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 Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2005 5:42 am
Maybe it was the climate, because it certainly wasn't the time change that was making it so difficult for Chana to adjust. She had trouble sleeping, and when she finally got a chance to, it was almost never during the proper hours. Getting enough sleep wasn't much of a problem either, it was just when that was the problem. Overall, she was awake as many hours in the dark as she was in the light.
With such an odd and changing schedule, it was no wonder she hadn't really seen anyone when she went for food. Especially since she always grabbed enough for two or three meals.
She happened to look up at her calendar and laughed humorlessly. A week until Hannukah, the Festival of Light. She didn't even know if she'd be awake at the appropriate time to light the candles. Wouldn't that be something? Lighting candles in the middle of the day because she could stay awake no longer?
Chana sighed. She really should go out and talk to people. Her downstairs neighbor whom she was supposed to be helping most especially. She was getting cabin fever and had to do something about it.
At least she could look on the bright side. This year, she'd only sing the Hannukah songs she liked. No Adam Sandler driving her crazy this year!
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 2:32 pm
Chana meets Ambrose Chana made her way down the and slipped off her sandals. At this time of year, the sand wasn't as hot as it could be, though it was still quite warm.
She hadn't seen anyone on her way here...and couldn't tell if that was a good or bad thing. So many things on this island made no sense at all.
But on a better note, Hannukah started soon. Chana started singing her favorite song softly: "Who can retell the things that befell us..."
Ambrose, on the other hand, had stalked out of the cafeteria after the injunction with Jamal, angry and frustrated even after Chubbs and Joli had moliated him a bit.
He had headed out to the beach to try to relax. He had always enjoyed spending time on the beach when he was frustrated or didn't know what to do - but it just didnt' seem to be the same.
He had paced around a bit before finally heading into the work area that he and Chubbs had set up... bitter thoughts about the argument flared in his head again - reminded of all the side-by-side work he had done with Jamal. Just when he thought they might end up friends... Arrrg!
Ambrose spied a chunk of unused wood and picked it up, hefting it a bit. He had been doing a lot of construction - working with wood.... maybe he could find something for Angelina after all.
Picking up one of the knives and some sandpaper, he walked back out to the beach... where he heard soft singing in an unfamiliar voice.
An ear flicked back hesitantly. He hadn't heard of any newcomers that recently.... He just hoped that they were't that new.
He hesitated for a moment, curiousity eventually getting the better of him as he sniffed the air again and headed towards the voice.
He was still dressed in some of his nicer clothes - for all that mattered with his thick fur and other drastically lupine features.
Chana was rather oblivious. Between her singing and the ocean, she didn't hear Ambrose behind her. Her attention was on remembering the second verse.
"Hark! In days of yore...now what was it? It couldn't be "in Israel's ancient sand", right? And I know it's in the prayerbook..." she spoke aloud. "I know I know it...ugh, maybe I should stick to dreidel songs..." Chana trailed off, trying to recall some of the...stranger...verses she and her friends had come up with.
Ambrose's expression turned into a quirky smile and a curious c**k of his head as he approached the curly brunette from behind. At least some were in the holiday spirit, it seemed. Perhaps she might be better company than Jamal - of course -given his argument with Jamal that wouldn't be all too difficult.
"Good afternoon." Ambrose called out, a bit hesitantly, a block of wood in one pawlike hand, a small knife clenched in the other, albeit in a non-threatening gesture.
Chana stopped as a man called to her from behind. She smiled and turned to wave. "G--" Oh, dear G-d! She stared at Ambrose, fear coming into her frozen expression. He was like...some...wolfman from a movie!
And he was holding a decent-sized piece of wood and a knife. Chana backpedaled into the water until it nearly reached her knees. "S-stay away from m-me!" she shrieked at the stranger.
Ambrose froze, his eyes widening at the unfortunate and unexpected reaction from the young woman. Great. Perfect. That's what he got for assuming that perhaps she already knew what was going on.
And it had started out as such a good morning. Then Chubbs and Joliette had changed... the argument with Jamal... now this.
His ears lowered and he slowly bent down to put down the wood and knife, he unbent with his palms open towards her. "I... I'm sorry... I... I'm not trying to hurt you... I promise."
His eyes flicked down to the objects he had sat down. "I ... was just going to do some carving."
"Christmas presents...." He added quietly, dejectedly.
Amazingly, there was a small, rational part of Chana's brain still working. Carving? I'll bet he really means with those fangs, she thought, staying where she was.
Until he added that it was for Christmas presents. Still very pale, Chana snorted. "Why does the Christian religion have to believe the world revolves around it?" she spat. Of course, only standing up for her Jewish heritage would allow Chana to react to the wolfman as a person.
Ambrose wasn't expecting that. Perhaps she was being defensive because she was scared... she certainly still smelled of fear, despite his good intentions. Not that he blamed her - he thought with a sigh.
But regardless of why, he had managed to both scare her and offend her. Lovely work, Ambrose.
"World revolves...? What? No... I mean... Angelina and I... Ergh... I'm not prostelizing or anything... just making my girlfriend a gift for Christmas." His ears pinned back defensively. Ambrose was Christian... by all technical terms - but more of an Easter/Christmas one, especially since leaving home.
"Do you really need a holiday just to give your girlfriend a gift?" Chana demanded. "It's such a stupid notion, really. People say "it's the thought that counts," yet it's "thoughtless" if they should forget to give a loved on a present on a holiday such as Christmas. Giving gifts is supposed to be a joy, not an obligation."
And Hannukah was one of the least important holidays. Eight days of presents? Whose idea had that been? Chana had had a bone to pick with whoever it was ever since she was in highschool. Presents were expensive.
His eyebrows raised. "I never said I felt obligated to do so." Thoughts started to wane of her perhaps not knowing the 'secret' of the island.
"And I thought I heard you singing something festive before I spoke up. Perhaps I should criticize you for singing happily during the holiday season." He was perplexed - why on earth would someone he didn't even know criticize him for making a loved one a gift - that she also didn't know.
"And Perhaps I wanted to cling to some aspect of normalcy here - celebrate the holidays with the people I care about - even if I cant order something from a catalogue or buy from a department store. After all, I thought something handmade would be more... thoughtful.... as you sneered at."
Chana crossed her arms. "I was singing to myself, and so it really wouldn't matter if the song was for Hannukah or...or Rosh Hashanah!"
