Welcome to Gaia! ::

"I... I see. Well." Anjali paused, unsure of what to do next. "Thank you for your help then, Miss Lockheart... you'll call me when it's, ah, time, you said?" She was staring at the carpet, now. Funny how she'd never noticed the little pink flecks in amongst the gray weave.

"Right... bye then," Anjali said before she realized the connection had been closed. She stared mutely at the silent speaker for a few seconds before jumping up and darting into the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before her stomach heaved.

Way to waste a cup of tea, something said in the back of her mind.

So it was true, all of it - that she hadn't doubted, but she'd still felt somehow immune. Separated at one remove because her change was different, too impossible for her to imagine... but it wasn't.

At least she'd have a warning. She could - what? Go? Walk blindly to her fate? Run? Somehow she thought she wouldn't be able to hide for long. Surely not all of the others had accepted things calmly. No... best to make things as easy for herself as she could. To act as befitted, well, herself.

Because if she was herself, then she could not be a monster - no matter what she looked like.

Right?

Anjali shakily got to her feet and flushed the toilet after cleaning the rim, then paused at the sink to wash her face and rinse the taste of bile from her mouth. She filled her bathroom glass with water and carried it carefully out into the main room and to the coffee pot, which hadn't had time to cool and hissed angrily at her when she dumped the water in and turned it on again.

One cup wasted, but now her stomach needed calming, so... tea.

The ritual of water, leaves, and china was calming, another link to sanity - for as long as that lasted.

November 29th, 2005 - Teatime

After a long session of brooding, Jamal finally surfaced from the thick plant-life, grumbling irritably as he swatted at a few highly persistant bugs that had followed him from his little 'hole' in the jungle. Back home, they never bothered him too much, but the bugs out here seemed like they were large enough to carry off a full-grown horse if the notion struck.

Thankfully the pests retreated as he scrambled away from the heavy greenery, propelled partly by his well-placed swipes, and he was left to walk the dirt trail back towards the duplexes. He was already quite near a few of them...mostly ones he'd never really paid any attention to because he didn't know the inhabitants, but today he cast a quick look over for signs of life. He vaguely remembered that he'd met someone who lived out here, but didn't remember who. The man was never good at remembering things like that.

Anjali hummed under her breath, the notes just slightly off-key... the notes of a Christmas carol. She always adored Christmas, and even though the heat of a tropical island was hardly stereotypical weather... India hadn't been much closer to the supposed norm.
So, here she was, attaching a wreath woven from lianas harvested from the jungle, to her door. It was something, at least. They couldn't take this away from her.

Surprisingly, Jamal found that his idly glancing had brought a familiar figure to his attention. However, being lousy at names as he was, he couldn't remember her name for the life of him. It wasn't something 'normal' sounding, like Laura or Ashley, so that didn't help either.

Regardless of that fact, he started to drift off in the direction of her duplex, wondering what on earth she was doing with that tangle of green planty stuff. He wanted a closer look...both because of the wreath and because of her. From this distance, it was hard to tell if she had even so much as sprouted a horn or a patch of fur from where he was and morbid curiousity required that he at least check it out and see if she had left the ranks of the unchanged or not.

After getting a bit closer, he offered her a grunted greeting of "Yo, what up?" and a slight wave, hoping to catch her attention but not to startle her in the process.

Anjali turned quickly, stiffening - then relaxing as she recognized the man. "You are Jamal, right? We met on the beach a few weeks ago." She smiled at him, then turned to quickly straighten the lopsided 'wreath' before putting her attention back on him.
She was pleasantly surprised, though - Jamal was the first person who had actually sought her company, instead of the other way around.

"Yeah, dat be right," he said quickly, flashing her a hesitant grin of approval. "Sorry I run off so fast then...had stuff I had ta take care of. Plus lately I be feelin' kinda strange in crowds fo' some reason." Okay, so...lousy reason, but it was mostly true.

As he spoke, he eyed the wreath on her door with mild apprehension. What the hell was that supposed to be anyway?

"It's quite alright." Anjali caught him looking at the wreath, and looked sheepish. "As odd as it might seem, it is drawing near to Christmas-time... I've always enjoyed the season, and I will be damned if I will let all this take that joy from my life as well. It's makeshift, but...?" Her voice trailed off.

