Lick The Pavement
Chapter Fourteen: Dealing
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//Cause I can run, I can hide,
I can take a world of pain in a stride
And I don't need fairy tales to pretend
And I don't need heroes to depend on
I can heal, I can regenerate
I can give birth and I can meditate
And I can hate, I can love, I can fuck
I can see the view below from the top//
I Can Climb Mountains - Hell Is For Heroes
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Gabriel ran up to the perimeter wall, gasping for air, and leapt at it, using his powers to give him the extra lift that he needed to grab the top. His boots scraped against the brickwork as he scrabbled desperately to pull himself over, finally managing to sit atop the high wall.
He wasted no time looking back at where he had come from, but instead turned and dropped down, landing and jarring his ankle. He hissed in pain and shook it slightly to ease it, before leaning against the wall to try and catch his breath.
He felt slightly bad about just up and leaving the people who had rescued him like this, but there were more important things on his mind at that moment.
The house had to be getting its food from somewhere, so there had to be some kind of civilisation around here. Civilisation eventually meant towns, and towns meant drugs. especially heroin.
Gabriel was getting desperate.
He hadn't had a hit since before the 'Dirty Needle' before he got captured, and the methadone he'd been given was like giving a bag of marbles to a man who wanted to build a house.
It wasn't anywhere near what he needed.
He'd first tried the drug when he was eleven, having nothing else to do and wanting to have something in common with his boyfriend at the time. By the time he was thirteen he was an addict and mainlining, injecting the stuff straight into his veins.
He'd tried going straight a few times, usually when he was fed up of doing what he had to do to get more of the junk, but the pain of withdrawal had been so bad, so traumatising, that he had gone straight back on it.
He had the sneaking suspicion that the kind of people he had suddenly fallen into the lap of would not let him sit in his room mainlining heroin. He had to get out of there and find a nice city where he could melt back into the background, find a dealer and just spend his time as he was before.
The drug was calling his name like a lover and he wasn't strong enough to resist it.
He was about to limp off when he saw a shape from the corner of his eye, leaping over the wall and landing cat-like in front of him.
It stood up, and he saw the short but obviously dangerous man from the mansion stand up in front of him. Panicked, his powers went into action, and he formed a ball of energy from the fear that rose up sharply around him, firing it at the man in front of him.
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Logan growled as he left the house.
He stood on the front lawn and sniffed the air, catching the scent of the 'escapee' almost instantly: he smelt like fear, desperate desire, something sickly under it all, with an undertone of blood, sweat and sex.
He looked down, found the boy's tracks through the long wet grass in a matter of seconds and followed them along to the wall. He heard the sound of the boy's panting lungs as they rushed to fill his body with air, and, deciding to utilise the element of surprise, stepped back from the wall a few paces, then ran and leapt at it.
He cleared the wall with ease, landing and turning to face the small boy who stared at him thunderstruck for a few scant seconds, before leaning back and firing a ball of crackling black energy at him.
Wolverine wasn't so codenamed for nothing, and used his fast reflexes to sidestep the energy safely. He stood there, hands out to show he meant no harm.
"Hey there kid. Look, I'm not gonna hurt ya, but I have ta take ya back. It's not safe for the other kids for you to be out here..."
Gabriel flattened himself into the wall, terrified out of his wits. He hardly heard what Logan was saying, the energy from his terror and Logan's natural aggression and irritation building up.
He held his hands out, palm down in front of him and snarled warningly. "Lemme leave. I'll go and won't come back."
"No can do kid." Logan said, then had to jump as a wave of energy, too broad to leap over, came at his feet. He jumped hard and landed behind Gabriel, who tried to turn but was too slow for Wolverine.
Gabriel was grabbed around the chest, arms pinned to his sides, and he immediately started to struggle.
"Let GO of me." He shrieked, panic setting in fast. "Lemme go, lemme go, lemme go..."
He kicked and tried to bite Logan, trying everything he could to make him let go.