And then he was talking about normalcy and handmade gifts over store-bought. Chana cocked her head as she considered what he said. Finally, she sighed. "I suppose you do have a couple valid points. This island is the strangest place I've ever been, and handmade gifts are better. I still don't hold with the whole "season of giving" though. Any old time of the year is a good time to put a smile on someone's face."
Charities worked year-round after all. And wasn't her being here also along those lines?
Ahh, so she was Jewish - that was the missing piece. He knew very little about that, other than some of the holiday names, and using the Old Testament...
"Yes... well... for me... at least, Christmas was one of the few times I actually got to see my family really happy looking - actually having time for me and spending time together..." Ambrose shook his head, trying to shake the wave of nostalgia away. Talking about family was usually painful for him... even when talking about some of the few, scattered good moments.
"Anyway... I guess it has always felt like a kind of magical time... though too bad we don't even get snow here. It feels different." He sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Please don't ruin what I do have. Besides, I thought Hannukah was a gift giving, celebration holiday as well."
"Happy looking?" Chana echoed. It certainly sounded very different from 15-25 people eating and talking and arguing happily several times a year.
And snow. Chana wasn't overly fond of the cold, though she did enjoy snowball fights. "It is different to not have snow...but there's almost none in Israel," she commented.
"And gifts or not, Hannukah's not even a real holiday," she snarled. "The rabbis made it up. I'm not sure why, but maybe it's because all the other religions had celebrations and festivals around this time of year."
Ambrose shrugged defensively as she echoed his words. "My parents have never been the overly affectionate sort."
"And I Never heard that about Hannukah. But even so - don't you think the Rabbis had a reason for doign so more than to just imitate the Christain giftigiving holiday? Maybe... you know... the sentiment, the way it brings people together? Besides, Hanukka's older than Kwanzaa - which certainly is invented."
Ambrose plopped down on the sand, picking up the block of wood again and turned it over in his hands, visualizing what he could make from it, while glancing back at her, still standing in the surf.
"Look" He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm not trying to argue with you. I'm sure neither of our holidays advise that."
"Must've been a rough way to grow up," Chana said softly. She knew she'd been lucky to grow up in the busom of a large family that made sure she knew she was loved and special.
"Not many people know. But I wasn't referring to Christmas. I'm not sure approximately when this was, but the big festivals would have been Solstice and Saturnalia. And Saturnalia was also a gift-giving holiday."
Chana stepped out of the water, though she remained about a meter from Ambrose. "You're probably right about that...I'm sorry. This is just...I'm not at my best...and half the people I've seen look like horror movie stars." She sounded sheepish as she brushed wind-blown sand off of her face.
"I see..." Ambrose had heard of the pagan holidays mentioned in passing... but never really looked too much into it. "Well, regardless of the inspiration... I still maintain that there is some reasoning for the... copying... for lack of a better word." His mouth quirked up. "Who knows. Maybe there really is something magical about that time of year. Not that I really would ever be one to believe in that sort of thing... but with the goings-on recently... who knows."
Ambrose made no move towards her as she approached, just turned the block of wood over a few times in his hands. He had really been enjoying helping Chubbs with the project - he hadn't been that crafty since shop class... and he found that he really did enjoy it. Fencing had always been his 'creative' outlet, but it was frustrating not having much in the way of a sparring partner here. Not that he was going to give it up! Just.... find a supplementation.
He snorted at her horror monster comment. His appearance was still something of a sore subject. "And I Don't look this way by choice." His ears swiveled back again. "Besides, there's only one horror movie star here. Not sure if you've run into Vasile yet."
"This late in the game, the only way to know which celebration came first would be to build a time machine," Chana replied, chuckling weakly.
"I guess...I don't think anyone would want to look anything like people on this island," she said slowly, thinking it through. Beneath the fur and the Christianity...there was something quite down-to-earth about this guy. She half-remembered Cassidy saying something...but it was gone again. Regardless, she felt...she felt that this man was not her enemy, and that she shouldn't be afraid of him and his...fellows on this island.
"Who's Vasilie?" she asked instead. The name sounded remotely familiar, but no more than that.
Ambrose picked up the knife, keeping his eyes on the block of wood made a few notches as guidelines for where to cut and shape later.
"Very true. I suppose the whole 'which came first' argument doesn't really matter. They're all here now, and they make people happy, right?" He glanced up to her, the amiable smile starting to return.
"And no... I wouldn't wish this fate on my worst enemies. From... what you're saying I do assume you've been given the... run down of what's going on...? I wasn't sure with how I startled you, but maybe you just hadn't seen anyone as.... different as me yet." He shifted positions a bit, trying to make himself more comfortable in the sand.
"And Vasile DiRossi.... the film star.... apparently he's being listed as being in a planecrash...."
"Another way to ask the chicken or the egg," she added, smiling slightly.
"Run down? I...ah...think...Cassidy tried," she admitted, flushing. "I...well...this hasn't been very easy, seeing people like this."
Chana stared blankly at the name. "Who? No, never mind. I'm really bad at keeping up with that stuff. Wonder if he'd rather the planecrash," she mused.
"Precisely. And a rather moot question at that." He made a few more notches in the wood before turning it to check to see how things lined up, and then smiled, making some deeper cuts.
"So you met Cassidy?" He nodded. Cassidy was also pretty far in her changes - although along a very different line. "I haven't seen Cassidy in a while.... is she doing alright? .... But no - it's not any easier on us, I can assure you. Most of us at least. It's one thing to see someone else with fur or scales... quite another to see it in the mirror. But... admittedly, even that hasn't made it easy to see your friends changing around you... remembering them as human... and seeing them scared, looking different... more like an animal." His ears drooped.
Ambrose snorted a bit at the question. "I guess that's a good question you'd have to ask him. Me...... I don't know to be honest. It's.... it's hard thinking that things are only going to get... more drastic from here, and that I'll never be able to go home - never be able to chase my dreams." He shook his head. "I'm sorry." He sighed. He always had the tendency to think about himself when talking to others about the problems of the island. Selfish. "From the sounds of things you had a good family.... I'm really sorry...." He trailed off, realizing he didn't have her name yet.
"I'm terribly sorry - my name is Ambrose."
"Yeah...Cassidy was pretty nice. I...I really had trouble looking at her, but we had a good conversation. She seems...to be doing well." Chana was quiet. Looking at yourself in the mirror and seeing...something like that? Changing? Chana felt she should ask...but...no. If she didn't know, she could hang on to what little sanity she had left. Coward, she called herself, but so be it.
