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Emerwyn

Emerwyn spent most of the next day wandering about, looking for Ian.The previous night had left her with such a feeling of helplessness. And fear.
And now, she found herself in the jungle, all day. All day she wandered, until she'd forgotten just what it was she was looking for.
The night was still frightening. No matter what she did or said to comfort herself, she still could not shake this terrible fear that she'd never known before. It wasn't even the knowledge that someone had been attacked, not the knowledge that there could be a killer somewhere.
True, it had began with all of that, but now it had evolved. Or more, simplified. Into the pure fear of being alone, lost and helpless. A small, weak animal.
This was not Emerwyn.

Her step grew slower as her cause grew lost. Her head began to nod as fatigue threatened to rear its ugly head.

Alec Derring

The night had come faster than he had expected, blanketting the jungle in a shroud of pitch black. Alec sat beneath a large tree, legs splayed out lazily as he slumped his back against the bark. He wasn't sure why he was out there in the first place, having sat beneath that same tree most of the day following his meet with Julian. Truthfully, the teen was freaked out of the dark, moreso of the creepy noises that the jungle made once visibility was reduced to nearly zero.

The memory of the announcement never left his mind, the idea of a (potential) murderer lurking around the island made the night even less comforting. But in his mind he figured the jungle was safer than his duplex. He'd be expected to be there, so why be predictable? Besides, that place was getting damn well boring.

The dim burning of his smoldering cigarette left a trail of light as he brought it to his lips once and awhile, his arm pausing in midair as he heard footsteps.

Rex Vadnais

Over the past few days Rex's routine had been interrupted by several obscure new things on the island. The storm for one, the harm of Aubrey for another. What had particularly happened to her?

As a way to soothe his mind and thoughts, Rex went for an evening stroll which soon led him into the jungle where things got alot darker. The lion's eyesight was superb in the shaded lighting and things were able to be seen as clear as day. The new smells of the jungle wafted into his nose and the slightest breeze alerted Rex's new whiskers, being a cat had it's advantages and disadvantages.

He crept along until two new scents came to his attention. The hair on the back of his neck stood stiff where had been zapped the other day for no apparent reason. Maybe the smells were the murderers...

Suddenly Rex's steps inched through the dense jungle silently, sniffing down the source of the odor.

Emerwyn

Emerwyn's ears twitched as her eyes widened. An awarenss that she was not alone crept slowly upon her. Before this could bring comfort to her, she felt the strong compulsion to turn and bolt.
She breathed in deep, her steps slowing further. She did not like either of the smells, but one was far less forboding than the other, if accompanied by the stench of burning tobacco.
So, she continued towards the safer being, until she found a young man perched by a tree.

She took in the figure for a moment before approaching him, an instinct in her telling her to appraise the situation before running in carelessly.

"H-hello?" Emerwyn remained poised in the shadows, just visible in the dying light.

Alec Derring

Alec's heart was threatening to explode from his chest as he held his breath at the sound of approaching steps. He had actually slithered halfway behind a tree by the time he heard the female voice tentatively testing the air for any presence. He couldn't see a thing save for a few feet infront of him, and she didn't sound familiar.

"e...ello?" He hoarsely responded, finding it hard to spit out the word from his constricted throat. Rustling leaves shattered the silence and he could only assume she was making the noise.

Rex Vadnais

Rex slinked through the shadows, his sleek, furry body occasionally flickering visible in the few beams of moon and starlight that made it to the jungle's floor. He breathing steadied and heart slowed. Rex was stalking on instinct, he wasn't even trying to!

Then finally his piercing blue eyes landed on the body of a woman, though she gave of a distinct sent that suggested her inhumanity. Rex sat in the shadows for a moment, pondering his next mood. The lion wanted to pounce, and it wanted to pounce bad. But Rex fought back those emotions, straightened his stature and emerged from the brush, "Hello?" He rasped warrily, he didn't want to scare the lady too much.

Emerwyn

Only seconds after the young man warily spoke to her in the dark, another voice came up behind her.
She jumped, and spun, and very nearly bolted.
Her breath caught, and she saw something not altogether familiar. Yet, she could have sworn she'd seen him before. Slowly, she backed up, to take both of the men into her view.

She smiled awkwardly. She'd been 'attacked' on either side by greetings. It was an uncanny coincidence that the three should all meet in this vast jungle at once.