Logan was a strong guy, but Gabriel's squirming was making it difficult for him to be carried. Logan made a decision and squeezed down on a certain nerve in the boy's neck. Gabriel passed out into still black in a second.
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Kegan stalked through the corridors of the large house, mumbling under his breath about the unfairness of it all. After everything he had been through, he STILL wasn't allowed a cigarette. Well, not until he found this Wolverine character anyway.
He was walking past what he thought was the kitchen when a short stocky man whom he recognised as Logan himself walked through from outside, a limp looking body slung across his shoulder.
"Whoa! What did you do?" He asked.
Logan growled. "None o'your business kid."
//Red? //
//Wolverine? // Jean sounded frazzled. //You found him? //
//Good as new, though he did try to take me out with some little static ball of his. // Wolverine replied, obviously ticked.
//Thanks Logan. // Jean pathed. //It seems that he won't be stable around here until he's free from his heroin addiction. //
*So that's what that sickly smell was. * Logan realised. *We have a junkie. *
//You want I should put him in the infirmary Red? //
//No... he needs to be in a room, near the infirmary, but one where he can be contained for his safety and the safety of the other students. //
//Can do Red. //
Logan broke the connection and began taking Gabriel, slung over his shoulder, to the solitary confinement rooms near the infirmary, usually used for long-term illnesses, coma patients or quarantine cases.
Kegan followed.
"So, what ya doin' now?"
"I'm taking Devitt here to the infirmary where he can rest up."
"Oh yea... looks like he needs it... you didn't kill him did you?" He was playfully suspicious.
"NO, I did NOT kill him." Logan snapped. Damn kids.
"Oh... Jean said you had a smoke. DO you have a smoke?"
"Yes." Damn Jean.
"C'n I have one?"
"No."
"Please can I have one?"
"No."
"But I said please."
"So."
"Gimme a ciggy."
"No."
"Gimme a ciggy."
"No."
"Gimme a ciggy."
"Go away."
"Gimme a ciggy."
"For the last time kid, NO!"
"..."
"..."
"Gimme a ciggy?"
Logan couldn't be bothered to go through all this anymore. He carefully balanced Gabriel on one shoulder, reached into his pocket, and pulled out half a carton of cigarettes, handing them to the boy.
"Thanks man." Kegan held a cigarette in his mouth, then futilely patted his pockets down for a lighter.
Logan sighed and pulled one out.
"Thanks." Kegan lit his ciggy and exhaled with every ounce of pleasure.
"Man, I needed that."
"Great... now can you leave? I need to wait for this guy to wake up and I don't want you hanging around."
Kegan followed Logan into a single room with a lock on the door and watched as the small black haired boy was put tenderlessly but still gently into the bed and covered with a sheet.
"I'll watch him for you if you want" He offered.
Logan turned, surprised. "What?"
"Sure. I've got nothing else to do. Besides... I kinda have personal experience with his... problem."
Logan was going to inquire exactly how Kegan knew about that, but decided to let it be for now. Unbeknownst to him, Jean had already asked Kegan to do this for them until Lance came down, seeing as how Kegan had some personal experience in this area.
Logan nodded.
"Okay kid, but you'd better not get bored and skip off. he tried to escape once, I don't want him putting the other kids in jeopardy again. Understood?"
"Oh, totally." Kegan replied snarkily. "He'd be as safe with me as he would with you. but considering you've knocked him out he'd probably be even safer."
Logan growled and left, muttering something that Kegan thought he was better off not hearing.
As he sat on the chair next to the bed, smoking his cigarette with relish, he looked the fey boy on the bed over.
Small, frail, almost dainty bird-like build. pale, near-blue skin tone. apart from the multiple ear piercings he also had a lip ring. which was interesting. His image said 'tough punk' but his body said 'vulnerable child'. a pleasing mix of elements.
As he watched, the boy on the bed moaned in a distressed way, writhing on the bed and turning to his side where he began to curl up into a foetal position.