Then he started talking about her family. Unbidden, tears clouded her eyes. She quickly wiped them and responded to his last statement.
"I'm Chana. It's...well, it's nice to meet you, Ambrose."
Ambrose nodded. "Cass has been having a rough time... last I saw her. She and Vasile had been slowly trying to... help eachother through all of this, but I haven't seen either of them in some time to be honest. I've been... rather reclusive for a while until just recently..."
Ambrose looked up, his ears crumpling as he saw her expression, and he set down the carving. "Chana.... I... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to upset you..." He slowly rose to his feet, debatng between tryting to comfort her or if that would just make her feel more uncomfortable.
Chana waved Ambrose away. "Really...it's just...I've never gone a year without seeing my family during Hannukah. I even missed Winnie the Jew for my family." The tears were gathering again.
"Maybe I should go think about what you've said today," she told him, her voice not quite wavering.
"That must be painful" Ambrose said quietly. He wasn't quite sure what Winny the Jew was other than from the sounds of it some sort of parody of the famuous bear, but it was obvious how meaningful her family was to her.
"Well.... it probably sounds like an empty sentiment... and I know that if I were you, I wouldn't be overly comfortbale with me... but if you ever want to talk about anything - I'm in duplex one." He gave her a small smile and a instinctive few wags of his tail.
Chana turned and smiled up at Ambrose through her tears, which were now streaking down her cheeks.
"Thanks. I'm in 26 if...if you ever want to argue whether the chicken or the egg came first," she told him. She stood up and slipped on her sandals.
"Maybe I'll see you around later." She turned toward the village, then turned back, grinning wickedly. "First candles get lit in two days at sunset in my duplex." Chana winked at Ambrose and left him alone on the beach.
.. and Ambrose had managed to make the poor girl cry. Beautiful day. Just perfect.
"Hopefully I will see you around again, Chana... and I'm sory again. I do hope that you have a happy Hannukah." He gave her a weak wave and plopped back down in the sand again.
He looked across the winter sun reflected on the ocean that seemed to stretch forever. Somehow... that sight wasn't as comfoting as it was earlier in his residency here. He would have to bring Angelina to the beach sometime soon however...
But for the moment, he would stay away from some of the others... it only seemed to be resuting in him upsetting people today... or being pulled into other problems. He picked up the block of wood, glanced around, and pulled a few pieces of driftwood closer to him before sitting down to carve. It was... relaxing. Focused his attention away from the problems, and let him do something for the others.
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 5:47 pm
Joliette looked through her pile of envelopes she went through them as carefully as possible having already poked holes in the corners of many of them by accident with her new claws.
She found the one she was looking for and slid it under the door of her friend.
Note Enclosed with Merry Christmas Chana I couldn't think of anything else to give my friends so I holed up in the darkroom for a few hours pouring through my Photographic work and thought you might like this one... ~Joliette
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Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 7:56 am
The tears that Chana had managed to hold back from Ambrose were streaming down her face when she returned to her duplex. Why oh why did he had to bring up my family, she moaned to herself as she stepped inside. Of all the subjects she had successfully avoided thinking about...that one stung the most.
Crinkle.
Chana looked down to see that she had stepped on...a piece of paper? It was from Joliette, and said "DON'T OPEN 'TIL XMAS" on it. She snorted, fingering the puncture hole in the corner. She'd simply not open it until Hannukah, rather than Christmas. After all, what was an extra six hours or so?
That being decided she flung the card across the room and picked up her prayerbook. The Hannukah songs were all together in the Songs and Hymns section...and she'd long ago memorized where in that section. It was simple enough to flip right to the songs.
"Rock of ages, let our song
Praise Your saving power;
You, amid the raging foes,
Were our sheltering tower.
Furious, they assailed us,
But Your arm availed us,
And Your word
Broke their sword,
When our own strength failed us."
Chana sat quietly, looking at the words. Where was G-d's arm and G-d's word when all the people on this island needed Him?
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Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 4:26 pm
Sometime in the middle of the night, a grey-furred figure quietly makes a stop on your doorstop to deposit a cloth-wrapped package. The cloth is cut from a scrap piece of blue tarp from the looks of things, and tied shut with a length of rope.
Pinned to it is a note on Feral Labs stationary (much like the pad found in all of your duplexes in the desk drawer), penned in an elegant, confident hand.
Quote: Chana, I know that you and I have yet really had the opportunity to get to know eachother well, however our conversation on the beach the other day brought to my mind that while gifts are perhaps not exactly completely traditional in nature for most modern religion it is the thought that counts - and something to look forward to when life might be kicking you otherwise. I regret to say that I know very little about your religion save for some of the essentials, and have little resources here to look it up. So, here is a small token - hopefully finding you happy. I unfortunately do not know the characters that belong on this toy, but I am sure that you can fill in the gaps. Perhaps you'll teach me how it is to be used. ~ Ambrose Maurlias
And once the rope is cut or untied, inside the package is a small, carved dreidel. It is amaturely-made, however apparently some care has been put into at least making sure that the thing spins properly and isn't overly weighted to one particular side. As he said, there are no hebrew characters on it, but there is plenty of room to draw or paint some on.
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Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 4:52 pm
Chana glanced at the clock. 4 AM. Might as well go down to the cafeteria and snag some food...and some matches. She grabbed a random t-shirt and stepped outside her duplex.
"Ouch!" Chana bent down to examine the object she'd stepped on. It was...a dreidel? But...where were the letters? Nes gadol hayah sham...why wasn't it there? She turned to put the dreidel away.
Crinkle. Chana looked down again and retrieved the note that had apparently come with the dreidel. Clearly, it was a gift from Ambrose. She smiled ruefully. Guess I was a bit of a b***h to him, she mused. Ah well. She'd have to apologize to Ambrose next time she saw him.
Dropping the dreidel on her nightstand, Chana realized with a start that she was thinking of a half wolf, half man creature as a friend. She glanced at the wooden top.
"Nes gadol hayah poh," she murmured, and left for the cafeteria.
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Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2005 12:53 am
When you wake up you find a small package sitting on your counter.
When you open it you find an Ipod inside, with music on it that looks like it would suit your more mellow tastes (Moreau did the best he could, or could hire people to do anyway).
Merry Christmas!
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Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2005 9:07 am
Chana had returned to bed late last night (that morning?) having gotten her snack.
There had been no box in her room when she returned. And she knew she'd locked the door.
