She sighs.
'These are Technos, you would think they would've threatened me at least twice by now'
Leigha was going crazy. Even hostile communication would have been welcomed at the moment. Any communication would be good, truth be told.
She studies the room again. Four creamy white walls, a cranberry colored door, one small window, covered by blinds, and a smooth cranberry colored carpet completed it. Leigha shrugs.
'Stylish'
She is facing the window when the door opens. She half expects Jay, or maybe, even Pride, to waltz in and get her out of there.
'A fool's hope'.
Instead, she hears the door open and then footsteps coming in. She turns.
Java sighs and stands there, a masked Techno on either side of her. Leigha raises an eyebrow, intrigued on why she needed three escorts to wherever they were taking her.
'Am I that dangerous that I need three escorts? Or is Ram especially paranoid these days?'
She smiles. Java is getting impatient; she hates dealing with people who aren't under mind control or are conscious. Java smiles, 'Well, that could change'
Java motions with her hand for Leigha to follow them. Escaping then would be an impossibility. She follows Java down the hallway; two of the masked Technos fall into step on either side of her.
She looks at them and wonders if they were ever called by a specific name, their name, instead of whatever Ram and the other semi- supremes called them.
They all pass a room, the door is open and Leigha can see Technos quickly typing on keyboards and watching monitor screens.
Java stops abruptly and turns to a closed door. The rest of them stop. Java knocks on the door and, without waiting for a response, opens it. She steps in and the others follow her into the room.
The room is dark and scarcely lit compared to the bright hallway. Leigha squints her eyes, trying to adjust to the darkness. Java goes and stands next to a man in a chair. Ram. Leigha has seen his before somewhere.
Just as her eyes are beginning to adjust, the two Technos push her toward a chair opposite of Ram. She moves over to it and they press her into it. Leigha frowns at them as she tries to get comfortable in the chair.
She looks over at Ram just as a headset is being placed on her head. He grins wickedly. She rolls her eyes. Leigha holds her head still as the is being set in place. Thrashing about and trying to refuse the action would only make it worse.
She hears the headset being placed on Ram and he says, "Ready?" in a taunting tone. She takes a breath and realizes she doesn't know what she's supposed to be getting ready for. Then it hit her. Reality Space.
Leigha had heard people talk about it. Opinions and ideas about it were mass and confusing. She really didn't know what she was getting into. She hears the whirring of a machine booting up and a keyboard clicking.
There is silence as a bright light flashes and there is a high pitch tone that is almost deafening in Leigha's ears. She gasps and winces, closing her eyes tightly. The tone stops as well as the machine's droning. She's in.
She looks around. She's on a beach. She looks in front of her. She smiles, she may perhaps actually be alone. She hears footsteps behind her and Leigha knows that a good thing will always end.
It's Ram. He smiles and steps toward her, until he is standing beside her. Leigha runs a hand through her long, dark, tousled hair and steps forward, walking along the surf.
Ram speaks. "Don't try to run, Reality Space never ends". She rolls her eyes and clears her throat.
"I wasn't planning on it anyways"
Ram cocks his head and nods.
"I know you didn't really sneak into Jay's room, that would be utterly impossible-"
She stops and frowns. "And why is that?"
He stops as well and turns to her. He smiles.
"Would I allow it?"
Leigha sighs and takes a step forward, continuing to walk.
"I don't think you intended to allow me into the Testing Lab, but I did, didn't I?"
He smiles and nods. His eyes light up. "That reminds me, how did you find this place and basically know where everything was?"
Leigha sighs lightly and says, "I was stuck there before"
"And how did you get out?"
She hadn't expected this. "I don't know," she says uneasily.
He knew she was lying but he didn't push the subject. He knew that there was something between her and Jay. That reminded him, he didn't know her name yet.
"What's your name, anyways?"
Leigha sighs. She would have to tell him eventually, or he would find out anyways, why just not tell him?
"Leigha"
He nods. Ram didn't really care, but at least he was showing some sort of interest. He had a plan already anyways. 1) Manipulate Jay's character so that he looks bad, 2) Bring up his old ex's (if he and Leigha had anything, she might get jealous), and finally 3) Get her to be angry with Jay and betray him, telling Ram everything about Jay, from him getting her out in the first place to trying to keep her safe from being caught again. The second part had been useless.
Ram had known about Jay's part in the story from the beginning, just by the way he looked at her. If anyone felt sorry for Verts and would risk setting them free, it had to be Jay.
"So, how do you know my faithful general?"
She swallows hard. She has to be careful about what she says to Ram.
"We were friends before the Virus"
Ram smiles. "Ah, yes, the Virus did destroy wonderful things..."
Leigha rolls her eyes again. Apparently Ram didn't know about Jay's past. The Virus hadn't destroyed their friendship, her being caught by the Technos and his parents believing she was a bad influence did.
Ram can see her thinking. She smiles abruptly. She is thinking about her "bad influence" on Jay, but Ram thinks she is remembering 'wonderful' memories with Jay. 'Perfect time to introduce his whores,' Ram thinks.
"Don't think he cared about you when you where here or even know that he knows about you"
In the back of her mind, Leigha smiles. Ram is trying to change her loyalties, but it isn't working. She's going to play along anyways. 'Hell, this could be fun!'