Kegan laughed softly, a sound visualised in the blue-grey smoke that billowed from his mouth, and leaned forward, brushing a lock of blue-black hair out from the other boy's face. Devitt relaxed and sighed, leaning into the touch like a cat.
Kegan smiled.
He was worried that he'd die of boredom round here, but things were now starting to look up for him.
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Rae, Lia and Tone looked up and round from their card game as Liz walked into the room, silently but fuming, picked up the sketch book and pencil case lying on her bed, and walked back out without giving the other girls a look.
The other three looked at each other.
"What was that all about?" Lia asked.
"Don' look at me." Tone said.
"Must have been the interview." Rae said, biting her lip anxiously. "Should we go and see if she's okay?"
"It looked as if she wanted to be on her own to me." Lia said. "I'd say we should go after her, but I don't think she'd appreciate it."
The other two looked torn, but reluctantly agreed.
"What did you think of the interviewers anyway?" Lia asked.
"They seemed friendly enough." Rae said hesitantly.
"An' this place is certainly better'n where we were before." Tone chipped in. "Why, what did you think of it?"
Lia shrugged.
"They were okay. It wasn't anything to startling... I guess having a huge influx of new kids is more startling to them than us lot coming here is to us."
"Speakin' of the other kids-" Tone cut in. "Have either of you spoken to any of 'em apart from on the plane?"
"Well, I met the odd-eyed boy from the plane, one of the ones that the Logan guy rescued, you know. Yeah, his name is Devi... but all we talked about was going outside and that those guys wanted to see me, so I don't think it quite counts. Why, did you?"
"Nope. I came right back here from there. Lia?"
"I haven't really talked to anyone, no."
"Well, some of 'em are still in the infirmary." Tone said. "I saw a couple when I was down there. But where everyone else is, I dunno. Shall we go find 'em?"
"I dunno..." Rae seemed reluctant, but Lia smiled and looped their arms. "Oh, come on Rae. It'll be fun. If things get uncomfortable, we'll just go get something to eat from the kitchens and then do some exploring okay?"
Rae was shy, and slightly intimidated at the thought of meeting new people, but loathed the thought of waiting in her room on her own even more, so she agreed.
So, Tone quickly scribbled a note to let Liz know where they had gone, and the three girls left in search of their other housemates.
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Lance was sitting in a chair on one side of Lukka's bed, with Brian sitting on the other side, the boy's playing cards spread out across Lukka's bedsheets.
//Lance? //
Lance jumped, dropping his cards.
"Jean." he said, out loud so that the other boys would know what was going on.
//I REALLY wish you wouldn't do that all of a sudden. // He grumbled.
//Whatever rock-boy. // Jean replied amusedly. //I have news on Devi. //
//Oh yeah? Did Logan bring him back? //
//Well... yes and no. He brought him back, but he was unconscious at the time. //
//Damn. So he's not going to be able to heal Lukka then? //
//Unfortunately not. // Jean replied. //Even when he does wake up he's not going to be of much help. We've decided, with Kegan's help, to put him through withdrawal and try and get him off that nasty habit. So Kegan's going to have to heal the usual way. //
Lance frowned. //Poor kid. //
//Which one? //
//Both of them... but mainly Lukka. He didn't deserve to be beaten up by those stupid pigs at the MSDC. //
//I agree with you Lance, but getting angry over it isn't going to heal Lukka any quicker. //
//I know. //
//Anyway, what are you going to do now? Scott's wondering where you are. //
Lance looked at Brian and Lukka, who were watching him carefully, and grinned.
//Tell him he can wait, or come down here himself. I haven't finished playing cards with these guys yet. //
Jean broke contact and Lance shook his head.
"Talking to Jean through telepathy always makes me feel like I'm talking to myself." He grumbled, and Brian laughed.
"So what's the news on the healer kid?" Kegan asked, looking hopeful.
Lance sighed.
"They found him, but he's unconscious. Sorry Lukka, you're gonna have to heal the normal way."
Lukka sighed, the cards held up by his hair falling face down onto the blanket.