Jamal's brow quirked then. Holy s**t, was it really that close to Christmas? That only made his mood darken considerably, which reflected some in his face, causing his jaw to tense slightly and a set of wrinkles to crease on his forehead. "Well, ya gotta make do wit' what ya can then, I guess," he did concede after a pause. "I ain't see no christmas trees out herr...so it gotta figger you makin' that outta whateva' we got 'round."

He couldn't help but voice his morose train of thought however but adding "Kinna sad I been herr so long that I ain't 'memberin' what time o' year it be. It be snowin' back at home, I bet."

"Yes, there are definitely no pines here... and it has been some time." Anjali frowned and peered up at the sun. "How long have you been here, Jamal? I'm fairly sure your name wasn't on the list of inhabitants when I arrived... but that was in September."

"Too long," he said with a forced laugh, then rubbed at his chin briefly in a show of his uneasy state of mind as his gaze flickered back to Anjali. "I got herr in Octoba'...'bout da middle of it, I think. So...been herr ova one month. Month 'n' a half."

So, she had been here longer...and she didn't show a sign of changing into whatever it was she said she was turning into. He vaguely remembered something about a plant, but he never really got into any more detail about it. Could they even turn into plants?

"I was planning on being here for some time - I was hired here, and I still am, because I love my work. You?" She studied the sun again, then smiled. "It's almost mid-afternoon. I don't suppose you'd like to join me for some tea?" He was odd company - but the world was no longer normal in the least.

"I wasn't hired fo' nuthin...just decided I needed ta get away." That wasn't a complete lie, so he was comfortable at leaving it at that.

At the mention of tea, Jamal tried not to look too mystified by such an offer and nodded. "A'ight...ain't got nuthin' betta ta do." He did brighten a little though. Better than dwelling on his current state of affairs. Besides, she did look like she didn't mind the company.

"Come on in, then. Make yourself comfortable, there's a table by the window with two chairs - mind the fern, though, it has stinging hairs on the leaves," she added as she opened the door and showed Jamal in. She had changed the room quite a bit from standard, with silken curtains, a batik-patterned bedspread and assorted rugs on the floor. And, of course, plants. Lots and lots of plants.
The table by the window looked inviting, aside from the warned-about fern, but it was easy enough to ignore it. Around the room were more plants of various sizes, all in colorful traditional Indian pots. Still, it was tastefully decorated, more like living in a pleasant garden than in another jungle.

Jamal had the impression he was once again in the jungle as he did a quick survey of the room, despite the potted nature of them all, and felt oddly complacent due to their abundant numbers. Why, he didn't know. He slipped over towards the indicated table and cast a curious look at this 'stinging' fern. He'd never heard of a plant that fought back when you messed with it and he was -almost- compelled to prod at one of the leaves but decided against it only because he really didn't need another reason for a foul mood.

All in all, the room was colorful and an improvement on the drab hotel-style furnishings they had all been presented with. He approved. Jamal sat down in one of the chairs and slouched, looking to see what Anjali was doing. "So, you do all the fancy plant stuff herr then? 'n ya get paid fo' it?"

"Indeed. I'm the landscaper... the gardener and groundskeeper here. In addition to being an experiment," she said, dryly. "Needless to say, they didn't tell me about that last bit when I signed my employment papers. Still, I hope my job can make things a bit more pleasant here, once I am able to make the duplexes more cheerful..." She shrugged. "What type of tea do you take, do you know? Or... would you one of my blends?" she added, delicately, not wanting to offend - or make him feel ignorant by not knowing tea types if he didn't.

The black man shook his head lightly. "Yeah, they be real good about not tellin' peeps what be really goin' on. I sure as hell didn't have no idea what I got mahself in ta. Not dat I'da believed 'em anyway. Anyone be tellin' me I'mma turn in ta some beastie...well, I'da thought them crazy."

Jamal wasn't really offended at her next question, but he was pretty uncultured in the ways of tea and knew it. "Uh, whateva' ya got be a'ight wit' me," he decided after a long pause and a quick decision. "I ain't neva' drank tea b'fo, so..."

"That's fine - basic breakfast tea, then, though I have far too many different kinds. Comes from the British side of me - tea is our answer to everything, you know." Anjali chuckled and opened a small box on her bookshelf, producing a normal teabag, a tea ball, and a packet of loose leaves. "And yes... I don't recall, did you mention what you were turning into... if you know? That other man, Chubbs, he didn't know." She frowned. "As if changing us against our will weren't enough. I cannot believe they would withhold information as well." She put the tea things on the table with unneeded force, then stalked into the bathroom to fill the coffee pot before putting it on the coffee maker and plugging it in.