Was this another kind of gift? If so...it couldn't be from anyone she'd met, it had to be from someone who...who had a lot of clout here.
So nice that I get to spend my Christmas Day being a paranoid Jew, she thought sarcastically and opened the box. Inside was an Ipod. The same sort of techie toy that so many of her friends raved about. She knew how to use it, sort of. So she checked what songs were on it.
Not a bad selection. Just people she'd never heard of before. Which made her wonder...who was giving this to her? They didn't know much about her, and she had to wonder if they'd even made an effort.
Whatever, she thought, and tossed it - gently - onto her bed and went to take a shower.
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Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2005 11:01 pm
Chana meets Greer and Kim, and sees Joliette post-change Chana was in a rather negative mood this morning, due in part to the holiday. So it was to her surprise that she smelled an old favorite upon entering the cafeteria. Lotkes! There was also briskit and horseradish...but it was only brunch.
Chana snagged a small dish that she filled with lotkes, and a second dish for her bagel and cream cheese. Maybe this wasn't going to be such a bad day after all, she decided as she started slicing the bagel.
She wanted to be social again, really, but there were new and pretty bugs to take care of! Greer finally managed to pry herself out of her duplex a few hours later, and then only because her stomach was rumbling so insistently the meatier insects were starting to look appetizing.
Trotting down to the cafeteria, she piled a plate with meat, bouncing cheerfully. Between food and her new charges, she was oblivious to anything else.
In the middle of covering her bagel in cream cheese, Chana looked up to see if she knew whoever had come in.
She...didn't. Chana swallowed nervously. She didn't want to make the woman uncomfortable...wasn't Ambrose pretty normal underneath that fur?...so she'd be polite.
"Good morning," she called out to the bird-woman.
"I've got bugs, lots of bugs, bugs I've never seen! Oh what fun it is to look them up and gasp and preen! Ten insects of note, given unto me, by the evil doctorer who runs this island scheme, oh-" Greer stopped in mid bug carol, sung to the tune of 'Jingle Bells', and whirled around to face the person who had just greeted her. Oh look! A new person! Hey! The entomologist supressed the urge to flee.
"Hello! How are you today?" She probably looked rather funny with her fluffed feathers and skinny frame, but what could you do?
Chana smiled, a bit strained, but it was the thought that counted, right? "I'm pretty good...these lotkes are excellent," she replied, gesturing at her meal.
She paused, trying to think of something to say. "You seem to really like bugs," she said, remembering the curious jingle the woman had been singing.
"Hmm? Oh yes - I'm an entomologist, so if I didn't like insects I'd really hate my job." Smiling nervously, she gestured at the woman's table with her plate. "Mind if I join you?"
Oddly enough, it was Greer's little song that awoke her from her sleeping position on one of the corners of her room... just exactly how and when she had felt asleep and what time it was was a mystery to her mind... But it was probabely time to test her blood sugar, just in case. She did so quietly, and when the small machine said everything was right, she pocketed it, shoving the bandlet stained with blood in the other pocket before getting up and walking torward the other two girls that where there.
"Hey !" She gave Greer the same look she did to about everyone that far in she met so far, a bit of surprise, until she caught herself and let go, sightly embarassed... again.
Seeing Chana was almost a blessing... The only one that wasn't too far in that she had met where Awen and Jamal... Awen had changed since then, and she hadn't seen Jamal since then. It was a bit conforting to see she wasn't the only... "normal" ones.
"Mind if I join you two... ?"
"Oh, sure!" Chana exclaimed, and moved her lotkes out of the way to make room for both women. "An entomologist...that's pretty neat," she commented, finishing with the cream cheese. "I mean, I like looking at most bugs, but I don't get more out of it." Er...better hope she didn't take offense. After all, mosquitoes were the bane of any summer camp experience.
"And I've never met you before either," she remarked to Kim. "My name's Chana...what about you guys?"
"Don't worry - I have known for a long time I'm a weirdo, and not just because of the feathers." It was nervous joking on her part, but she was trying to set her new companion at ease- make that two new companions. It always happened this way on the island, n** out for a bit and you see half the population. Came from the small area and high stress levels, she guessed.
Sitting down, she began to cube her steak as usual and nodded to both Chana and the woman who hadn't introduced herself yet. "I'm Greer, sorry I forgot to mention that. You two new here?"
"Kim." She smilled a bit, messing with her bangs a bit out of nervous habit before sitting. She wasn't too hungry now... maybe later, when she found track of time again.
"Pleased to meet you both. And new, hm... Well, I came over a month ago... or so."
"I guess I'm still pretty new here...and it's very nice to meet you both...but Greer...that has got to be one of the neatest names I've ever heard! Where's it come from?" she asked eagerly. Not that she wanted to ignore Kim...but other girl seemed...quiet.
The feathered woman blinked, swallowing a handful of meat cubes before speaking. "It's Irish, rather like my mother's family. It means 'protector' I think." She liked her name? Huh, that was new. Normally people wrinkled their noses and thought it sounded funny.
"Since neither of you screamed or called me a demon, I assume you've had the intro to the island speech acted out for you?"
Kim couldn't help but frown a bit.
"Someone called you a demon ?" What ? That was pretty damn mean. But given that she had NO idea how she reacted like she did to Hargun... it was probabely safe to say that there was probabely... less than graceful reactions.
"But well... Yes. I came here thinking ill'd be cured. I mean, I didn't really expect it to happen, but hey... it was something to hope for." It was a bit hard to explain how she felt about that one.
"Protector...it's a good name," she said. Then Chana was in over her head. Demon? Introductory speech? Cured?
"Erm...I think I'd rather not know what this speech involves. Especially not if it is related to someone calling you a demon," she told Greer, flushing. Everyone here was so stressed...she couldn't say if knowing or not was the lesser of the two evils, and so would stick with what she had.
"What do you mean, cured?" she asked Kim. The girl didn't look sick...but that didn't mean much.
Greer chuckled and their reactions to her off-hand demon comment. "Meh, the guy who said it is a priest, and those fellows have their own problems. Well, the ones I knew as a kid were okay, but Irish Catholic priests tend to have a slightly skewed take on observing- and look at me, I'm babbling."
Ah, another curee. "Yeah, Moreau likes to promise cures. And jobs. I thought I was here to study insects, and I have been, but not officially or anything. No published discoveries for me. And the intro speech is the "Doctor lied to you, animal turning into in your future" etc. stuff."