"Ah shit."
"So what now?" Brian asked.
"Now. we play blackjack." Lance said dealing.
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Bryn sat at the desk in his room, while the Flower Duet by Latme played quietly in the background. After the stress over the past few days, listening to some opera was exactly what he needed to wind down a bit. It reminded him of home and better times..
He was currently penning a letter in German to his parents.
} ... they have been treating us well so far, and I have no complaints. It is certainly better than the prison cell of the MSDC.
I am also writing for a favour. Would you be able to mail my journal through to me? It is of some importance and I'd really appreciate it.
Thank you. {
He was about to sign off when there was a pounding at the door.
"Hello? Is anyone in there?"
He got up, turning the volume on his radio down, and opened the door to reveal three of the girls from the plane. This looked. noisy.
"Can I help you?" He asked politely, faced with three girls of varying heights.
Tone grinned.
"Hey. I'm Tone and this is Lia." pointing to the black-streaked blonde, who smiled and waved "and Rae." She pointed to the shortest girl, a red streaked brunette, who flushed slightly and looked down at her feet, seemingly nervous. "We were bored, so we thought we'd have a look around." She had a strong Irish accent, Bryn noted.
"I'm Bryn Zeitsagen." He said politely.
"Great." Tone said.
"Hey Bryn, did you have an interview with those other people too?" Lia asked.
"Yes."
"How did yours go?"
"They seem like very nice people."
"So it seems pretty unanimous then." Lia said, looking round at her friends. "We're better off here than at the MSDC centre."
"Well THAT goes without sayin'." Tone laughed.
"Hey Bryn, do you wanna come down and have a look around the house with us? It's easy to get lost; we might be safer if we all go in a group." Lia joked.
"Well."
"Oh come on. We can get something to eat as well. How about it?"
Bryn looked at all the girls smiling at him and couldn't say no.
"Let me turn the radio off then."
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Liz sat in on the window-ledge of one of the large windows in the new house, a sill so large that it was basically an alcove.
She had one foot resting on the sill, knee propped up, using her leg as a surface to prop her sketchbook on as she drew. Silent and concentrating, the pencil in her hand flew across the paper, resting only when she shook her head and picked up the eraser to rub any misdrawn lines out furiously, before she resumed her work.
She'd been antsy to leave the building, especially after the interview, but had realised, on second thought, that she had nowhere else to go.
She didn't want to end up being captured by the MSDC in another state, or even another country, especially not now as she knew what would be waiting for her. being treated as less than human, assessed, interrogated, thrown around like so much meat, locked into those small, low ceilinged rooms.
She shook her head as she realised that she was lost in thought, and erased the line that cut down the page from her falling hand irritably.
The fact that was taking form on the page was smiling, a girl of about her age, her best friend Tora.
She remembered what had happened, remembered killing that man, and the shock that had flooded her like ice-water in her veins.
But now that she'd had time to overcome her shock, she realised, with grim satisfaction, that she'd gladly kill another human, with no remorse.
She smiled, her mouth hard, and went back to trying to capture life in eyes that would never hold life again.
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Sorry about the long wait people. I had bad block for this chapter, and I still don't like it. AND I'm sick again. I have no immune system WHAT so EVER! The chapter was gonna be longer, but I decided to save some of those ideas for the next one and post this thing as soon as possible. I also think that the attention is being divided between the characters unfairly, and I'd be interested to know if you feel the same way.
But anyway, I need to know who you want pairing with.
The people who are available are..
Liz Lia Brian Tone Rae Jean
Yes, I know. Shut up, I know! Okay. so far, I've been thinking Tone and Rae, Liz and Jean and Lia and Brian, but that's just the way I feel that the characters have chemistry from what I'm writing.
You can disagree and give me your own pairings, because what I've got down is not set in stone. If you could also suggest pairings you think would be cute for the other characters, I'd be really grateful.
