Heh heh, sorry about the wait. School started up again, and I've been buried under homework. I'm starting to get caught up, though, so hopefully updates will start to be regular again.
Weak from hunger and tired from near-constant vigilance, Grace continued the next morning, fully aware that if she didn't find food and a safe place soon, she wouldn't make it. At least she would die free. She was about ready to faint when she stumbled into a small clearing.
"Grace!"
It took Grace a second to recognize Marie, wearing a pale blue sweater and jeans and looking better than she ever had in the compound. It took her several more seconds to realize that she wasn't hallucinating.
"Marie, I wasn't expecting to see you."
Marie rushed over as Grace swayed, taking Grace's arm and putting it over her shoulder. "I wasn't expecting to see you, either. Come on. You need rest." She guided Grace along a path until they suddenly emerged from the forest into a huge clearing dominated by a large building. Marie helped her into the building, down a hall, and into a room with a bed and some other pieces of furniture.
"Get some sleep." Marie said as she helped Grace into the bed and pulled the covers over her, "I'll get you a hot meal as soon as you wake up."
Grace instantly fell into a deep and dreamless sleep. When she woke up she was refreshed, but ravenous. At first she couldn't remember where she was. Then it hit her. Somehow, she had found Marie. She opened her eyes. Marie was sitting close by, along with two humans. Grace tensed up.
"Relax." Marie said soothingly, "They're friends. This is Dr. Miles Standpoint, and his wife Dr. Julia Standpoint. You can call them Miles and Julia. This is Grace."
Julia stood up. "Nice to meet you. I'll get you something to eat. You look like you need it."
She left. Grace looked at Marie. "How long was I asleep?"
"A whole day. You must have been pretty wiped out."
"A whole day?" Grace couldn't remember a time when she had slept more than a few hours, even when she had been on the run.
"How did you escape? Did they finally take you on a mission?"
"Heavens, Marie, don't pester her with questions until she's had something to eat." Julia scolded as she came in with a tray loaded with soup, bread, and a fruit salad, which she set on Grace's lap. Grace took a moment to enjoy the fact that it wasn't the bland, colorless mush she was used to before digging in with a will. Marie's eyes widened slightly as she watched. When Grace was done she asked, "Now will you tell me how you escaped?"
Grace told them about her escape. By the time she was finished there wasn't a jaw in that room that wasn't on the floor.
"Two straight days swimming and three walking, all on three apples?" Miles shook his head, "That alone is impressive, even if you don't count everything beforehand. No wonder you slept for a day. Most would sleep for a week, even if they survived."
"If you're feeling up to it, could you come with me?" Julia asked, "Marie said you were beaten worse than anyone else, and I'd like to take a look at your back to make sure there isn't any permanent harm done."
Grace glanced at Marie, who nodded, before setting the tray aside and swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. It was a little strange, as she could not remember ever sleeping in a bed. Slowly, she stood. The meal and rest had done her good, and Grace was able to stand without swaying. Marie walked beside her as Julia led them from the room. They went down a couple of hallways into another room which contained several cabinets, a counter with a sink, a tall stool, and several chairs. Julia gestured to the stool as she picked up a clipboard from off the counter. Marie sat down opposite Grace and gave an encouraging smile.
"Now we get to see if I helped any."
"Since I haven't bled to death yet, I think you did."
Julia gently lifted the back of Grace's shirt. Her eyes widened.
"Wow."
Marie stood and went to look. Her eyes grew huge. There was not an inch of skin that was not scar tissue. New scars crisscrossed old ones, creating bumps and ridges. Half-healed wounds sliced across Grace's back like angry red rivers in a rocky landscape. Julia ran a hand over the scarred flesh. "Can you feel anything?"
"No." Grace winced as Julia touched a cut. "Yes."
Julia lifted the shirt higher. The scars went to her shoulders. On the right shoulder, branded too deeply to be covered with scars, was LMO-1.
"Hold this."
Marie held Grace's shirt up while Julia began writing on the clipboard.
"Is it that bad?" Grace asked, a little uncomfortable with the silence.
"Let's just say I'm surprised they could hurt you at all, with all the scars you have." Marie answered. Julia finished writing and went to a cabinet.
"Marie, find some clothes while Grace gets a bath. Then put this on the cuts." She handed Marie a small jar.
"Come on." Marie said, leading Grace to a small room with a bathtub and some counters. Marie set the jar down. "I'll be back with some clothes."
She left. Grace filled the tub, took off her clothes, and blissfully sank into the hot water. After scrubbing to remove the grime accumulated over who knew how long, she laid back and relaxed. She must have dozed off, because when she woke up the water was lukewarm and her old clothes had been replaced with new ones. Grace got out, dried off, and put them on. The gray t-shirt and jeans were a little baggy, but otherwise fit reasonably well. She was about to go out when she caught sight of herself in the mirror that hung over the counter. Dark circles underlined red eyes that were sunken slightly in their sockets. Her face was tan, with a nose that was slightly crooked from being broken by a guard's fist. Black hair, still damp from her bath, was raggedly cut just above her shoulders. Though she was short, just barely over five feet, there was something in her eyes that made her seem much older and her arms, corded with muscle, left no doubt that she was able to defend herself. Grace stared at her reflection for a few moments. This is who she was. Who had she been? Had she even existed before? Shaking her head, she opened the door. Marie was standing there.