Smiling as cheerfully as she could manage as she talked and ate, Greer hoped against hope she wouldn't have to give another one of those. Her last two hadn't gone so well.
"Diabetes. Type 1... My body doesn't produce insulin at all." She answered without hesitation, as if she knew it all by heart and had to speak about it many time allready, reaching for some apple juice. This didn't seem to be too much of a touchy subject for the vietnamese,
"Oh, priests..." She mumbeled a bit. "I've met a few... perticular ones. The most... err... "passioned" ones. I've been told that ill burn in hell more times than I can count..."
Joliette was cheered a little by what David had shown her, though that Eifel tower greatly reminded her of the one she could see from her gran and gramps house... the house she'd lived in till she was 2 and often visited afterwords. With a sigh she trudged into the cafeteria, her yellow tongue flicked and brought to her the smells of the meats across the room which made her cringe. Though the beast inside her desired them they still really bothered her. She looked up as the scents brought back to her were also that of people... Chana, Greer and someone she didn't know.. Oh joy, she hadn't seen Chana since the girls' first day there... She shifted directions not wanting to go near the foods just then and headed for their table her toe-claws clicking on the linolium as her heavy feet landed on the floor. She'd not had a good day and she knew it wouldn't be any better of a week and her face showed the remaining signs of having cried earlier that morning
"Priest? You mean Father Young? He didn't seem so bad..." though we never got around to my being Jewish she finished to herself. She grew pale as Greer summarized the introductory speech. What on earth...?
"Diabetes, ah...that makes more sense. My cousin has it," she replied absently as Joliette walked in. The English woman had...changed. There was no other word for it.
"Erm...hi Joliette," she said. Suddenly that last half a lotke didn't look so appetizing.
One look at Chana said she was handling this badly. Damn it! Until her last change she'd been so much better at the being gentle and nice thing... probably because without the hawk in her she actually was. Bah. Humbug.
"I'm going to guess you haven't had it then - I'm sorry, I'm being so callous. Do you know why we're all really here?" Smiling at the curly-haired girl, she glanced back and saw the photographer. Oh hey! "Joliette! Thanks for the photo - it's beautiful work."
It didn't take a scientific diploma to figure out... Just by the way the other girl almost seemed to go white.
Uh... well.... oh.
"Chana ? Are you allright.... ?" It was evident that the newcomer had been cried... But she decided to not ask about it and wait if the matter would come up, giving her a wave. "Hello... I don't think we met, im Kim."
"Hello Chana" Joliette said in her thick British accent as she reached the table "Uhm Merry christmas.. to all of you" her voice sounded almost as if she was forcing the holiday cheer into it "I'm glad you liked it Greer, it was the only think of giving the people I'd met here, so far I wanted to give something..." and then she looked at the vietmanese female "Hi... I'm Joliette, you are right I believe we have not met... You... You guys mind if I join you?" she asked quietly
"Um...yeah. I haven't had it," she answered Greer's question shakily and started piling her flatware on her plate.
"I'm fine, Kim...and thanks, Joliette, for the picture. It's lovely." She gathered up her dishes and stood.
"I...ah...think I'll be going. It's been nice meeting you two, and it was good to...see you again, Joliette." Chana left her utensils and dishes in the appropriate place and fled the cafeteria. Little bits of conversations were coming together in a way she didn't want to believe...for believing them would mean doubting G-d.
Growling at herself, Greer swallowed the last of her food and bussed her tray. Idiot! What was her goddamned problem-
"Excuse me, I'm going to track Chana down and apologize - have a good meal you two." Giving a quick nod to Kim and Joli, the entomologist left the cafeteria, searching for the girl in vain.
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Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2005 11:18 am
After she reached the safety of her duplex, Chana pulled out her prayerbook and held an afternoon service. Normally the second shortest type of service, she managed to drag it out to cover most of the afternoon. Every prayer that could be read, she did read.
Upon finishing, it was late enough to start the preparations for the second night of Hannukah. Chana cleaned the wax out of the candle holders, carefully withdrew three candles (the things broke so easily) and set them in their respective places. Lighting the shamash, she sung the prayers quietly as she lit the other two candles. She smiled at the dim glow. Nothing was more relaxing than candlelight, she often thought.
Chana opened one window enough to let the smoke out of the duplex and went to sleep, the days events shoved too far aside to ruin her night.
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Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2005 3:21 pm
Chana meets Antony
(and loses her temper) After she left Jamal's, Antony returned to her duplex to shower quickly before changing back into her swimsuit and the board shorts from the previous day. Gathering her surf board, which she had thankfully remembered to pack, and her messenger bag, which was crammed with a towel and a few other things she needed, the tattooed woman headed for the beach.
It took less time than the day before to get there now that she knew where the beach was, and she was soon paddling out past the breakers. Waiting a bit for a good wave, Antony pushed herself up onto her board after catching a particularly big one. Today, she was wearing contacts. Didn't want to risk losing her glasses in the ocean.
Chana felt much better after a quiet afternoon and a full night's sleep. Good enough, in fact, to try the beach again. Hopefully this time she wouldn't encounter anyone...unusual.
As she expected, she wasn't alone at the beach. However, the figure on the surfboard looked rather normal. "Good morning!" she called out to the stranger.
Antony... Normal? Ha.
She glanced up at the yell, but didn't respond, instead finishing her run out before she made her way to shore with her board. Usually, she would have just ignored such disruption, but she was in -quite- a good mood this morning and felt like humoring this new person.
Once out of the surf, Antony reached down and unvelcroed the strap from her ankle before making her way to the rather plain (in her opinion) looking girl. With a soft grunt, she shoved her board into the looser sand so it'd stay there on its own before wiping the water from her face and turning her full attention to the visitor, corner of her lip twitching in a half smile. "Yes, that it has been... May I help you?"
Chana blinked at the force of the other woman's...personality. Whatever she'd expected, it had not been a tatooed and pierced...person. And this woman so clearly had control of the situation.
She swallowed and smiled a bit sheepishly. "I'm Chana. I was walking down the beach and I saw you. You're very good on your surfboard," she commented, trying to stay cool. The woman was very intimidating for a small-town Jewish girl.
"Antony," she replied with a slight nod of thanks, "Came with practice." Her half smile returned before she began to walk away to where she had deposited her messenger bag earlier, pulling out a towel and drying herself off the best she could.
Draping the towel over her head, a hand gripped at either end of the towel, Antony worked the towel back and forth crudely, roughing her short hair dry. The towel was soon allowed to drape over her right shoulder, free hand going up to 'smooth' her hair a little.
