|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 1:58 pm
The woman was not used to the compliment, it seemed. But Emerwyn meant it.
She walked over to her, and knelt down by the mattress.
"I am Emerwyn." The bird-woman had pratically flung her great philosophy at Emerwyn, and they didn't even know each other's names. Not that names were particularly important, but they certainly made it easier to address people.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 2:13 pm
"I'm Kaveri," the vulture introduced herself, holding out her pinfeather-covered arm in greet. It would make for an awkward handshake, at the very least.
"How long have you been here? On de island, I mean," asked Kaveri. She tried to remember how long ago it was that she first came here. It felt so far away... even though it has only been a few months.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 2:22 pm
She smiled and awkwardly accepted the handshake. Her half-a-hand took the half-a-wing as best it could.
How long... how long had it been? Emerwyn knew she was one of the first arrivals... And, she'd arrived in early September of the last year. That was three months after Jerrick disappeared.
And, what month was it now? Late August, by her vague reckoning.
"It has just nearly been a year. I never realized. How the months seem to slip into themselves now."
Emerwyn sighed. A year. Past the point of no return.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 2:32 pm
Handshakes are difficult when you have no hands. But a habit was a habit, even if it was made awkward by new appendages.
"A year...? Wow," Kaveri frowned. Even though it felt like she had been on here forever, it most likely wasn't a year. "What monf is it now? I've been here since early April... and I've lost track of time. De monfs do seem to slip into demselves."
Kaveri was the forty-fourth person to come here, by no means a newcomer if her duplex number was any indication. She couldn't believe that there were so many people here, and she had only met a comparitively small number of them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 2:46 pm
The most unbelievable part was that Emerwyn had also met an incredibly small amount of Islanders, as well.
They seemed to be arriving by the barrelful. It surprised Emerwyn that Moreau was still able to keep his operations secret.
"I believe we are somewhere in late August... I arrived in early September."
What was also interesting was that many of the newer arrivals seemed to have been transforming faster... Pyroth must have been there about as long of Emerwyn herself, and he was done. Kaveri seemed to be around the point she was. And she had been here half the time. Were Moreau's serums getting more powerful?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 2:58 pm
"Dat... dat's not very long at all for me," Kaveri said with realization, "it felt like I've been here so much longer."
It was amazing how quickly she was going mad. Having Emerwyn here talking about how long she's been here really put things into perspective. "How many changes have you been trough in de past year?"
Kaveri was wondering how long it would be until her next change. The prospect of it filled her with dread, but maybe she would be rid of those awful pinfeathers. Those things were irritating, they kept snagging on everything.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 3:02 pm
Emerwyn thought. It had been so long since her last one... and, there had only been one before that.
"Two. Just two." Though, two were more than enough. "However, I wouldn't judge by how many I've had. Some have been here just as long as I, and they've had four. I do not know what makes Moreau choose his timing, seemingly sporadic as it is."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 3:08 pm
"Just two?" Kaveri repeated, looking quizical. "I've only had two as well." She hummed with interest, tilting her head to the side as she considered that others seemed to change faster.
"Maybe he's forgotten about you," suggests the vulture. "Wif so many people here, it's easy to lose track of who's changed and who's not... dere's a possibility that you've gone unnoticed, maybe... just maybe... you can find a way to escape since Moreau has more experiments to tend to. He can't watch all of us, all de time..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 3:24 pm
This thought certainly caught Emerwyn's attention. Her face turned thoughtful.
While she did not think that she would be able to escape quite so easily, it may make it easier to relay her message to Lyra, once the time came. But, how, with all of his technology, and recordings, and data, could he possibly lose a subject?
It was something Emerwyn would need to look into sometime.
"That would be... a welcome thought, certainly. But, perhaps, he knows that I have been sick. Maybe something would go wrong should I be injected in this state." It was only a random thought, since Emerwyn had all but lost the hope for escape. "It has come to a point where I do not think anything more can be done for us in the outside world." However, it did not look like she entirely believed this. It was an odd time, but hope was beginning to rekindle within Emerwyn.