Alec Derring

Alec was prepared to accept the female that had happened to wander into his little haven in the jungle but was completely caught off-guard when he realized she hadnt't been making the additional sounds he'd heard. "Wha' th' fook..." He quickly retorded as he jumped to his feet, Rex's approaching having been much more silent than he'd expected. In fact, the close proximity nearly made him leap out of his skin.

"S'there n' echo?" He laughed to calm himself down thouh he hadn't yet recognized either presence.

Rex Vadnais

Rex stepped out of the shadows and into a skinny moonbeam where he could make himself known to the public. It hadn't quite dawned on him that perhaps the others couldn't see as well in the dark forest as he could.

"Howdy Alec," he said, acknowledging the figured slumped on the bottom of the tree. Then Rex turned to the other woman, the deer. He could sense that he'd frightened her, or she'd been uneasy before hand. "I feel like I've met you before... but just in case," he offered a hand to the lady, "Rex." A smile creaked at his lips, toothy fangs baring themselves menacingly. The vicious connotation of the fangs was quite ironic compared to Rex's smooth and calm demeanor.

Emerwyn

Emerwyn stayed her hand a moment, halfway toward accepting Rex's. Yes, she remembered him. He'd come quite a way since she'd last seen him, though. She didn't like it.
The dark of the night did things to her mind. She was more animal than human when the sun abandoned her. And seeing this sheep in wolf's clothing was no comfort to her, either. The disguise was too good.

With a swallow, however, Emerwyn attempted to compose herself. Her hoofed hand made it shakily to his.
"I'm s-sorry." Emerwyn breathed. Her voice was always soft now. But, in her fear, it was hardly audible. "I did not recognize you."
She tried to smile, and she directed her attention to the other.
They seemed to know each other.
"I am Emerwyn."

Alec Derring

The punk teen calmed when he recognized the familiar greeting from Rex though he swallowed hard when he watched him step into the faint light. "He-..." His voice almost cut out but he forced himself to continue. This was Rex, he wasn't a monster. "'ey, mate. 'ow are ye?"

Attention turned to the woman who seemed clearly upset, somehow glad he wasn't amongst bad company. At least it didn't seem bad, since they were all pretty nervous of each other. "Alec." He nodded a greeting that was probably lost in the dark.

Rex Vadnais

Rex shook her hand politely, though not as firm as usual since she seemed a little on end. He tipped his head as the idea dawned on him. "Oooh, I remember, we met that morning in the cafeteria! Like, after the labs reopened..."

That was also the only time he'd met Aubrey, the woman who was hurt recently. Things had sure been sketchy around the island lately.

He turned his gaze to Alec, chuckling a bit as his sentence drained to null. It was obvious what it was about. "I'm good, yourself?"

Emerwyn

"Alec. A pleasure." Just how frequently were people brought to the Island?

"Yes, yes that's right. I remember." She'd rather have not remembered that day.

It felt awkward still. The two of them had obviously had some aquaintence with each other. And Emerwyn had an eerie feeling in the back of her head that there was something else she had to be doing.

... ... ... Nothing.

She made herself comfortable then, leaning idly back against a tree, eyeing the foliage hungerly.

Alec Derring

"Am good." Alec remarked, trying to choose his words wisely. He didn't want to insult the lion-man in any way. "A' see ye doin... good." He started to laugh, finding his irrational fears amusing. He made a mental note to try and be a little less judgmental about people's appearances in the future. Rex would never hurt him, right?

Those fangs looked really sharp...

"S'what brings ye 'ere 'n th'jungle?" He let the question hang to allow either of them to answer.

Rex Vadnais

Rex furred his brow, unseen to the others through the night's curtain, as Alec also seemed to slip into a state of unease. He didn't let it bother him though, he should expect to get some odd remarks and emotions now that his transformations were blatantly obvious and inescapable. That was just one of the let downs about the island, though he still loved being a lion. "I've been truckin' along as usual. I went out for a walk and things got dark earlier than I was planning." Rex chuckled, he must seem like an idiot as he was only assuming the dark surrounding them actually exisited.

Rex felt awkward standing there in the clearing alone. Though instead of finding a tree of his own, the man simply flopped in the leaves and spread his legs out in front of him, peering at the distant moon through the tall canopy.

Emerwyn

What brought her into the jungle?
Emerwyn thought hard.