"Not out her to swim I take?" The other woman didn't look too equipped for a swim, and she DEFINATELY didn't look like the type to go a natural.
Chana snorted. "No, I don't care to swim in the ocean. Too salty," she grinned. Lakes were a bit more fun, in her opinion. Fewer dangerous species when one went skinny-dipping at midnight. Of course some lakes had fungi just as dangerous as sharks and such...but only idiots went in those.
"I prefer lakes over open water," she added, smiling at the memories.
"Whatever gets you off," she said shrugging lightly, clearly thinking nothing of her comment as her stomach grumbled soflty, an action which she ignored for the time being.
"'Sides, sea salt's good for piercings, and the sand is a natural exfoliant... Saves you money in the long run." Antony had stopped resorting to those exfoliating bodywashes the moment she started surfing. Trick of the trade maybe? Either way, for someone who didn't look like she knew, or cared, anything about such beauty knowledge, the comment may have been a big surprising. Maybe.
"I know saltwater's said to be good for healing, but exfoliating?" Chana's interest was peaked. She liked to look good...but it wasn't a dominating factor when people around her looked...
She shied away from the thought. "Been here long?" she asked instead.
"Not saltwater, sand... It's itty-bitty grains of quartz, which is quite hazardous to breathe." Antony gave her a larger grin, eyes glinting briefly, causing her to look a bit sadistic. But only a bit.
Her questioned returned Antony's face to 'normal,' and she chewed absently on her lip ring, "Only got here yesterday, you?"
Chana smiled back, but on her face the expression was much more welcoming.
Now...how long had she been here? It was a good question...Chana racked up days in her mind. "I've been here...maybe a month and a half?" She wrinkled her brow. It sounded about right. "So...you met anyone else thus far?" she asked, half-changing the subject. There was hope yet...
Damn all these rich ******** able to just leave for horridly long vacations.
"Just Jamal." A wicked smiled crossed her face as she leaned against her board, but she didn't offer anymore information about the encounter.
"Jamal?" The name was famili-- "Oh! I remember him now. I still don't know what he was doing on this beach at such a late hour," she mused, remembering. Surreptiously glancing at Antony's tattoos, she added, "I bet you two got along."
"Probably hittin' a joint," she grinned, obviously this didn't bother her in the least, "And we got along quite well actually." Her eyes flashed as she thought back to last afternoon, then last night, and then finally to early this morning. Oh he had hit the spot. Hopefully he'd pay her another visit sometime.
"No...I would've stayed away if I'd smelled that..." she responded without thinking. Lost in thought, Antony's double entandra went right over her head. "Good to hear," she said.
Her mind was skipping ahead, wondering if she might see that preacher again any time soon. Much as she hated to tell him, she got a certain sadistic pleasure out of seeing the shock on devout Christian faces when she told them that she was Jewish.
Time to find out just how narrowminded this girl was...
"Gods what a pity... You don't know what you're missing." After all, that was one of the main reasons she had gotten laid SEVERAL times last night. That and just like drinking, pot wasn't dangerous unless you went near any sharp or potentially deadly object. Generally harmless, but like everything else, there existed exceptions to the rule.
"Hmm?" Chana looked up and backtracked the conversation in her mind. Oh...uh...pot. Right.
"Sorry, I was at a young and impressionable age when a family friend had some problems with Ecstasy. We were all pretty torn up about it...I don't want to do that to my family," she replied. It had been particularly hard with the suicide attempt later...but Antony didn't need to know the rest of the story.
"Ahh, E..." Antony said as if she were remembering a long lost friend that was near and dear to her heart, but trailed off when Chanacontinued her story, sighing slightly and shaking her head.
"Sorry to hear," she was surprised that Chana didn't launch into a lecture about how drugs are bad and you're definately bad if you do drugs. Fie on stereotypes.
Chana shrugged. "The friend, thankfully, is still alive," she said, and left it at that. After the near-death moments (complete with hair-pulling and screaming) she couldn't ask for a happier ending.
But with some of her friends from school...if they wanted to screw their life up, it was theirs to screw up. She'd long ago given up on the druggies she knew.
"A person's strength is often estimated poorly, give or take. I've seen big black men cry like babies while I inked them, and others who can make a large scarification look like nothing more than a pin p***k." Chuckling to herself, Antony reached behind her to rough the back of her hair a bit.
"Life is simple, don't pretend to be someone you're not and don't force anyone else to be someone they're not." It was as simple as that.
Chana looked up again and smiled. "That's pretty deep. I'll have to remember it." She looked out at the crashing waves and wondered how all those people back home, that looked and acted like clones, would react to hearing that. Would they all react the same? She rather hoped not.
"It doesn't matter if you remember it, only if you actually apply it, otherwise... it won't do a god damn thing except take up space." Antony followed her gaze, watching the waves for a while before becoming bored, stomach growling impatiently.
"Hey, have you eaten yet? Cause I think I'ma head up to the cafeteria for some chow. I'm ******** starving." Nodding towards the path back towards the duplexes as she offered, she soon bent down to scoop up her messenger bag and throw it over the towelless shoulder for now.
As if in answer, Chana's stomach growled. "I think I'll go with you...long enough to grab a bite to eat," she replied, and hoped to G-d that there were no...other people there.
"Sweet. Let's go." And without bothering to wait for her, Antony dislodged her board and headed back up towards the duplexes. She'd drop this off by her room before they ate, and if Chana allowed, possibly change into dry clothing.
Chana trailed after, keeping an eye on every building that a person was likely to walk out of. If one of those changed people showed...she was out of here and back in her duplex.
Thankfully, there had been time to change as well, and Antony was in her usual black pants, boots, and tight 'beater. Her hair was a little more orderly thanks to a quick dab and rub through of gel she pushed through it on the way back out.
Pushing the cafeteria door open to find it empty, her lopsided grin returned as she scanned the area. "Man, I haven't eaten in something like this since college..."
Chana, who had been following Antony quietly, snorted. "The food here trumps any college food I've ever had," she told the other woman, and headed straight for the lotkes that were still there. And still warm, she discovered to her delight. Today was a lotke and applesauce day, Chana had decided, and filled her plate accordingly.
Glancing at the food that was out, Antony soon moved to where all the fresh fruit was, opening her near empty messenger bag and shovelling as much variety into it as possible. "I snack on fruit a lot," she explained, even though she really didn't have to, it was all free anyways.
