only thing we could do." Looking down, Wesley imagined that his feet must have grown four, maybe five whole inches there. Not to mention the extra toes used for balance. It looked like he was going to have to learn walking all over again - and they still had the several kilometer hike before they could get back to the camp.
Wesley began staring off into space, thinking, before Leonard's question to him snapped him out of it. "Well, I know you could work; there are plenty of voice software systems for computers for reasons like this, or you could just hire a scribe." Wesley rubbed the back of his neck. It felt so aliens. Between his rubbery hands and slick neck, there was almost no friction. They just slid right off of each other. "The only problem is, would anyone hire you? I don't believe there's anything in the hiring code on people with oversized ears or... or tails." Looking back at Leonard, thinking of ears, he made an observation. "Have your ears always been like that, if I may ask?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2007 2:50 pm
By the time the fish were done, Skye was very near to drooling. The scents being given off by the fish were irresistible, seeing as Skye hadn't had any real meat in over two weeks. When the fish began to pop and crackle, Skye took the fish off the fire, his arms protesting at the strain. Bringing them towards the other two men, he was so absorbed in not dropping the fish that he didn't hear Leonard ask about being rescued. Not that he would want to anyways.
Rummaging around for what he hoped was a halfway clean piece of wood, he instead found two large, flat rocks which he propped the stick on, on rock on each end. "W-well. B-bon appetite, eh-eh?" He grinned, cheerfully yet somehow a bit sadly, and tried to take of some of the flesh, pulling back his fingers a few times and blowing on them - the fish was still too hot. Impatience beat pain, however, and soon Skye had a decently sized piece of fish in his mouth, though his tongue had gotten burned in the process. It was better than anything else he had ever tasted. Giving the other two guys a thumbs up as an OK to eat, he couldn't help but overhear Wesley's question. Looking closely at Leonard's ears, Skye noticed that they did, in fact, seem a little bit smaller than he remembered them.
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Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2007 6:36 pm
Leonard was feeling the same way as Skye. And it had been a lot longer than a month since he'd had any real food. Just looking at the fish, the growths on his face twitched, though he didn't know why they moved. It was certainly an odd feeling though, feeling them move.
Following Skye's lead, he tore off a peice, though he had trouble doing it with his fused fingers. Finally he managed to get a good sized piece, and he stuffed it into his mouth, the growths moving to towards the food for some reason. "That's what I mean." He told Wesley between bites. "Who would hire us? And that's if we don't get quarantined from the public right away."
Wesley's question threw him off, and he stopped chewing to reach his hands up to his ears. A little bit of fish fell out of his open mouth as he realized he barely had ears anymore. "...
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Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2007 12:11 am
Wesley slowly took the fish from Skye slowly, and though hungry, he didn't eat it. Instead, he turned it over, looking at the now burned fish. The more and more he thought about it, the more he could draw parallels between marine life and the physical manifestations the teenagers and he - and Leonard - were experience. Skye had said what Wesley needed to hear; it wasn't just whimsy after a sleepless night.
He ignored Leonard's question a little by disguising it with a mouthful of fish. He didn't have the answer. How could he? He had been given every job so far by his father. He also remained mute as Leonard swore under his breath. Before he realized it, he was reduced to licking his fingers and the fish was gone. He had to offer some answer now, he figured. "I'm keeping notes in my journal about all of this. Hopefully the documentation will be something for doctors to start with." It wasn't enough, but it was all he could do. That, and learned to fish. Wesley's stomach seemed to have a craving for more fish (or meat, at any rate), which only irked him further. Too many similarities.
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Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2007 7:52 pm
"I hope ish not like de moveesh." Skye commented through a rather large mouthful of fish. He gulped it down quickly, aware that it was probably quite rude to talk through a mouthful of fish. Though, now that he thought about it, everyone else seemed to be stuffing their faces too - so it couldn't be that impolite. "I-I mean," he continued, "Y-you know h-how it is. L-like the H-hulk or some-something? L-like in the m-movie, how th-they c-captured him and t-t-took him to s-some government fa-facility f-for testing..."
When Wesley mentioned the notes, Skye couldn't help but think of his other idea once again. What if this wasn't just any idea that doctors could cure? What if they - or everyone besides himself, at least, what if they all had to remain that way?
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Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2007 10:28 pm
Dismissing his lack of ears for the moment, Leonard resumed eating; his empty stomach took precedence over something he had no control over.
He listened to the conversation as he ate, doing his best not to worry too much. What is that did happen? What if they were taken for testing when they were rescued. Suddenly being found wasn't as appealing a possibilty.
Finishing his fish, Leonard stood up. "I think I'm going to get some sleep for a bit. I need some rest after...that. Maybe I'll go to the other camo and get some of my stuff later. Not like I have to worry about getting infected now, huh?"
He shakily made his way towards the building he was sleeping in.
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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 12:27 am
Wesley tossed the bones of the fish into the sand. There were enough scattered about that he didn't pay heart to littering. "The experiment idea would never work becaues there was never a period before that we were uncon..." He stopped short as he realized that everyone had a distinct memory of passing out before landing here. He scratched his beard and the disturbingly smooth skin underneath. He would have to think on that.
Hearing Leonard's comment about the other camp, he yelled after him as he retreated to the buildings. "Aren't you coming back to stay, now?" Regardless, the trip would take a full day, maybe even two, given Leonard's current speed reduction. Three days the rest would be leaderless - what about Hailey?
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Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 9:31 am
"W-well... well, m-maybe n-n-not an experiment... but... b-but they m-may lock us up for life... or something..." Skye looked down, his eyebrows knitted together, something he often did when he was thinking. What would happen? Surely, even if the others got relatively decent lives, he wouldn't. He'd probably get locked up in jail for life. So, really, did he want to go back? Here, he got no real food, no hygienic necessities, nothing. By the way he figured, most would probably gone insane at this point.
After hearing Wesley's question to Leonard, Skye looked up. "Aren't we uh... aren't w-we s-staying h-h-here? I though it'd b-be better t-to stay in b-buildings r-rather than all o-open at th-the beach?" He wasn't trying to contradict what Wesley was saying, but it really was what he thought was going to happen.
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Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 6:21 pm
Leonard stopped, nearly falling down again. He turned back to Wesley. "I guess now that I don't have to worry about getting anything I can, though Monty makes a good point. It would be better to stay here."
He thought about it for a minute. "Well, either way, right now I need some sleep. We can go back afterwards I guess, but if I tried now I wouldn't make it. There's some fresh water back there if you guys want." Leonard waited around to see what they would decide.
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