"I was looking for... something." Now that it came to it, she did not quite remember what. Why couldn't she remember?

It was so dark. Oh, she could see well enough. But she didn't belong here, so late, so deep.

Alec Derring

Alec nodded, watching everyone relax against any available object nearby made him want to lean against the tree he'd been sitting under for so long. "Hidin 'ere," He smirked before continuing his sentence. "maybeh a'll miss gettin' hooked by th'crazy bah-sted who ganked th'girleh." He chuckled a bit, not realizing he was making jest of a serious situation as usual.

He glanced to Emerwyn distractedly. "Lookin' f'somethin?"

Rex Vadnais

Rex enjoyed the soft ground, he dug his clawed toes into the dirt and wiggled it between his toes, it felt nice and cool, comforting.

He listened to the idle chitchat between the two, throwing in his two cents, "Yeah, what the heck has been going on anyway? That Aubrey chick got hurt, but... I don't know. Some weird stuff was happening the other ni-..." he trailed off on the end, a newer scent caught on a light breeze entered his flaring nostrils. He paused, ears perked, listening keenly into the distance... something else was around...

Emerwyn

Emerwyn nodded slowly. She really wanted to understand just what had happened, if only to protect herself, but it was far too unnerving to think about in these surroundings. For all she knew, the lion-man's instincts could have gotten the better of him, and he was the attacker.

Instead, she attempted to answer Alec's question.
"...Yes. I came here this morning. And, I knew. I knew what I was looking for. But, then the sun started to go down... and I forgot."
A feeling crept up Emerwyn's neck. She avoided looking at Rex.
"Something in me has made me forget."

Alec Derring

"Oh?" Alec listened quietly, brow furrowing as he listened to the deer woman. She looked disturbed, upset and definetly unsure of herself. Maybe the serum was messing with her head too? He wondered if he was destined to be a perfect candidate for the nuthouse too.

The irishman crossed his arms over his waist and was beginning to feel a little sleepy until out of the corner of his eye he saw Rex stiffen. He tentatively watched the lion-man's posture slowly change, curious at first but over time it was beginning to creep him out a bit. "Rex?"

Rex Vadnais

Rex came to his feet, alert. He twitched side to side, adjusting his hearing to pinpoint the sound. The rustling slowly got louder and louder, the wrank smell getting a bit more intense. "I... smell something." He wasn't sure what to think and felt like he should always be on guard for the safety of himself and other. His claws flicked open and Rex got close to the ground, prowling around just past Emerwyn... "There's something back there..."

Emerwyn

There was no time to expound. The lion was on all fours, stalking toward her.
She stumbled back as he moved around her. The way his body moved... her breathing grew rapid, her chest rising and falling. Her entire body was tense, and she had to cling to the nearby tree for support.

Alec Derring

Alec pressed his back into the tree, feeling the bark dig through the thin layer of fabric that was his shirt. "Wha' th'fook ye doin..." He snorted, having never experienced anyone ever acting like such an... animal.

The fact that his actions were clearly upsetting Emerwyn didn't help to settle his nerves.

"Somethin'? Wha somethin?" He looked around, eyes wide in growing panic.

Rex Vadnais

Rex responded to Alec with silence, all of his attention was focussed on that one little sound. It could be something dangerous and he didn't want the others getting hurt.

Something moved.

Rex's muscles locked and his body tensed. The creature was within sight...

All in one leaping motion, Rex hurled his body towards the boar with a roaring pounce. Though the boar managed to make its escape before Rex could catch it. He swiped at it a few times, but snapped out of his lion-like trance and came erect to his feet. He was only a couple meters away from where the others were.

"Gosh... I'm sorry... I... I wanted to protect you." He sighed, coming back into the clearing, it was getting harder and harder to control those compulsive urges. "I thought it could've been the murderer." He shuffle back with his eyes drooped to the ground, he must've looked like an idiot. "Sorry if I scared you..."

Emerwyn

But before Emerwyn could even hear Rex's words of reassurance, she let out a startled sound, hardly a yell, and bolted.
Not before tripping over a large root and falling flat on her face.

Quickly, her large, strong legs lifted her up, and she was gone, fleeing blindly into the dark night...