Thanks a lot, look out for chapter fifteen. wow! Fifteen? Okay. adios
Luv DCJ
Chapter Fourteen: Dealing
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//Cause I can run, I can hide,
I can take a world of pain in a stride
And I don't need fairy tales to pretend
And I don't need heroes to depend on
I can heal, I can regenerate
I can give birth and I can meditate
And I can hate, I can love, I can fuck
I can see the view below from the top//
I Can Climb Mountains - Hell Is For Heroes
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Gabriel ran up to the perimeter wall, gasping for air, and leapt at it, using his powers to give him the extra lift that he needed to grab the top. His boots scraped against the brickwork as he scrabbled desperately to pull himself over, finally managing to sit atop the high wall.
He wasted no time looking back at where he had come from, but instead turned and dropped down, landing and jarring his ankle. He hissed in pain and shook it slightly to ease it, before leaning against the wall to try and catch his breath.
He felt slightly bad about just up and leaving the people who had rescued him like this, but there were more important things on his mind at that moment.
The house had to be getting its food from somewhere, so there had to be some kind of civilisation around here. Civilisation eventually meant towns, and towns meant drugs. especially heroin.
Gabriel was getting desperate.
He hadn't had a hit since before the 'Dirty Needle' before he got captured, and the methadone he'd been given was like giving a bag of marbles to a man who wanted to build a house.
It wasn't anywhere near what he needed.
He'd first tried the drug when he was eleven, having nothing else to do and wanting to have something in common with his boyfriend at the time. By the time he was thirteen he was an addict and mainlining, injecting the stuff straight into his veins.
He'd tried going straight a few times, usually when he was fed up of doing what he had to do to get more of the junk, but the pain of withdrawal had been so bad, so traumatising, that he had gone straight back on it.
He had the sneaking suspicion that the kind of people he had suddenly fallen into the lap of would not let him sit in his room mainlining heroin. He had to get out of there and find a nice city where he could melt back into the background, find a dealer and just spend his time as he was before.
The drug was calling his name like a lover and he wasn't strong enough to resist it.
He was about to limp off when he saw a shape from the corner of his eye, leaping over the wall and landing cat-like in front of him.
It stood up, and he saw the short but obviously dangerous man from the mansion stand up in front of him. Panicked, his powers went into action, and he formed a ball of energy from the fear that rose up sharply around him, firing it at the man in front of him.
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Logan growled as he left the house.
He stood on the front lawn and sniffed the air, catching the scent of the 'escapee' almost instantly: he smelt like fear, desperate desire, something sickly under it all, with an undertone of blood, sweat and sex.
He looked down, found the boy's tracks through the long wet grass in a matter of seconds and followed them along to the wall. He heard the sound of the boy's panting lungs as they rushed to fill his body with air, and, deciding to utilise the element of surprise, stepped back from the wall a few paces, then ran and leapt at it.
He cleared the wall with ease, landing and turning to face the small boy who stared at him thunderstruck for a few scant seconds, before leaning back and firing a ball of crackling black energy at him.
Wolverine wasn't so codenamed for nothing, and used his fast reflexes to sidestep the energy safely. He stood there, hands out to show he meant no harm.
"Hey there kid. Look, I'm not gonna hurt ya, but I have ta take ya back. It's not safe for the other kids for you to be out here..."
Gabriel flattened himself into the wall, terrified out of his wits. He hardly heard what Logan was saying, the energy from his terror and Logan's natural aggression and irritation building up.
He held his hands out, palm down in front of him and snarled warningly. "Lemme leave. I'll go and won't come back."
"No can do kid." Logan said, then had to jump as a wave of energy, too broad to leap over, came at his feet. He jumped hard and landed behind Gabriel, who tried to turn but was too slow for Wolverine.
Gabriel was grabbed around the chest, arms pinned to his sides, and he immediately started to struggle.
"Let GO of me." He shrieked, panic setting in fast. "Lemme go, lemme go, lemme go..."
He kicked and tried to bite Logan, trying everything he could to make him let go.