Picking up a plate, she considered all that was there before filling it with a large salid and some ham. She was a sucker for raw fruits and veggies.
"The food's all here to be eaten...no one cared when I took a bunch up to my duplex," she commented in between mouthfuls. Thank goodness whoever made the lotkes knew what they were doing. Even so, Chana ate a bit faster than she usually did, eager to get out before anyone else came in.
Watching the other girl nearly inhale her food, Antony put down her fork and raised an eyebrow. "Where's the fire?" She had no clue why Chana'd be eating at such a speed when there was no threat of being kicked out, or ...tsunami.
Chana stopped long enough to answer the question. "I'm getting out of here before anyone strange shows up. And you'll know what I mean soon enough," she added, turning back to her lotkes. She was fairly certain that the strange people outnumbered the normal...or maybe that was the paranoia talking.
"Well darling, 'strange' is quite a broad term," she narrowed her eyes slightly, wondering where the sudden change of demeanor had come from. Chana hadn't been quick to skirt away from -her-, so who the hell was weirder than herself?
And why wouldn't she just be honest about these 'strange' people? Everything'd be so much better if everyone told the god damn truth instead of speaking vaguely and providing useless half-truths.
The food on her plate was forgotten for the moment.
Chana finished her food and got up to clear her plate. "You'd think I was high if I told you...and frankly, I'd think I was high. Screw Shakespeare's "there's more things in heaven and earth" 'cause I can only explain it as it looks like someone's trying to play G-d around here." She spoke quickly as she dumped plate and silverware in the proper receptacles, clearly eager to get away before any of the strange people showed up.
Her explanation didn't clear much up, and it instead served to confuse her even more. Likewise, she became quite... irritated.
"What the ******** are you talking about? How can someone ******** play a nonexistant God anyways?! It's a ******** ISLAND RESORT!" Antony's voice got a little louder, and she stood up from where she had previously been sitting, one hand gripping her hip while the other motioned angrily towards Chana, fork still in hand. SHE hadn't seen any of these 'strange' people yet, and that either meaned that Chana was full of s**t or Antony didn't see them as 'strange.'
The option that Antony hadn't seen these people yet was simply tossed aside for now.
"Island resort? Is that what they told you?" Chana may ntot have listened to any explanations of what was going on on the island, but she could see that two and seven did not make four. "Look. I came here to work at a year-round camp for the mentally retarded, damnit! I've heard someone here was told that this was a ******** movie. Whatever they told you, they lied. Okay?" She took a deep breath. To say the next part...was to finally admit out loud that it was real.
"And I guess you haven't ******** seen anyone who looked anything other than human, 'cause you wouldn't be ******** shouting at me if you had. I've seen ******** lizard people and a ******** wolfman and I know what I saw. Don't believe me? Fine! ******** you!" she shouted at Antony. Then she grabbed a few pieces of fruit to take back to her duplex and headed for the exit.
Joliette had hesitated to enter the cafeteria, she'd heard yelling, only one voice she knew... So at that moment holding the laptop to her chest wearing her black Gi she just stood... Unsure if she should go in or not, she had no idea Chana was storming for the door
As Chana explained why she herself had come here, and then continued her examples, Antony's face went from disbelief, a slight flicker of fear sparking through her eyes just before her face contorted in fury. The knuckles on the hand holding the fork were stark white, and she abruptly slammed her hand down on the table palm open, the silverware freed from her grasp.
Eyes glaring at Chana, she sneered unwilling to allow herself to believe all this. It was a crock of s**t that's what. "******** that. I've MET Lizardman before, and it's all ******** body mods... ALL OF IT! Tattoos, implants... He was one of the first to get his tongue split for ******** sake."
Antony didn't care to go after the girl she just met, and instead stood there, chest heaving in anger. Suddenly, Antony grasped her plate of food and flung it across the room as hard as she could, feeling slightly better once it shattered against the wall. Shards and chunks of lettuce littering the floor below. "********!"
She refused to believe it.
Chana curled a lip in a snarl (not caring for once that she was showing off her buck teeth) and stalked out the door...
...right into Joliette. She paused, blinked, and glared at the lizard woman in question. "******** you," she told Joliette, and shoved past her.
Joliette was surprised at Chana's change in attitude towards her and slowly turned around watching hte woman leave before backing into the cafeteria her claws clicking on the lino as she walked. She was rather shocked actually, she'd never heard the woman angry like that.
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 1:12 pm
Chana slammed the door behind her as she entered the duplex. She was near shaking with the force of her emotions. Fear, anger, worry...they were all there, tearing her apart inside.
I really shouldn't have lost my temper like that, she thought distractedly. With the initial rush of anger at Antony's blowup fading quickly, a new emotion set in: guilt.
She especially felt bad for swearing at Joliette like that. The lizard woman really hadn't deserved it. I'll have to make it up to her sometime...after all, they did have to live together on the same island. And sooner or later, they'd run into each other again. That was karma, right?
Chana pulled out her Plaut and gently opened it to a random page. This parashat spoke of Nadab and Abihu, two of Aaron's sons. They were not priests, but had made a burnt offering to the Lord.
Karma dislikes me today, Chana concluded. Nadab and Abihu had died by the Lord's hand for their crime. She tried again.
Chana's eyebrows rose. Miriam was stricken with leprosy. Definitely not my day... One last time. The third try was the best, right?
The book fell open at the priestly benediction. "May the Lord bless and keep you," Chana whispered aloud the text.
~*~
The candles were lit. As the only illumination in the duplex, Chana could stare at them forever.
Growl.
She glanced down at her ill-contented stomach. Well...she could stare at them forever once she'd snagged some food. Fruit was not a full dinner, and she needed some cream cheese for the bagels.
Hopefully she'd be able to make a run to the cafeteria without seeing anyone.
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 2:33 pm
Chana meets Lily Lily had finally decided to venture out of her duplex, after a couple hours of trying to figure out how it could possibly be a joke of some kind. Getting hungry and knowing she can't stay locked up in there forever, she'd left the duplex- making note of the number by the door so she could find it again. She'd also thought better than to wear her labcoat out incase she ran into someone while trying to find her way around.
"Great," she murmurs, looking around the village area. She walks along calmly and notices the large central building.
"That's what I'm looking for," she says, heading for it in hopes of finding a cafeteria and not finding a whole bunch of other people- part of why she'd waited until the night.
There was always something calming about candlelight...but sometimes one's body made it difficult to enjoy such simple things.