Alec Derring

"GAH!" Alec winced and shielded his face as Rex bolted for the boar, nearly tripping backwards on a prominant tree root that lay dangerously close behind his heels. If he wasn't blind as a bat in that jungle he probably would've been hot on Emerwyn's tail, fleeing the scene as well. "Wh' th'fook was tha!?" The irishman yelled out, completely disoriented.

He heard Rex's explainations, but at that point the boy wanted to be far gone from that area and completely out of the jungle. "Look, am g'na 'head back t'me du-plex." He grimaced, flailing an arm to try and steady himself and failing horribly. "See-ye, be careful geezus merceh." The boy was beyond exasperated, confused by Rex's odd actions and by the nervous deer, he just wanted to be back in his room as he took off abruptly into the black.

Rex Vadnais

"Yeah... okay..." Rex whispered under his breath as Alec slipped back towards the village. "I'll catch you around." He was embarassed at his actions and spoke slowly. He'd only meant to protect them, instead he ended up scaring both of them off... this just wasn't his day.

Rex mumbled under his breath and drudged back to the duplexes in silence.

As you are getting closer to your duplex you notice a jeep and see a man in uniform standing by the door. You shortly after see two more men like this one. They all appear to be armed. "Mr. Derring?" one of them says in a statement that is somewhere between a question and a statement.

"Please step over here Mr. Derring." the main guard carried with him a metal silver case by a briefcase like handle. The guard holding the briefcase appeared to have a couple more stripes on his shoulders.

The guard motioned to the wall of the duplex. The other two guards had their weapons pointed down but ready to pull up in the blink of an eye.

With the other two pointing their guns at Alec to make sure he wouldn't go anywhere the head guard lead down. He punched in a sequence of numbers and touched a finger pad as the case snapped open.

Inside the case was a needle gun and a vial of liquid. The guard pulled out the needle gun and inserted the vial into the thin shaft. He then walked over to Alec and placed it against his arm. After only a moment the entire contents had been emptied into Alec's blood stream.

"That was the serum for your next stage of transformation. Get some rest, it should kick in in a few hours." The guard shrugged as they all got back into the jeep.

Atleast he was polite about it...

Despite the obvious nervousness and anxiety, Alec's feverish stupor had lulled him into a deep and foggy slumber. The familiar and disturbing feeling of falling overwhelmed his senses, a suffocating and dense cloud that enveloped him like a cottony blanket.

The feeling of suffocation slowly began to change and warp into something entirely different, and when Alec finally forced his eyes open to come out of the trap the restless sleep was providing, he found himself staring into a white abyss.

He was floating, drifting in a slipstream of cool air that slipped by his body in waves of silk. He couldn't move his arms or legs and didn't really want to, the feeling of suspension a comforting change like a baby in the womb. Brow furrowed in a disturbed expression when the gentle waves began to change again, the white light dimming into an aqua hue.

He could hear voices calling to him, distant and muffled, and he yearned to reach out to them and draw them nearer. He could see his hands now, fingers spread apart infront of him in a hopeless reach. Limbs stretched, reaching, grappling for somesort of hold until they abruptly hit a solid surface, invisible to the eye.

A gasp of alarm was muffled into a mass of bubbles, released from his gaping mouth to spiral upwards to a limitless void... of water.

"He's not responding well." The voice was deep and stern and Alec squinted hard to try and make out the speaker. Red hair, white coat.

A few figures behind shook their heads disapprovingly, scribbling notes onto clipboards in hand.

The teen pushed forwards, desperate to make contact though the invisible barrier held his there in a suspended prison seperated dramatically from the small group. He opened his mouth to yell and was shocked at his own action, expecting his mouth to be filled with a torrent of water though none came. Air was plentiful.

"Unfortunate." A calm voice countered, another figure dimly materializing nearby. It was familiar, the voice and the looks. The man was very handsome in his dress shirt and tie, devoid of fur or fangs or any other sign of animality. He was shaking his head as well, arms reached out to enclose what looked to be a smaller figure.

When he turned, Alec visibly convulsed as if shot with a sharp taser shock to the chest. A pair of brilliant green eyes peered back hesitantly from behind the broad arms of her keeper, black tendrils of hair falling limply over her features. Unchanged and untouched by a single scale, Alec somehow knew who it was. But she was on the other side. Why? He would take comfort in those familiar eyes but they somehow offered nothing but growing aggitation.

Her expression was what disturbed him the most. Fear.