"All done? We'd better put Julia's wonder-gunk on your back."
"Wonder-gunk?" Grace asked as she handed Marie the jar and turned around.
"That's what we call it. Julia makes it herself. You can put it on just about anything. It doesn't take very much, either. The only problem is that it smells."
Grace learned the truth of this last statement when Marie opened the jar. An odor faintly resembling rotten vegetables permeated the air.
"What's in that stuff?" she asked as Marie began slathering it over her cuts.
"The only person who knows everything that's in it is Julia, and she won't tell anyone." she finished applying the ointment, "OK, all done. Come on, I'll show you around."
As they started down the hall they ran into Miles, who had a clipboard in his hand and a pen behind his ear. He smiled when he saw them.
"Just who I was looking for. Do you know what kind of morph you are, Grace?"
Grace shook her head.
"Then do you mind if I swab the inside of your cheek? I'll be able to extract the DNA and find out what kind of morph you are."
"Um, OK." Grace said, a little hesitantly. Miles pulled out a q-tip and a test tube with a rubber stopper from his lab coat pocket. Grace opened her mouth and he gently swabbed the inside of her cheek.
"There's one more thing I need to ask." he said as he dropped the q-tip into the test tube and replaced the stopper, "What were the letters and number on your back? Sometimes that can help us confirm what the computer says."
"LMO one, all caps." Marie recited.
"All caps?" Miles frowned as he took the pen from behind his ear, "Are you sure? Usually there's max two letters with only one capitalized. The only exception was yours."
"What was yours?" Grace asked.
"GM one, all caps." Marie answered before turned back to Miles. "You can ask Julia. She wrote it down."
"I think I will, just to be sure. Oh, and you might want to find some shoes for Grace. You know how Julia gets when it comes to shoes."
"I tried. There weren't any that would fit."
"Next time you go into town you might take Grace along and find some that do. I heard that Tom has some more stuff ready to sell."
"OK. I'll probably go into town tomorrow or the day after."
"Sounds good. See you."
Miles walked past them while they continued. "Julia is adamant that anyone who can wear shoes does." Marie explained, "She's kind of funny like that. But she's a good doctor, so it evens out. Miles works for Silph Co. It's a company that develops new technology. He had some experiments that he wanted to do in an isolated area, so he built this place. While you were walking, did you feel something like a pull?"
"Yeah, a little."
"That was one of his experiments. He wanted to see if he could attract certain kinds of Pokémon. Turns out it attracts morphs instead. When he found that out he left it on so any morph that escaped could find this place."
"They take them in just like that?"
"Yep. They come up with ways for morphs to pay them back, though, so you don't have to worry about that."
"Like what?"
"Well, some morphs are good at making things, so they make things to sell. When there's enough we take it to the nearest town and sell it. Those that aren't good at making things cook, clean, or help Miles test whatever new invention he's come up with. There's a ton of stuff that needs doing, so everyone can keep busy. We'll find you something to do in a few days."
"I could start right now." Grace said.
"Yeah, but Julia won't let you." Marie shrugged, "She insists that everyone has a few days to rest before starting work. If it wasn't for the fact that you need shoes she probably wouldn't let me take you into town."
They passed an open door where a Munchlax-morph was chopping up carrots. He waved as they passed before continuing his work.
"That was Bart." Marie said, "He's the head cook, and a very good one, too."
"Who goes into town besides you?"
"Julia and Miles will go occasionally, when the need takes them. Sometimes another morph will come too, but most avoid it. They're kind of conspicuous, and they don't like people staring at them."
"So that's why you go."
"Yep. The only things that are really obvious are my eyes and hair, and I usually wear a hat." Marie pushed open the door to a small room with two beds, a dresser, and a chair. One bed was nicely made, while the other looked a little rumpled. "We'll be sharing this room. Just remember that it's the third on the right."
Marie continued showing Grace around, introducing her to any morph they came across. Grace was acquainted with many of them already, and they greeted her cheerfully. She was amazed at how happy and healthy they looked. The ones she did not know also greeted her cheerfully. Outside, Marie showed her a large garden where several morphs were busy weeding.
"We end up growing a lot of our own food. Any extra that we have, we sell. A lot of morphs who don't like wearing shoes work outside. They go barefoot and say they don't want to get their shoes dirty."
A Scyther-morph came up. "I got some more things finished. You want to look at them?"
"Sure, Tom."
They followed him to a large shed. Inside was a dining set, several nightstands, some small tables, and a variety of chairs, all beautifully carved.
"Very nice." Marie said. Tom shrugged.
"Jenna's making some cushions for some of the chairs. Says she'll be done by tonight."
"Excellent. I'll go into town tomorrow."
