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 Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 3:55 pm
Awen, after finally cleaning up her mess in the entertainment room walked out into the daylight. She had to squint and blink for a short time as she got used to the natural sunlight.
"Urg... like coming out of the theatre..." She shook her head slowly as the sharpness of the light dulled slightly. "Note to self: order sunglasses."
She looked around and sighed softly. "Now where did Marshall say this little path was again..."
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 4:04 pm
Richard was actually on his way to the entertianment room. After the conversation with Sabin, he was in the mood for a bond flick. He was still processing the things Sabin had said, some mindless action and airy bond girls always settled his mind. Deep in thought he almost bowled right into Awen before stopping and looking up.
"Oh hello there."
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 4:09 pm
"Oh Richard!" Awen exclaimed as she took a slight step back, thinking the old man wasn't going to stop in time. "How are you today? A little better I hope?"
The thought of the graveyard was temporarily set aside. It didn't matter very much, after all it was fake. Interaction with a fellow islander, especially one that gave such good vibes, was definately more important.
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 4:22 pm
Richard certianly looked better. He smiled when he saw Awen. The holiday past the memories had stopped assulting him, he had far more to think about now, and as serious as those matters were dealing with them was far better than thinking about Erica. "I'm fine, don't worry about me." Richard would never admit weakness if he could help it.
"And what are you up to today? Off for a swim?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 4:31 pm
"I was just having a Star Wars movie marathon, but halfway through Marshall came to meet me. I don't know if you two've met... um..penguin guy?" She smiled as if nothing had been wrong, there was no real gravyard, Fee and all the others weren't dead at all. She just hadn't seen them in awhile.
"Anyway, trying to catch up on the gossip around here you know what I've missed, how the Halloween party was, all that jazz. He told me about this little gravyard that him and some others were lead to on Halloween." She laughed, not knowing how out of line it was. "The poor guy, he still believes it's real. The labs pull this kind of stuff from time to time, so I'm not surprised they did it right. But the things he said just didn't add up." She shook her head witha grin. "Now I'm going to go check out this graveyard, probably find a clearing in the woods where it was, come back and tell him I was right."
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 4:46 pm
Richard's face darkened a bit at the mention of the graveyard. So she didn't know? That might explain her... overly cheery disposition. He wondered how she had missed it. He pondered breifly allow her to keep her denial and then decided againist it. The truth was important, no matter if it hurt or not. Delusion of the situation just leads to further hardship. Letting out a breath Richard looked down at his still completely human hands as he folded them together. When he looked up he looked old, his Ice colored eyes seeming to reflect his lifetime. "Its no joke Awen. That was the scary part of halloween. That was the message."
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 4:54 pm
She puzzled over his words for about three point four seconds before chuckling, her eyes still sparkling. "Richard! Not you too!" Shaking her head in disbelief Awen couldn't help herself. "I know a kid like Marshall could fall for something like that, but not you."
From what little she knew of both of them she was making assumptions. "It was Halloween, they were just trying to scare everyone. I mean honestly, Marshall told me what was on the headstones. I could maybe believe it if it was just "death by complications" but really how am I supposed to believe "Death by Annie"? That girl is such the sweetest thing. I don't know if you've met her yet or not, but probably not given your reaction. They always leave one or two tell-tale signs that it's a joke by the end. Saying that Annie killed some people is just one of those signs. Trust me."
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 5:07 pm
The girl was in denial... incased in it like a cocoon of concrete. He exhaled through his nostrils and shook his head. "Awen I know you want to think this is a like a vacation but its not. Sometime I like to pretend it is and I've probably been doing that to often lately. At the end of the day, this.. research has a human cost." He bit his cheek. "Why don't I come with you, I'll explain what happened. Starting with Annie." Richard knew that Awen would be a tough case to crack but he was going to try. He saw it has a duty.
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 5:21 pm
"Richard." She said rather flatly. "I know it's not a vacation. I know the reality of the situation. COme on, look at me, you think I don't know? I was hydrophobic before I changed far enough. You don't think I don't know what the horror it is changing? Trust me, I know. I say only that because I want to try to cheer people up. I want people to try to be happy for a time, because I know the island is hard on a lot of people. We just have to face facts that we're here for the rest of our lives, and quite frankly we have to get over it and move on at some point. I've passed that point long ago, and I try to embrace the gifts that were given to me through the horror. Not everyone is there though, and one of the best ways of getting away from the problem, at least for a little while, is to think of this as a vacation."