Jamal watched her get together all the tea things with a blithe expression until she brought up the topic of transformation again. He visibly winced, even though he tried to repress it. "Uh, I ain't asked yet," he said in a low mumble. "Not sure I wanna know...they prolly tell if I asked 'cause I ain't causin' no trouble. Yet, anyway."

"I'm sorry," she said with a sigh, settling into the seat opposite him. One dark hand reached out to fiddle with the leaves of the nearest not-stinging plant. "I was told that my experiment is for a plant, if that makes you feel any better. No-one else has anything like that, so if that helps - at least you're not going to be lettuce?" She laughed half-heartedly, then stopped, shaking her head. "If nothing else."

Jamal frowned heavily and sat forward in his seat, setting his arms on the table. "Fo' all I know, I could be lettuce," he said evenly. "I ain't got no idea what they plannin' ta do wit' me. I could be a plant, a bug, o' some beastie thing. Did you jus' outright ask 'em what yous turnin' into?"

He was starting to wonder now if he ought to ask...and maybe see if they would tell him what Awen might turn into so he could perhaps settle some of her fears of being turned into a fish.

"I didn't have to ask... well, not really. It was rather sordid, but after giving me the run-around, Doctor Duvert told me I was turning into a blended serum made from the drosera family. Those are sundews, if you've heard of them," she added. "Carnivorous plants, insect-eaters... the doctor seemed nearly excited to play with me." Anjali's usually pleasant face took on a momentary expression of anger. "As though it pleased him. Still, I also spoke to a woman... a Doctor Lockheart... over the intercom, and she seemed more congenial."

Ah...a woman doctor.... "Oh, dat's prolly Aubrey. She be da one who gave me ma injection when I got herr," he said with mild amusement. "She ain't so bad. That Sabin guy be weird as ******** though. I met him at that hall'ween party."

"You met the big shot yet then, since you been hired in 'n all dat?"

Anjali shook her head. "No, I haven't met Doctor Moreau. Only Doctor Duvert and the lower staff, and they don't talk much... I didn't properly meet Doctor Lockheart either, just spoke with her." She got up as the coffee pot began to hiss, indicating it was warm and done. "I did not go to the Halloween party - it's not something celebrated in my culture, so I forgot..."
Anjali carefully took two cups and saucers off of the shelf and put one in front of Jamal, and the other at her own chair, before she moved to fetch the hot water.

"Oh," he said, somewhat disappointed. He wanted to get some dirt on Doctor Moreau so he'd know who to look out for...but he didn't voice this vocally to Anjali. Jamal was certain now that cameras -were- in every duplex, given what he'd learned from Hargun, and figured that anything he said would probably be on a one-way trip to whomever was monitoring the place. "Well, ya didn't miss too much at da party. I ain't big on hall'ween...only cared 'bout it when I was little."

He restrained the urge to ask just what her culture was. The black man wasn't familiar with anyone that mimiced her physical looks or her decorative tastes.

Anjali sat down with the coffee pot, then carefully put the teabag into Jamal's cup, and the filled tea-ball into hers, before pouring the hot water in almost reverently. "There we are - it has to steep for a bit so that the flavour works into the water, and then it will be tea. It's a very ancient tradition, tea. The Japanese hold it in high regard as well." She smiled happily through the rising steam at Jamal. "Even if I don't understand Halloween... at least I have this, and they can't take this away either."
She put the pot down with a sigh, swirling the tea-ball around a bit in her own cup. "But, well. Surely there are more things to talk about than our own sad plight? There doesn't seem to be much else to do, though... not compared to a city." She shook her head. "I can't even make proper teacakes and sandwiches to offer you."

Jamal eyed the staining water somewhat apprehensively, thinking it looked more like muddy water than something he was expected to drink. This could be a disaster.

"I figger the docs got enough sense ta not try 'n take anythin' else from us b'sides our humanity," he said ruefully as he tore his gaze away from the darkening tea, casting Anjali a look of faint amusement. "'Bout da only thin' we got ta do on dis damn island is ta swim, get lost in da jungle, talk ta ev'ryone, o' dig in da dirt."