So Chana was on her way to add to the stash in her duplex. Hopefully Antony would be nowhere near. She wasn't expecting yet another woman she'd never seen before. At least this person looked human. It was difficult to tell under the flourescent lights, so bright after the darkness outside.
"Good evening," she called out, though softly.
Lily starts when she hears someone call out and freezes.
'If I look, what am I going to see?' She thinks, hesistant to turn to see who'd called out to her. When she does turn around all she sees is a quite normal looking person, and her relief is obvious.
"Hello," she finally replies, smiling meekly.
She clears her throat a bit, reminding herself that just because they haven't changed doesn't mean they don't know what's going on- not that anyone should assume that she did..
Chana smiles welcomingly. After Antony...she'd decided she wouldn't try to tell anyone what she'd seen thus far on the island. Unless, of course, they had clearly...discovered.
"I haven't seen you around before...I'm Chana," she told the woman.
Act natural.
"Oh, I just arrived today," she says with a nod, holding out a hand to Chana politely, "I'm Lily, it's nice to meet you Chana."
Lily notes that Chana seems happy enough..
Chana accepts Lily's hand and pumps it gently...her hands are like ice. "Today, eh? Am I...the first person you've met?"
Please be so. That would make things so much easier...they could talk about harmless things.
Lily releases Chana's hand, and her smile fades a bit at the hesitation in the question. But she quickly recovers and smiles more genuinely, "Yes, actually. I didn't get out much today."
She pauses, then a rumbling in her stomach prompts her.
"Would you be able to show me around?" She asks, "I didn't get a tour, either."
"It's a beautiful island," she remarks and heads for the food, looking for cream cheese.
"I suppose I could show you the little I know...but I don't know if that's such a good idea in the dark." Chana spies an untouched container of the dairy product and snags it. She turns to Lily. "That and I tend to get lost when I venture out of the village at night." A half-truth. She'd only gone out of the village once at night, and then she'd gotten lost.
Lily nods to the comment, she can't argue about the beauty of the island they're now trapped on forever. She walks with Chana over to the food and looks over everything that's available, hesitating before grabbing just a roll despite her hunger.
"Well," she pauses thoughtfully, "You could show me around the village, and this building- if you don't mind showing me around. I wouldn't be any help if we got lost."
"Um..there's an entertainment room somewhere down the hall...and a laundry room too." Chana shrugs. "That's all I really remember."
Stressful times made people forget things. But it wasn't as if there was a maze in the building. Lily (and Chana) could find the rooms they wanted when they needed to find them. Which was not tonight. Nope.
"I see," Lily nods- it makes sense that there'd be a laundry room, and she's pleased to hear about an entertainment room. Even just knowing these things are in this building is a big help.
"That's good, I'm sure I'll be able to find them," She says with a weakening smile, just holding onto the roll now. What kind of small talk is there for someone you just met, when you're not even sure what your story is?
"So, er-" she hesitates, deciding to try to find out a little more about Chana, "How old are you?"
Chana started involuntarily. Of all the things she'd expected to hear...that was not a question she'd prepared for.
I could just answer it... but that might lead to other, more personal, questions.
"Old enough to have graduated college," she answered, giving her best "Barbie" smile. Hmmm...it would be good to also grab a knife, now that she thought about it...
Lily raises her eyebrows a bit when Chana jumps, she hadn't realized how some people might take the question. Chana didn't look old enough to get offended or anything.
But college- that's an interesting topic! Of course, now she's going to have to be more careful.
"Oh?" She tries to keep going, "What did you study, if you don't mind my asking?"
"I originally wanted to major in advertising..." she admits, looking around. Ah-hah! A knife! Chana quickly grabbed it and stuffed it into a pocket.
"It's been nice meeting you Lily, hopefully I'll see you around again," she calls out, walking quickly for the door and her duplex. Bagel and cream cheese in the candlelight...nothing better in the world.
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 2:42 pm
Chana watched the candles flicker guiltily as she munched on her bagel. I really could have handled that better, she thought. And it's not fair to Lily...just like it wasn't fair to Joliette. She swallowed a hunk of bagel thoroughly covered with cream cheese. I just keep getting so nervous...like I expect people to sprout fur and scales right in front of me or something. It escaped her thought process that somewhere along the way her subconscious had accepted the fact that many "people" on the island could no longer be called "human."
Or worse, she continued musing, it could be that I sprout fur and scales in the middle of a conversation. Chana shuddered as a chill ran down her spine. Knock on wood and don't you dare think that again.
She didn't think she'd acted so flighty with Ambrose...but then again, she'd been reacting to the poor man's appearance. Yet Lily was human.
Somethings are better left alone, she admonished herself and concentrated instead on eating her bagel and trying to describe the colors in the candle flames.
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 5:57 pm
The candles had long ago burned down to nothing. Chana had showered and now lay on her bed in just her underwear. She wasn't hot...she just couldn't summon the willpower to pull on a t-shirt.
Chana sighed. Nothing had made sense since she came to this island. Her job...she'd procrastinated doing it...and nothing had come of that. In fact, it was quite obvious that there never had been, nor was there going to be a camp here. Then...there were the changed people. Chana wasn't quite sure where they fit into the scheme of things, but she was pretty sure she didn't want to know. If she hadn't seen Joliette...she might have been able to ignore the fact that some people weren't completely human.
But Joliette had been perfectly normal the first time they'd met. She wasn't anymore.
On that inconclusive note, exhaustion swept over Chana and she finally fell asleep.
...the 9th grade English teacher, the Neo-Nazi, shoved her on the train with the rest of the mob. She stumbled onto the floor.
The tiled linoleum floor. Confused, Chana looked up. In front of her was a man, red-haired, glasses, not too much older than she, who was offering her a hand. He didn't smile. Chana let him pull her to her feet.
SWACK!
The noise seemed to come from right behind her, but the man leading her didn't react, so she pretended to ignore it. It sounded so close though.
He led her into a different train cabin. It was cold and dark and empty. Chana wondered what had happened to all the other people that had been loaded on...
SWACK!
...it was the door, right? Closing behind her? Chana couldn't be sure anymore...the noise was...too wet to be a door though.
The red-haired man, she finally recognized him as the doctor who'd first greeted her on the Island, stopped and looked at her. Why doesn't he smile?
"You have a beautiful smile," he told her, holding up a mirror.
SWACK!
Chana watched the beaver in the mirror with a morbid fascination.
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