Logan was a strong guy, but Gabriel's squirming was making it difficult for him to be carried. Logan made a decision and squeezed down on a certain nerve in the boy's neck. Gabriel passed out into still black in a second.
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Kegan stalked through the corridors of the large house, mumbling under his breath about the unfairness of it all. After everything he had been through, he STILL wasn't allowed a cigarette. Well, not until he found this Wolverine character anyway.
He was walking past what he thought was the kitchen when a short stocky man whom he recognised as Logan himself walked through from outside, a limp looking body slung across his shoulder.
"Whoa! What did you do?" He asked.
Logan growled. "None o'your business kid."
//Red? //
//Wolverine? // Jean sounded frazzled. //You found him? //
//Good as new, though he did try to take me out with some little static ball of his. // Wolverine replied, obviously ticked.
//Thanks Logan. // Jean pathed. //It seems that he won't be stable around here until he's free from his heroin addiction. //
*So that's what that sickly smell was. * Logan realised. *We have a junkie. *
//You want I should put him in the infirmary Red? //
//No... he needs to be in a room, near the infirmary, but one where he can be contained for his safety and the safety of the other students. //
//Can do Red. //
Logan broke the connection and began taking Gabriel, slung over his shoulder, to the solitary confinement rooms near the infirmary, usually used for long-term illnesses, coma patients or quarantine cases.
Kegan followed.
"So, what ya doin' now?"
"I'm taking Devitt here to the infirmary where he can rest up."
"Oh yea... looks like he needs it... you didn't kill him did you?" He was playfully suspicious.
"NO, I did NOT kill him." Logan snapped. Damn kids.
"Oh... Jean said you had a smoke. DO you have a smoke?"
"Yes." Damn Jean.
"C'n I have one?"
"No."
"Please can I have one?"
"No."
"But I said please."
"So."
"Gimme a ciggy."
"No."
"Gimme a ciggy."
"No."
"Gimme a ciggy."
"Go away."
"Gimme a ciggy."
"For the last time kid, NO!"
"..."
"..."
"Gimme a ciggy?"
Logan couldn't be bothered to go through all this anymore. He carefully balanced Gabriel on one shoulder, reached into his pocket, and pulled out half a carton of cigarettes, handing them to the boy.
"Thanks man." Kegan held a cigarette in his mouth, then futilely patted his pockets down for a lighter.
Logan sighed and pulled one out.
"Thanks." Kegan lit his ciggy and exhaled with every ounce of pleasure.
"Man, I needed that."
"Great... now can you leave? I need to wait for this guy to wake up and I don't want you hanging around."
Kegan followed Logan into a single room with a lock on the door and watched as the small black haired boy was put tenderlessly but still gently into the bed and covered with a sheet.
"I'll watch him for you if you want" He offered.
Logan turned, surprised. "What?"
"Sure. I've got nothing else to do. Besides... I kinda have personal experience with his... problem."
Logan was going to inquire exactly how Kegan knew about that, but decided to let it be for now. Unbeknownst to him, Jean had already asked Kegan to do this for them until Lance came down, seeing as how Kegan had some personal experience in this area.
Logan nodded.
"Okay kid, but you'd better not get bored and skip off. he tried to escape once, I don't want him putting the other kids in jeopardy again. Understood?"
"Oh, totally." Kegan replied snarkily. "He'd be as safe with me as he would with you. but considering you've knocked him out he'd probably be even safer."
Logan growled and left, muttering something that Kegan thought he was better off not hearing.
As he sat on the chair next to the bed, smoking his cigarette with relish, he looked the fey boy on the bed over.
Small, frail, almost dainty bird-like build. pale, near-blue skin tone. apart from the multiple ear piercings he also had a lip ring. which was interesting. His image said 'tough punk' but his body said 'vulnerable child'. a pleasing mix of elements.
As he watched, the boy on the bed moaned in a distressed way, writhing on the bed and turning to his side where he began to curl up into a foetal position.