And still, Emerwyn thought about what Kaveri said. He can't watch us all the time... No. He needed sleep. Had research to do. Had other lives to destroy. She must have a chance to do what she had to do.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 3:46 pm
All security has a hole. There's always something to be exploited, to be broken, nothing was ever perfect. All it really took was someone who was willing to try and find that tiny hole and make it bigger, making escape possible... even though everyone was becoming animals, the human spirit is pure ingenuity. It's what separated man from beast in the first place, and it was doubtful that anyone could lose that human ingenuity.
There are historical accounts telling about prisoners who escaped from Alcatraz, which -- minus the experiments -- was even more hellish than this tropical island in terms of where the prison was set. If Alcatraz can be escaped from, why not this place?
"Don't lose sight of your goals," Kaveri said simply. "We're still people. People can break in and break out of tings all de time... especially tings that are said to be unbreakable. People like to challenge demselves, and all security can be broken."
"Human error is also another factor... dis island is run by humans, and we know dey make mistakes. Dey can't be carefully watching and listening in on what we do all de time... it's just a matter of being careful about how we go about it."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 4:15 pm
This all boosted Emerwyn's spirits even further. And a fire was kindling inside her that she had never known before. She was frightened of it, but at the same time, excited.
And, she was so exicted that she needed to return to her words. The sooner she solved the mystery, the sooner she could save Jerrick.
She looked Kaveri in the eyes. "Thank you. Thank you very much."
She rose to her feet and looked out once more toward the small, winding path.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 4:27 pm
"You're very welcome," said Kaveri, "it will only be a matter of time before someone figures someting out."
She smiled knowingly, glad that she had rekindled the hopes of escape for someone who seemed so... ingrained to life trapped on this prison-colony. "Never give up hope. We're still human, and you know it."
And it's true. As degrading of an existence of becoming an animal is, the human spirit still resided in the body of the beast. You can transform the body, but you can't transform the soul...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 4:39 pm
She looked one last time at Kaveri, and smiled a genuine smile.
Her grim, perpetually heavy-set face seemed to light up, despite its physical prohibitations.
Then, she turned, and looked about her as she walked away, at the artwork that Kaveri had created.
It had indeed been a long time, but Emerwyn still had much to learn. But, it was good that she was able to learn one more lesson today.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 2:18 am
Sabin Duvert The next time Rex wakes up, he feels groggy, as if his head were stuffed with cotton.... or as if he has recently been buzzed. There is the smell of rotten meat, which eerily enough seems to stir your stomach, which growls in hunger. Edging your eyes open, you see ... carnage. old skeletons, some still "gooey". and a strange collection of rocks - some of which are painted in strange symbols. But, when you try to move... you can't. You look down, and see that you are tighly bound, tied in ropes around a strange structure. You can barely breathe, the ropes are quite tight - and certainly can't draw a deep enough breath to shout loudly or roar. The ropes are rough, and chafing. Furthermore... you notice a great deal of ... hair clippings... scattered over your chest... and one of your hands really hurts - specifically a driving pain in your palm, as if you've been stabbed. The long and the short of it, you've been tied to Kaveri's shrine with thick hemp ropes. Your mane has been completely shaved off, and there is a very thick splinter stuck in your right palm. But, with how you're tied, you can't reach it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 6:53 pm
The lingering stench of rotting flesh and and pungent blood was the first thing the caused the lion to creak open an eye. Rex's empty stomach twisted and growled hungerly; the smell of food was strong enough to wake him from unconsciousness. And while it was the corpses' scent that caused him to awaken, it wasn't enough to hold his attention away from the bone-splitting pain through paw.
A rumbling groan of pain was all he could manage for the time being. He was far too groggy to be fully conscious. His head hurt and he felt a breezier tingle along his body. It wasn't long before he realized his condition. Rex huffed in shock, seeing the thick locks of his mane spread all around his body and on the ground. The binding ropes rubbed deep and tight into his skin and there was already some visible irritation and chaffing. "What in the..."
The haze of his mind was still dense as if he had a painful migrane, but he could think clear enough to realize this was not a happy place or a dream. The scattered bodies of assorted animals surrounded the giant slab he was on. He tried to look over at his hand, but only saw blood and hair. He couldn't stay like this...
"Help..." he coughed meekly, before trying once again with a bit more oomfph, "Help!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