She sighed a little and shrugged her shoulders. "I'd enjoy the company on the way up I think though. Maybe we can work some of this out... It's this way... right?"
Awen started down the way following the directions Marshall had given her. "And please don't get me wrong Richard, I love the truth. You have no idea what pains it caused me- but I always tell the flat truth. I don't engage in keeping new islanders in the dark, hell, I even tried to advise Fee on her plans, what may work and what won't. It caused me a lot of spite from othe islanders, the new ones and old, Fee especially. She thinks I'm some kind of spy for the labs or something..." The last part was added in a slight grumble. "But there is no way it's real. Annie is too much of a sweet heart. And think about it, they revealed this on Halloween, they're just trying to scare people."
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 5:48 pm
"Yes, thats right." Richard shook his head and followed after the manta girl. He had walked that path several times since that night.
He walked in silence for awhile trying to compose exactly how to say the things that happened. "Awen, I'm sorry but Fiona, Fee... isn't coming back and Annie, well she might as well be dead, she's lost. It happened shortly before I arrived and infront of Giaus, Sid and Nita. From what I gather something was wrong with Annie's serum. Nita said something about it happening too fast, I couldn't get a very striaght answer from her. Gaius was the most rational about it." Although not by much. "Fiona was with with Annie during the change but she was a rabbit. I'm not sure quiet what happened, people tend to break down at this point in the story." Richard paused letting the gravity of his words sink in. "Annie lost control. She killed Fiona, tore out her throat." Richard sighed, both at the tragidy of the tale and the frustration of really having no way to prove it to Awen. Hell it hadn't exactly been proven other than eyewitness accounts. The lab hadn't made an offical statement besides her tombstone in the graveyard.
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 6:36 pm
Awen's brow creased as they kept walking. The processing in her mind took quite awhile. It was staged, was her first thought, but slowly that was being unraveled by fact and logic.
How could the labs get Fiona, of all people, to agree to it? With all those witnesses it's hard not to believe. Nita, at least, wouldn't lie. She didn't know Sid very well and she'd never met this Gaius fellow, but Nita wouldn't lie. An islander going berserk wasn't terribly uncommon either. And if Annie was so sweet before... maybe the animal got the better of her submissive nature. It could dominate quite easily. Her face set in a frown as one thing was missing.
"But...." She said in a less certain tone. "No, no. The labs put a chip.... they would have put her to sleep before she could do major damage."
Awen remembered the first time she'd seen someone being put to sleep. It was the Dude after the first halloween party. Then Jamal, then Billy when he tried to kill her. No, no. THey would have stopped it.
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 6:44 pm
A yes the chip. The whole reason the lab had so much control over their lives. But it was also their safety net and without it the islanders would probably be in cages. "The chip... didn't work. She tore it out with her claws. Appearently it doesn't work that well if the subject is changing while they are trying to buzz you." That was all the detail he had on that. Beside there being another island who had appearently removed their chip. He wasn't about to tell Awen that however.
"I'm sorry Awen." He watched her, both concerned and glad it was finally sinking in.
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 6:52 pm
Awen's frown deepened as she listened to the old man's words. Tear out the chip? Was that even possible...? She glanced over to study Richard's face for the longest time. The manta girl just couldn't believe it, no. He was lying, wasn't he? After all she'd only met this guy once before. He could be as slimey as Billy for all she knew, or maybe he liked to toy with her like Antony did?
No... that wasn't right at all. Richard didn't seem one to lie or beat around the bush. His little bulletine board message proved that much.
"But..." She tried desperately to think of something else. Some other way it couldn't be true. She head was spinning and tears seemed near but she shook her head and steeled herself. "How much farther?" She asked, her tone hardened.
She had to see for herself.
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Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 7:01 pm
"Its still a bit of a hike. Its near the laboratories." This was going to be quite a workout without his cane. There was nothing more to say until Awen saw the stones. So the rest of walk they did not speak, although with Richard's heavy to labored breathing, depending on the incline, the walk was far some silent. (Continued at: http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=6392863&page=2)
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