"And I do plenty of digging in the dirt normally," Anjali said, ruefully. She leaned forward and carefully removed the teabag from Jamal's cup, then reached behind the stinging fern and produced a small bowl full of sugar packets and half-and-half creamer, appropriated from the cafeteria. "Sugar and cream to taste - and if you don't like it, don't worry about it. It can be an aquired taste," she said with a smile, before turning to tend to her own cup. The tea-ball came out onto the saucer easily, and she added just a bit of sugar before taking a long sip. Mmm.

Jamal had almost forgotten about the tea, despite how briefly the tea had sat unattended, and once his attention was brought back to it, he pursed his lips and pondered a plan of attack...how to flavor this muddy water?

He reached over and grabbed almost a half-dozen sugar packets and tore into them, unceremoniously dumping their contents into the cup. This was followed suit by a generous dump of creamer which turned the dark, shiny drink into a cloudy brown pool that looked even more like mud. He blanched slightly at his creation but took hold of the cup anyway.

Anjali raised both eyebrows at him, but decided it didn't really matter. "It won't bite, you know," she advised. "That plant is the only thing that does, since I don't hold with cactii," Anjali added, grinning over her own cup. "There's a water cup in the bathroom if you really don't like it, but I assure you this is one of precious few new things on this island you'll find that is completely harmless..."

Jamal was only slightly encouraged by her good natured comments but steeled himself and hesitantly took a sip, a brow arching high on his forehead as he tilted the cup to his lips.

It wasn't...bad...he decided, but it was strange enough to warrant caution as he took another experimental sip. In truth, he wasn't sure what he thought about it exactly.

"Not too horrible, I hope?" Anjali said dryly, before taking a long sip of hers and setting the cup down with a clink of china. "As I said, if I had the means there would be small sandwiches... tea cakes... and other things. But I didn't happen to bring ingredients with me... I thought there would be a grocery or a fine resort kitchen. Hah!" She shook her head self-depreciatingly. "What were you told about this place? Fine resort indeed."

"It be different," he offered lamely, setting his cup down too and sloshing a bit over the lip with his lack of care. "And don't worry none 'bout not havin' food...it a'ight wit me. Not like I know what ya s'posed ta have when ya drink tea." He entertained the thought of his buddies back home laughing their a** off right then if they saw him drinking tea out of china cups like some sort of british gentleman, then also shook his head, only to clear this notion from his mind.

"As fo' what they tell me, they just tell me this place be a good spot to...rest. I dun expect nuthin' really otha' then a place ta sleep. I got dat part o' the deal, so...maybe I best not be complainin'."

"Well, it is a good spot to do that if nothing else," Anjali said with a sigh. "That and dig in the dirt, as you put it. We should take matters into our own hands - create our own interesting things, perhaps. Something to live for beyond the next... change. Whenever that occurs." She looked at her hands quickly, out of paranoia - though she'd been told she'd be warned and asked in for the next injection, she still couldn't help but look.

"So you ain't got no idea when you be changin' then eitha?" he said without much thought. He had wondered if maybe there was a schedule somewhere posted that said "Subject A due for transformation on 11/29" or around here somewhere and he just hadn't found it. "I been wonderin' if maybe they screwed up n' I ain't gonna change at all. Some peeps soundin' surprised when I tell 'em I been herr for ova' a month and ain't changed yet."

"No, no idea... when I spoke to Doctor Lockheart she said it was highly experimental." Anjali frowned. "I was wondering the same," she admitted, "if there was a mistake and I would be fine... I have been here longer than you, but no change..."
She looked right into his eyes for a momen, then shook her head once more. "No. Even if it happened, we would not be free. Just... used again, I suspect. Or left to rot. Still, the doctor said she would warn me prior to the next injection... perhaps if you ask, the same can be done for you?"
She didn't mention how she now lived in dread for the intercom's call, how she had dim nightmares about the plastic box.

"Awen's been herr fo' a long time too and she ain't changed," he added as an afterthought, not knowing that she -had- changed and he just hadn't seen her yet. Anjali's speech of being 'reused', however, struck a very odd feeling in his chest and he lost his air of indifference he had carefully formed about himself during this meeting. She had pretty much vocalized what he had figured...that if they had messed up, then there wasn't any way they'd just leave him be. The staff had a mission here, from what it looked like, and failure wasn't going to be tolerated.

The man slumped a little bit in his seat and sought out his tea in reflex, taking the opportunity to sip once or twice before finding his voice again. "Maybe I oughta ask...so at least I know when they comin'." He didn't bother to mention that if he did this, it would only be so he could either 1) be evasive or 2) try to physically overpower whomever was going to administer the shot.