Tom nodded before turning to a block of wood and starting to carve it with the scythes that sprouted from the back of his hands. Marie led Grace outside.
"Tom's the main money maker around here." she explained, "He's amazing with wood. We've gotten some pretty good offers for some of his pieces. He's not so good around others, though. He keeps to his workshop and only comes in for meals."
Marie finished showing her around, and they went back inside. They found Julia in the room where she had examined Grace earlier that day, writing something on a clipboard.
"Julia, I couldn't find any shoes that would fit Grace. Could I take her to town tomorrow and find some?"
"Could you find some without taking her?"
"Maybe, but they might not fit right. It would be better if Grace could try them on before we buy them."
Julia sighed. "All right, just make sure she doesn't do anything to tire herself out. And try to find some sandals that will fit."
"Thank you."
They left the room. Marie beamed.
"Great! Now I can show you around town. Let's try to find some sandals."
They went to what Marie called the shoe room. Every wall was covered in racks of shoes. After perusing through several shelves Marie came up with some sandals that were only a little too big for Grace.
"That should do until we can get you some shoes. Let's go get some dinner."
Dinner was held in a large room with several long wooden tables and matching benches. Grace had the feeling they were Tom's work. The food was served buffet-style on a long table running perpendicular to the other tables. Quite a few morphs were already there. Marie led Grace to a row of sinks that stood near the food table. Following her example, Grace washed her hands before taking a plate and going to the food table. There was a large variety of food, and she had no idea what she was going to take. After a few moments she decided to take a little of everything. Marie smiled when she saw what Grace was doing.
"I did the same thing my first time, too. Don't worry, you'll find out what you like."
Grace noticed that Marie's plate was piled mainly with salad. They sat down near the end of one of the tables. As they ate Grace was introduced to the few morphs she had not met already. Grace noticed that Tom came in, sat by himself, and left quickly, presumably to get back to his work. Jenna, a Ledian-morph, stopped by.
"I finished the cushions. Do you want me to tell Tom there's going to be a telling tonight?"
"If you would, I would be grateful."
Jenna nodded and left.
"What's a telling?" Grace asked.
"It's a thing that started up before I came here. The newest morph tells how they escaped. Everyone is there unless there's a good reason. Do you mind doing it?"
"Not really." Grace had figured on being asked multiple times how she had escaped. Telling everyone at once would be much easier, though she didn't know if she liked the idea of talking in front of a large crowd. Once dinner was over Marie took her to a big room filled with couches, chairs, and stools, as well as some comfy-looking mats on the floor. She and Marie took a couple of chairs near the front of the room as other morphs began trickling in.
"This is the lounge, where everyone comes to relax." Marie explained, "This is also where tellings are held and any important announcements are made."
There were a few good-natured squabbles as the best seats were taken, but everyone found a place. Soon every morph was there. Marie got up and introduced Grace before sitting down and motioning for her to start. Grace stood and began telling of her escape, adding no emphases or embellishments. By the time she was done every eyebrow was raised and quite a few jaws had dropped. With a little shrug Grace sat down. There was silence for a few moments, then everyone burst into applause. She looked at Marie, confused.
"They're impressed." Marie explained, "No one's ever done what you've done, and I doubt anyone will, either."
Grace shrugged again, a little red beginning to creep into her cheeks. Several morphs had questions, which Grace answered, then everyone headed in the direction of bed. She followed Marie to their room, where Marie crawled under the covers of the rumpled bed and muttered something about turning off the light. Grace hit the light switch and crawled under the covers of her own bed. For a little while she laid there, thinking. She had dreamed of being free for so long. Now that she was, she could hardly believe it. It was like a dream, so good it couldn't be real. Not only had she escaped, she had found Marie, as well as a place where she could stay without worrying about being chased or what would happen to her. Then she became aware that Marie was awake. Grace knew that she wanted to talk, but didn't know if Grace was asleep or not.
"I never thought I'd see you again." Grace said quietly.
"Same here. I was hoping we'd meet again, though. I'm glad we did." There was a long pause. "I was worried about you. I...I was afraid that one day they'd beat you so bad you wouldn't survive, and that I would never see you again."
"You would see me again. I'd just be keeping Tori company until you came."
"I miss him." Marie whispered.
"So do I." Grace was silent a moment. "I bet wherever he is, he's laughing at us."
Marie chuckled. After a few moments she went quiet again. "Grace, can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"How can you be so sure there's an afterlife?"
The question caught Grace off guard, and she had to think for a little while. "I guess it just makes sense to me. What would be the point of life if there wasn't anything after death?"
"You really think we'll see Tori again?"
"Yes I do, and I think when it happens he'll laugh at us for crying over him so much."
"Probably." Marie yawned. "We'd better get to sleep. Julia won't let you go into town with me if you look tired. Good night."
Soon the only sound was Marie's soft, steady breathing. Grace contemplated Marie's last couple of questions. She really didn't know why she believed so strongly in an afterlife. She just knew there had to be something, somewhere you went when you left this life. Could it be from her unremembered life from before? If not, where did it come from? With a quiet sigh, Grace fell asleep.