Kegan laughed softly, a sound visualised in the blue-grey smoke that billowed from his mouth, and leaned forward, brushing a lock of blue-black hair out from the other boy's face. Devitt relaxed and sighed, leaning into the touch like a cat.
Kegan smiled.
He was worried that he'd die of boredom round here, but things were now starting to look up for him.
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Rae, Lia and Tone looked up and round from their card game as Liz walked into the room, silently but fuming, picked up the sketch book and pencil case lying on her bed, and walked back out without giving the other girls a look.
The other three looked at each other.
"What was that all about?" Lia asked.
"Don' look at me." Tone said.
"Must have been the interview." Rae said, biting her lip anxiously. "Should we go and see if she's okay?"
"It looked as if she wanted to be on her own to me." Lia said. "I'd say we should go after her, but I don't think she'd appreciate it."
The other two looked torn, but reluctantly agreed.
"What did you think of the interviewers anyway?" Lia asked.
"They seemed friendly enough." Rae said hesitantly.
"An' this place is certainly better'n where we were before." Tone chipped in. "Why, what did you think of it?"
Lia shrugged.
"They were okay. It wasn't anything to startling... I guess having a huge influx of new kids is more startling to them than us lot coming here is to us."
"Speakin' of the other kids-" Tone cut in. "Have either of you spoken to any of 'em apart from on the plane?"
"Well, I met the odd-eyed boy from the plane, one of the ones that the Logan guy rescued, you know. Yeah, his name is Devi... but all we talked about was going outside and that those guys wanted to see me, so I don't think it quite counts. Why, did you?"
"Nope. I came right back here from there. Lia?"
"I haven't really talked to anyone, no."
"Well, some of 'em are still in the infirmary." Tone said. "I saw a couple when I was down there. But where everyone else is, I dunno. Shall we go find 'em?"
"I dunno..." Rae seemed reluctant, but Lia smiled and looped their arms. "Oh, come on Rae. It'll be fun. If things get uncomfortable, we'll just go get something to eat from the kitchens and then do some exploring okay?"
Rae was shy, and slightly intimidated at the thought of meeting new people, but loathed the thought of waiting in her room on her own even more, so she agreed.
So, Tone quickly scribbled a note to let Liz know where they had gone, and the three girls left in search of their other housemates.
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Lance was sitting in a chair on one side of Lukka's bed, with Brian sitting on the other side, the boy's playing cards spread out across Lukka's bedsheets.
//Lance? //
Lance jumped, dropping his cards.
"Jean." he said, out loud so that the other boys would know what was going on.
//I REALLY wish you wouldn't do that all of a sudden. // He grumbled.
//Whatever rock-boy. // Jean replied amusedly. //I have news on Devi. //
//Oh yeah? Did Logan bring him back? //
//Well... yes and no. He brought him back, but he was unconscious at the time. //
//Damn. So he's not going to be able to heal Lukka then? //
//Unfortunately not. // Jean replied. //Even when he does wake up he's not going to be of much help. We've decided, with Kegan's help, to put him through withdrawal and try and get him off that nasty habit. So Kegan's going to have to heal the usual way. //
Lance frowned. //Poor kid. //
//Which one? //
//Both of them... but mainly Lukka. He didn't deserve to be beaten up by those stupid pigs at the MSDC. //
//I agree with you Lance, but getting angry over it isn't going to heal Lukka any quicker. //
//I know. //
//Anyway, what are you going to do now? Scott's wondering where you are. //
Lance looked at Brian and Lukka, who were watching him carefully, and grinned.
//Tell him he can wait, or come down here himself. I haven't finished playing cards with these guys yet. //
Jean broke contact and Lance shook his head.
"Talking to Jean through telepathy always makes me feel like I'm talking to myself." He grumbled, and Brian laughed.
"So what's the news on the healer kid?" Kegan asked, looking hopeful.
Lance sighed.
"They found him, but he's unconscious. Sorry Lukka, you're gonna have to heal the normal way."
Lukka sighed, the cards held up by his hair falling face down onto the blanket.