"It gave me some measure of peace," Anjali replied, carefully. "Better than not knowing, at least?"

"I guess," he drawled, though looked far from convinced. "I wish I knew what they be tryin' ta do all this fo'. Jus' cause they can?...or do they got some otha' thing goin' on the side dat none of us know 'bout?" As if being someone's experiment wasn't enough....

"Because... they can, I would guess," Anjali said, slowly, remembering the look on Doctor Duvert's face. "Because it is an experiment of great interest... I can admit, if the methods were different I myself might be excited by it," she admitted. "But only if it were done legally!" she added, quickly. "And with full consent. As it is? Barbaric."

Jamal shook his head slightly in disagreement. "I ain't even sure I'd be okay wit' it even if things be mo' legal....jus' seems so wrong ta be doin' stuff like this." The black man was hardly a science-minded person, however. He lacked any sort of real motivation to learn and thus rarely felt the need to inquire on things unless it directly involved him and even that was pretty rare. "I wonda' if they eva' gonna get to a point where they decide they be done ruinin' lives o' if this gonna be onna them things that neva' ends."

"If they do, and we are... changed..." She bit her lip. "You have seen Ambrose, correct? And Miss Greer? How can... we... function outside of this place like this? After some point it will be a haven, not a prison..."

"I ran inta both. At da same time." Jamal's voice was flat and reflected his displeasure at being reminded of that meeting in the cafeteria. He was on decent terms with Ambrose, but as far as Greer was concerned, he was more than willing to get into a brawl with her.

'Oh... that must have been... did you... know?" She winced as it came out all wrong. "I mean, I met Sean, the Dude - he told me, and the doctor confirmed it and told me I wasn't immune..." She hid her awkwardness in another long draught of tea.

"Peeps been tellin' me 'bout it all, but I wasn't believin' none of it," he gingerly admitted, feeling stupid now that he had more than enough hints to have known what was going on, yet he refused all of it until that day at the cafeteria. "But it kinda hard not ta believe when ya run into a wolfman 'n a birdwoman."

He absently tapped the side of his teacup with his nail, staring into it's cloudy depths to avoid Anjali's gaze if she was looking at him.

"Yeah... kind of hard to believe. I didn't believe Sean at first either," Anjali admitted. "But who would? We trust the world is a sane place and things like this just don't happen..."

"I seen s**t b'fo dat make ya think yo be nuts o' somethin', but dat meetin' was definately da worst o' da worst." He lifted his cup up and again took a drink, deciding that tea wasn't that bad, but he probably wouldn't drink it casually on his own. As he lowered the cup, he glanced over the rim at the woman and offered her a weak smile. "Not like I be able ta' deny it once I seen them both."

"I couldn't deny it either... the worst, I think, is the new people. I can come to terms with my own entrapment, but there are so many duplexes..." Anjali shuddered a bit, and put her empty cup down in the saucer. "They're almost half full now."

"I run into a'coupla ones dat ain't got no idea what be goin' on...and I ain't plannin' on breakin' da news either." He shook his head to emphasis this point as well as waves his hands in front of himself in a "not me" gesture once his cup was replaced on the table. "I figger I might as well not be tellin' people until I ain't got no choice...cause if things be goin' as they say, I'll be like Ambrose and ain't gonna be able to hide it."

"A good idea," Anjali agreed, wincing a bit as she remembered how it had been for Amaya and Chubbs on the beach, after Jamal had left. "Another cup?" she added, noting that his teacup was almost empty.

Jamal glanced at his cup, realizing that it was pretty empty. Well...might as well take some more. He could perhaps experiment this time with the sugar and cream. "Lil' bit mo' be fine wit' me," he said, grateful at the subject change.

Anjali got up and quickly fetched another teabag, then tested the water - still warm enough. "There you are," she said, after preparing another cup. "If you want another kind next time - if you'd like - just ask. I have many, and I plan on experimenting with some of the plants here for blends. Or, if you prefer fresh..." She pointed at a few fragrant-leaved plants. "I grow my own," she said, grinning. "It's a hobby, one of the few I can maintain here. What about you... what do you enjoy?" Anjali unconciously echoed the black man's feelings - a subject change was good. Everything didn't have to be about gloom and doom... that way lay madness.