He pounded on the invisible barrier, willing it to destroy itself and free him from this seperate reality. The more he pounded and screamed, the less they seemed to hear. Finally the small congregation began to turn at once and walk away, the girl hiding her face as the man stroked to calm her whilst shooting a horrible glare of pity and disgust in his direction.

"NO! DON'T LEAVE ME!" He tried to scream, but the words couldn't carry in the medium. With all his strength he balled his fist and was shocked to hear the -clunk- of glass as his hand connected to it. This caused him to back away sharply, movements sluggish and hindered.

The figures were gone, the lights dimmed and Alec realized what this was. One. Giant. Fishtank.

In a bout of pure panic and maddened terror, he screamed and lunged for the glass once more though this time the second his mouth was agape it was swarmed with cold water. The liquid filled his lungs and choked out any other noise he tried to make as he flailed his limbs and clawed at his neck for air.

Slowly he sank down..... down.... in a dizzy stupor. Any feeble attemps to attain a breath of air were met with another gulp of cold water. His eyes drifted shut as consciousness began to slip into a white void.

This must be death.

Alec jerked awake in a seizure of flailing arms and frantic gasps, blanket tangling around his form as he fell off the mattress and landed in a heap on the floor. He dug his nails into the ground, trying to figure out where he was. The room was dark and quiet, a familiar musk of unclean laundry hung in the air. For awhile he stared at the floor, shaking in every fibre of his body in a cold sweat.

Alec slowly crawled back onto his bed until the mattress provided enough support for him to sit down again. He gave a long sigh, letting his head hang as his hands tiredly moved to rest at the sides of his head. The skin felt awkward, tight and textured. He wondered if he was getting a rash, though he felt no other symptoms. For a moment he thought he was still dreaming.

"Huh?" He tiredly breathed, the restless night washing away as panic took control. This didn't feel the same as his nightmare. His foggy senses weren't foggy anymore, he knew for a fact this was real.

As the teen shifted his weight he realized it was harder to bend his limbs. What the HELL was going on!? Still dazed from lack of sleep, he swung his legs out and forced himself to stand but the exurtion was heavy on the toughness of his joints and he clenched his teeth.

He didn't really notice the first tooth slip out from it's hold, floating in his mouth. When the second and third came loose however, his heart nearly stopped. With a pained yelp, he stepped backwards but because of his tougher joints he found it harder to stand and ended up landing on his rear against the wall. "AHHHH! AHHHHH!!" He continued to scream though it did little good as his jaws felt unbearably sore.



He sat in a ball adjacent to his bed long after the pain had begun to subside, hands clasped over his mouth in terror of what was happening. Squeezing his eyes shut to stifle the tears that were threatening to fall, his breaths had already reduced themselves to a fit of quiet sobs. Fingering his gums, he felt a sharp sting on his index finger like a series of little knives had been forcefully swapped for his usual teeth.

The room was deathly quiet now. It was in this silence that he became very much aware of the small wound on his finger, as if the small droplets were enough to make his face and chest tingle with stimulation. He wanted to throw up the sick feeling of anxiety in the pit of his stomach but at the same time he was beginning to forget all that, replaced by an empty, shaking hunger like he hadn't eaten in a very long time.

He refused to move an inch in fear something else horrible and painful would happen. Confused and terrified, he kept his hands clasped in their position as if they'd hold in the oddities inside. He wanted to call for help, to scream at the top of his lungs but he vowed not to.

After leaving a note for Chubbs, Amaya had made her way out to the cafeteria and then once she had her fill and an armload of food to take back and store in her mini-fridge, headed back to her duplex.

She put all the food away and then changed out of the borrowed clothing from Joliette, putting on her own pair of shorts and a halter top. Though as she started to fold the clothes there was a crackle on her intercom. The iguana froze and looked over at the device by her door. Hesitating a moment, she walked over and pushed the button down to talk back.

"H-Hello?" Oh god, what did the staff want now?

Alec? Oh thank god. From the other end there was a relived sigh. "Alec? God, I thought you were one of the staff or something." Though Amaya's relife was short-lived. "What's up? Is something wrong?" He sounded pretty nervous... or scared. Oh god, what if the killer had done something?! Or if he had seen something!? Shitshitshit.

Though none of this was spoken aloud as she waited for him to tell her what was really going on.