"Ah shit."
"So what now?" Brian asked.
"Now. we play blackjack." Lance said dealing.
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Bryn sat at the desk in his room, while the Flower Duet by Latme played quietly in the background. After the stress over the past few days, listening to some opera was exactly what he needed to wind down a bit. It reminded him of home and better times..
He was currently penning a letter in German to his parents.
} ... they have been treating us well so far, and I have no complaints. It is certainly better than the prison cell of the MSDC.
I am also writing for a favour. Would you be able to mail my journal through to me? It is of some importance and I'd really appreciate it.
Thank you. {
He was about to sign off when there was a pounding at the door.
"Hello? Is anyone in there?"
He got up, turning the volume on his radio down, and opened the door to reveal three of the girls from the plane. This looked. noisy.
"Can I help you?" He asked politely, faced with three girls of varying heights.
Tone grinned.
"Hey. I'm Tone and this is Lia." pointing to the black-streaked blonde, who smiled and waved "and Rae." She pointed to the shortest girl, a red streaked brunette, who flushed slightly and looked down at her feet, seemingly nervous. "We were bored, so we thought we'd have a look around." She had a strong Irish accent, Bryn noted.
"I'm Bryn Zeitsagen." He said politely.
"Great." Tone said.
"Hey Bryn, did you have an interview with those other people too?" Lia asked.
"Yes."
"How did yours go?"
"They seem like very nice people."
"So it seems pretty unanimous then." Lia said, looking round at her friends. "We're better off here than at the MSDC centre."
"Well THAT goes without sayin'." Tone laughed.
"Hey Bryn, do you wanna come down and have a look around the house with us? It's easy to get lost; we might be safer if we all go in a group." Lia joked.
"Well."
"Oh come on. We can get something to eat as well. How about it?"
Bryn looked at all the girls smiling at him and couldn't say no.
"Let me turn the radio off then."
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Liz sat in on the window-ledge of one of the large windows in the new house, a sill so large that it was basically an alcove.
She had one foot resting on the sill, knee propped up, using her leg as a surface to prop her sketchbook on as she drew. Silent and concentrating, the pencil in her hand flew across the paper, resting only when she shook her head and picked up the eraser to rub any misdrawn lines out furiously, before she resumed her work.
She'd been antsy to leave the building, especially after the interview, but had realised, on second thought, that she had nowhere else to go.
She didn't want to end up being captured by the MSDC in another state, or even another country, especially not now as she knew what would be waiting for her. being treated as less than human, assessed, interrogated, thrown around like so much meat, locked into those small, low ceilinged rooms.
She shook her head as she realised that she was lost in thought, and erased the line that cut down the page from her falling hand irritably.
The fact that was taking form on the page was smiling, a girl of about her age, her best friend Tora.
She remembered what had happened, remembered killing that man, and the shock that had flooded her like ice-water in her veins.
But now that she'd had time to overcome her shock, she realised, with grim satisfaction, that she'd gladly kill another human, with no remorse.
She smiled, her mouth hard, and went back to trying to capture life in eyes that would never hold life again.
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Sorry about the long wait people. I had bad block for this chapter, and I still don't like it. AND I'm sick again. I have no immune system WHAT so EVER! The chapter was gonna be longer, but I decided to save some of those ideas for the next one and post this thing as soon as possible. I also think that the attention is being divided between the characters unfairly, and I'd be interested to know if you feel the same way.
But anyway, I need to know who you want pairing with.
The people who are available are..
Liz Lia Brian Tone Rae Jean
Yes, I know. Shut up, I know! Okay. so far, I've been thinking Tone and Rae, Liz and Jean and Lia and Brian, but that's just the way I feel that the characters have chemistry from what I'm writing.
You can disagree and give me your own pairings, because what I've got down is not set in stone. If you could also suggest pairings you think would be cute for the other characters, I'd be really grateful.
Thanks a lot, look out for chapter fifteen. wow! Fifteen? Okay. adios
Luv DCJ