Jamal considered the question a moment, realizing just how loaded such an inquiry could be if he was still living in the city. Things had changed though and with it went the disposal of many of his old hobbies, most of which were probably not very socially acceptable. "Mostly basketball, I guess," he finally answered. In truth, there really wasn't much here he did that he considered a hobby. "I ain't really good at nuthin' else...plus I ain't learned much outside o'sports n' that sorta thing."

Once the tea was sufficiently leeched into the water, he added less sugar this time around and more cream.

"Theatre, for me - I loved going to it. And gardening... and the library. Gardening I continue, the other two... seem mostly lost to me." She sighed. "But basketball, that's good. Perhaps you could show me sometime, I could use something besides hiding with my hands in the dirt." Really, Anjali wasn't sure how she'd do - but it was an opportunity and she'd take it. Cultured and careful as she might seem, she was definitely not afraid of hard work and dirt.

Jamal's brow lifted significantly. She...wanted to play basketball? He would have never pegged her for one to try that out, but he did grin and nod. "A'ight then. Maybe some time I might come out herr and drag you to da court and see how ya do. It ain't dat hard." He sipped at his tea demurely, then remembered something.

"There be a small library thing in the entertainment room...lotsa books. Not sure what they all be 'bout, but maybe ya find somethin' worth readin?" Jamal knew that most were about animals, from what Hargun showed him, but he was unable to read more than 25% of the titles due to his poor reading skills.

"Hmm, I may have to give that a try," Anjali said, thoughtfully. "Just let me know - I can be found outside often, working around this area, but I'm on no schedule beyond my own thus far - feel free to interrupt me if you wish." She stood up. "I am afraid, though, that I should get a bit more work done - I have a few seedlings I'd like to get in the ground before it gets dark. By the way, which duplex is yours? Feel free to request specific plants - I think they'd let me have anything, besides a ticket out of here. But those, sadly, do not grow on trees," she said, wryly.

"Duplex 7 be mine," he said, sipping more tea until he felt he had sufficiently drained his cup, then pushed his chair away from the table. "If ya get bored, ya can plant whateva' ya want 'round it if ya want. Damn buildin' needs all da help it can get." He flirted with the notion of asking for a pot plant, but...probably not a good idea. Besides, Dude told him to ask Moreau about that one.

"Indeed it does." Anjali made a face and collected both teacups. "Clear-cut... disgusting, really, but an interesting challenge. Well." She smiled pleasantly as she walked over to open the door. "Thank you very much - it's been some time since I've had anyone for tea. I quite enjoyed it."

Jamal sauntered over to the door after her, feeling somewhat full and sleepy despite only having drank tea. Maybe it was the warmth combined with a previously restless night of sleep.

"No prob," he said with a more uplifted tone, deciding to end the meeting on a high note than to dwell on their discussion. "I be mostly in ma duplex, so if ya get bored, jus' come ova and ya can botha' me. I ain't doin' much lately so ya prolly ain't gonna interrupt nuthin'."

"Sounds like we're all in the same boat, then. Well, happy sailing, Jamal." Anjali quickly adjusted the wreath again with one hand as she opened the door, feeling a bit self-concious about the improvised decoration.

He gave the wreath a closer examination as he passed through the door, deciding it was a fair substitute given the circumstances, and waved. "Have fun wit' yo plantin'" he offered before leaving her to her work, briskly heading for his own duplex. He felt better about some issues, but worse about others, but at least Anjali seemed to think similiarly to how he did and that was comforting in a sense. Plus she had introduced him to tea, which was new enough that it had briefly taken his mind away from the nonsense of the island. For that, he was grateful.

Happy Holidays...

Anjali woke the morning of the 25th feeling nothing of Christmas.

Despite the wreath she'd made, and other little nods to the season she'd placed around her duplex, it all felt terribly forced. She couldn't help but feel that she would greet the coming of December 26th with a sense of relief. No more trying to pretend.

It wasn't the weather - India was hardly the traditional snowy place that showed up on Christmas cards, after all, and England had rainy holidays more than anything else. She was used to warmth and rain and utter lack of snow. No, it was the lack of everything else. No shopping. No carols. No productions of A Christmas Carol at the local theater. No plum pudding with brandy blazing atop it... no evergreen tree, no nothing.

No family...

As lovely as the island was, she was coming to realize that it had terrible limitations beyond the obvious grousing. Lack of things she'd taken for granted so much that she hadn't realized she would even miss them until the loss hit her, deep down.

