[Journal] Duplex #1 - Ambrose Maurlias & Angelina Swanson

[Ambrose Maurlias]

Ambrose shook his head. He knew well enough how she felt. He took a sighing breath. How could he tell her all these things now, though - she had a rough night... wasnt' feeling good... just woke up.

With a frown, he mentally chided himself. Was he going to keep making excuses? His ears lowered as he took a deep swallow of saliva.

"It..... really was a shock to see you ...just... appear at my doorstep yesterday." He said, forcing a bit of a chuckle into his voice. "I'm sorry if I've been too overwhelmed to give you a more enthusiastic greeting. I guess.... in a way... I've felt too guilty about it all to do so. I... I was worried that my complaining to the staff might have brought you here... and... once you know the full story... I think you'll understand why that worried me..." He trailed off, trying to bridge into the topic easily. Once... once it was out of the way - once all of it was out of the way... things could be happy.... right?  

[Angelina Swanson]

Angelina snuggled into his chest, finding his new softly oddly comforting. "So you really think... you really think they aren't going to let me go, don't you? That they are going to keep me here forever...."

It was at that the thought occured to her. "You think...you think they are going to experiment on me, too, aren't you?"  

[Ambrose Maurlias]

Ambrose's soft embrace hardened a bit at her last phrase, his breath catching in his throat.

He had always known Angelina was clever... he just... well... at least he didn't have to put words to it. She had had enough sense to get under Feral Labs' skin to get herself here... why did it surprise him that with what he had told her yesterday that she pieced together the biggest reason he was scared for her.

Finally, he spoke. "Y... yes. Yes I do." He looked down at her, so sadly. "I didn't want you... to lose your future as well." he explained.  

[Angelina Swanson]

Angelina blinked back a few tears, not wanted to show Ambrose how terrified she was. "But the vaccine..." she said weakly, trying to convince herself more than anyone else. "I mean.. how could they.. why..." Ugh, this couldn't all be true, could it? She felt stuck in a bad movie...  

[Ambrose Maurlias]

Ambrose forced coherence on himself, holding her closely. "Moreau... lied to every single person who has come to this island. Everyone, for one reason or another... has been given an injection. Most... most are told it was an innoculation against something called Dengue fever. For me, it was the first shot in the medical study. But... regardless of the excuse... it's his experiment. It's... the start of it. If... if you've been injected... then it's already begun." The words felt like someone else was saying them. At least, if nothing else, having to be the bearer of bad news to others helped lend him the objective words to say.

"They don't care about laws... about morals. This is Moreau's toybox, and we're all powerless to stop him. No one knows about us here... or if people do, they are given enough lies and bullshit to keep them quiet. As... far as I know... you're the first person that they've had to bring here to keep quiet about a disappearance... unless you coung Joliette who found her way to the island somehow by herself..."  

[Angelina Swanson]

Angelina propped herself up on her shoulders, looking really scared now. "no... you mean the 'vaccine' was ... was the experimentation!??" Angelina didn't know what she had expected - but if they were going to trap you on an island against your will... why lie about something like that? Why not just strap you to a table in a dark room and experiement on you? Wile a thunderstorm rages outsise... thats how 'mad scientists' are susposed to work.

"Why would they lie about that?" she cried out, her vouce high in fear and a tinge of anger. "What are they going to do to me?"  

[Ambrose Maurlias]

Ambrose gulped. Let her be angry... being angry would help. "Because they're... they're bastards! They lure people in with sugary scenarios. Tell them whatever they need to to get them to be obedient long enough to get them 'out here'. And once here ... they don't care. Unless they get some sort of sick pleasure in seeing someone refuse to believe the truth because it is so entirely unbelievable, prefering to believe whatever lie they fed them."

Ambrose shook his head roughly, still under the opinion that it was some sort of sick joke for the lab techs' amusement the line they fed Vasile.

"And.... I don't know, baby." Ambrose finished. "Everyone... everyone is becoming something different." He scratched at his arm. "they... they tell you... if you ask... but many people haven't had the heart or the courage to ask ahead of time."  

[Angelina Swanson]

Angelina swallowed, feeling suddenly ill as the realization crashed down around her. She looked at the injection sight - which looked red and and angry. "I... I can't believe this..."

Her mind suddenly started coming up with all these horrible animals. "What are they doing? What if they turn me into . into a cockroach or something? Or or.. or.. a slug, or .."  

[Ambrose Maurlias]

Ambrose's eyes widened. "They... they wouldn't do that!" ... Would they? How did HE know? They had done any number of evil acts in the past. Why wouldn't they reunite him with his Love, only to change her into something vile.

"No... no one's becoming an insect!" He chirped in hopefully. "Maybe... maybe they can't do that." He though to Anjali, who had said that they told her she was going to become a plant. That seemed even less likely, but then again, she hadn't begun changing yet either.  

[Angelina Swanson]

"But what.. is anyone turning into a fish? Or a turtle or a snake or a ... a sloth or something? How many people are ON this ******** island, anyway?"  

[Ambrose Maurlias]

Ambrose's ears crumpled back and his tail tucked automatically at her anger. He knew it was going to happen, but he hated seeing her upset. "Well..." He paused, before continuing truthfully. "I know one woman who's becoming a snake. And... to my estimates... nearly thirty."  

[Angelina Swanson]

Angelina gaped. "THIRTY?!" She shook her head. "No, this is impossible, Ambrose... maybe maybe you're just... not seeing things clearly..." she motioned to him. "There's no way they can just... dissapoear thirty people!! That's impossible!"  

[Ambrose Maurlias]

Ambrose huffed. At least her angry, he thought to himself, was easier to deal with than someone crying?

He shook his head. "You'd think that.. until you start thinking about how they disappear from all over the country if not the world. About 4 or 5 people have wound up here on their own sorry luck by boat. Being in the Bermuda triangle has given them a pre-packaged excuse. You know my story. Then there are people here for jobs supposedly - that would keep them out of circulation long enough normally not to raise questions... and there are people here for 'therapy' - which also would require long absences. There are a couple people here on 'art scholarships'. Someone was even adopted from an orphanage!" Ambrose listed, ticking the people off on his fingers.  

[Angelina Swanson]

Angelina just shook her head in disbelief, her chin trembling. "How... how could someone do that... this...oh my god..." Just letting the shock wave over hr, she buried her head in his chest.  

[Ambrose Maurlias]

And Ambrose was there, his arms wrapped around her shoulders, gently rocking her back and forth as he smoothed her hair.

"I... know how you feel... all too well." He swallowed. "I'm so sorry, Angelina. I wouldn't wish this fate on my worst enemy, let alone you." He whispered in a half-whimper. "I'm so sorry... your love for me... your dedication... all it's brought you is imprisonment here along with the rest of us poor souls..."