It had led to a month even more full of frantic attempts at drowning panic. More dodging the others, more nervous checks in the mirror, and much more uneasy staring at the intercom box. She'd been micro-managing everything she could control just so she could control SOMETHING. The other day she'd caught herself nearly screaming at some seeds that hadn't sprouted yet - as though she could control nature! Ridiculous...

Despite her pretending, everything was beginning to feel more and more like a cage. And here, apparently, were the gifts given by their keeper.

Anjali eyed the large box dubiously. Well, at least it was some nod to the season, but she wasn't entirely sure she trusted it. Then again - she was cooperating, wasn't she? She was being good, compliant - not because it was easy to do so, but because it was hard.

She shook her head and sat down on the floor next to the box, then pulled it towards her after a moment's consideration. Her strong hands made quick work of the tape holding it closed.

A DVD... hah, that film, an interesting foray of fantasy but nothing like the real thing. A player to play it with, which piqued Anjali's interest somewhat - perhaps she could ask for some films of great theatrical works? Nothing to compare to the stage, but seeing as she wasn't getting THAT anytime soon...

A familiar smell came from the box now, and she carefully removed a bag of highest-grade fertilizer, nearly 100% pure guano. "Ah, somebody gave you a present, too," she said aloud, turning her head to look at the plants that shared her room. "And..."

Hanging pots, and seeds... venus flytrap. And... common sundew.

A quick prickle ran up her spine at that last, and for a moment she had the urge to throw the seeds far, far away - but she couldn't. She didn't have any drosera in her possession right now, and it would be... interesting... to start some now. Maybe she could learn from them.

My kin, she thought, ironically. She wondered if any of the others had been given miniature versions of their future. The others...

She'd forgotten again.

Mouth set in a line, she made herself put down the new pots and seeds. No, the first bit of this fertilizer would go into her seed trays... and she'd need some of the small plastic pots from the 'shed'.

There would BE Christmas, of a kind, even though it would be late.

That night, at 3am on the dot, there is a LOUD sound of an explosion, originating from the sky above the Island. Looking out, or anyoune outside would look up to see a brief fireball in the sky. Following that, any power that is on begins to flicker, going through a few brownouts before finally shutting down altogether. If you happen to be awake at that point - you would notice all the lights around you, any electronic equipment that wasn't battery operated flicker and die. However, within a few seconds of the final powersurge and failure, you find yourself being pulled into a forced unconsciousness.

When you wake up, it is midafternoon the following day, though it would vary within a few hours depending on the individual. You are NOT in your duplex. You wake up to find yourself buried deep in soil, in fact only the top of your face is exposed, otherwise your body and most of your head is submerged in the rich fertile planting soil. When you dig your wey out of the soil, you'll find that your arm has a painful p***k wound.

All of the buildings on the island are in 'shutdown' mode. This means that everything is locked tight. If you attempt to force your way into any of the buildings, your own duplex and the Town Hall included, then you will find that from the outside at the very least, they are impenetrable. If any window was broken - it is now fixed. All of the lights are off - in every building. Even the electric fence surrounding the main laboratory is turned off - though still closed. Attempts to break into the main complex will be met with equal lack of luck as breaking into a duplex or the town hall.

The only items you have on you are the items that you would have been wearing when you were asleep/fell unconscious: including clothing and perhaps a few battery-powered electronics IF You would have been wearing them. That's it. Everything else is where you left it - if it was in your duplex, it still is and you can't get to it.

There is no sign of what happened to the staff. The labs are quiet from the outside.

Welcome to the Wild.

Chubbs jogged his way towards his duplex, the power seemed out, there was no lights about at all. He wanted to see if they had gotten to Joli, or he had done something in his sleep. Chubbs caught a glimpse of some movement over in the wilderness and he froze on the spot. He squinted, looking over to try and make out the now figure moving out of the dirt. He looked to the way his duplex was, then back to the figure and decided to investigate. He drew closer and spotted the really pretty lady he met around his first few days, he'd forgotten her name though.

"An.. ah... Anji? you okay?"

Chubbs looked around and blinked, raising his arms in shrug. He didn't have a clue. He looked Anjali over and she looked nervous to see him, he remembered his face, how it must look.

" Ah.. umm it's me .. Chubbs remember?.. I've umm changed.. just like Amaya did"

He folded his arms over his chest, self concious of his chest.

" I umm.. the power is out i think... I can't find anyone, I woke up out in the jungle. I suggest if you find people, rally them somewhere together. Me I'm going to bust in the labs"