"While you were here, under his very supervision, he had many a wild night, weeks, and even months," he hints.
"What- who do you mean?"
Ram smiles slowly. Then he extends his hand in front of him, holding out a finger at a time, counting. "Well," he says slowly, "There was the thing with Ebony, then a crush on Amber, then Ebony again, then Java had a thing for him but I don't know what happened to that, then there was Ebony again, and I don't know who he's with these days"
"I don't care who he's been with, I'm his friend, not his lover," she spits out at him. That caught him off guard. He was almost sure they had had something. 'Maybe she is just...modest?'
Ram sighs. He's just going to skip to the point, there's no use in trying to get her persuaded to his side when he knows it won't work.
"I know you didn't sneak into Jay's room, you two looked too comfortable..."
Leigha doesn't say anything. Ram sighs, he's getting impatient. A gull overhead screams as a wave crashes onto the sand. Leigha is getting tired of walking on the sand.
"Why don't you just tell me everything? Nothing can change my mind about Jay-"
"You're right, you speak so awful about him"
Ram ignores her interruption and continues. "Whatever you say or don't say, you can't protect him like I know you're trying to do. He doesn't care about you the way you want him to..."
"The way I want him to?" she almost laughs, "I don't need anyone to care about me, least of all, I don't need someone like you to tell me who cares or doesn't care about me"
"Tell me why is so dear to you," he says angrily, "Feelings change, Leigha"
She stops and lets out an angry breath. "Yes, but when you are being tested on for two years and even when you aren't, some feelings never change"
He opens his mouth to say something but she doesn't let him. She interrupts him, "And you don't understand that, Ram, and that's why you don't understand me"
Ram looks down for a second, then smiles; he has the perfect comeback. "I suppose Jay doesn't understand you, either. He seemed pretty confused and uncomfortable when he saw that you were back..."
"Yes, that's because usually when some people are set free, they run away and never come back. But, you see, I am not 'some people' and I have morals and things to do. I had to come back"
"And why is that?"
"To kick your ass," she lies.
She turns and slaps him quickly across his face. Ram grabs her wrist quickly.
"You should not have don't that," he says slowly and carefully, threatening.
"Why? Because I should fear you? Well, I don't-"
"I wonder how Jay would react if you went," he rubs the inside of her wrist with his thumb, "missing..."
'He's just trying to scare me'. She rips her wrist away from his grasp and stares him angrily in the eyes.
"Tell me, who is going to save you when Jay is gone?" he asks, taunting.
"Do you think that is worrying me?-"
"What is worrying you?"
He cut her off but Leigha wasn't finished.
"If I had worried about who was going to save me, I wouldn't have come here and let myself be caught"
Ram laughs. "You let yourself be caught? Oh please!"
"I got out once, don't think I won't do it again"
"You got out only because Jay let you out!" Ram yells.
She leans close to him and places on hand on his shoulder. She tilts her head towards his ear and whispers into it, "Yes, but weren't you the one who didn't even notice?"
Ram stares at her coldly as she moves back to where she was. "It won't happen again," he reassures her.
'These are Technos, you would think they would've threatened me at least twice by now'
Leigha was going crazy. Even hostile communication would have been welcomed at the moment. Any communication would be good, truth be told.
She studies the room again. Four creamy white walls, a cranberry colored door, one small window, covered by blinds, and a smooth cranberry colored carpet completed it. Leigha shrugs.
'Stylish'
She is facing the window when the door opens. She half expects Jay, or maybe, even Pride, to waltz in and get her out of there.
'A fool's hope'.
Instead, she hears the door open and then footsteps coming in. She turns.
Java sighs and stands there, a masked Techno on either side of her. Leigha raises an eyebrow, intrigued on why she needed three escorts to wherever they were taking her.
'Am I that dangerous that I need three escorts? Or is Ram especially paranoid these days?'
She smiles. Java is getting impatient; she hates dealing with people who aren't under mind control or are conscious. Java smiles, 'Well, that could change'
Java motions with her hand for Leigha to follow them. Escaping then would be an impossibility. She follows Java down the hallway; two of the masked Technos fall into step on either side of her.
She looks at them and wonders if they were ever called by a specific name, their name, instead of whatever Ram and the other semi- supremes called them.
They all pass a room, the door is open and Leigha can see Technos quickly typing on keyboards and watching monitor screens.
Java stops abruptly and turns to a closed door. The rest of them stop. Java knocks on the door and, without waiting for a response, opens it. She steps in and the others follow her into the room.
The room is dark and scarcely lit compared to the bright hallway. Leigha squints her eyes, trying to adjust to the darkness. Java goes and stands next to a man in a chair. Ram. Leigha has seen his before somewhere.
Just as her eyes are beginning to adjust, the two Technos push her toward a chair opposite of Ram. She moves over to it and they press her into it. Leigha frowns at them as she tries to get comfortable in the chair.
She looks over at Ram just as a headset is being placed on her head. He grins wickedly. She rolls her eyes. Leigha holds her head still as the is being set in place. Thrashing about and trying to refuse the action would only make it worse.
She hears the headset being placed on Ram and he says, "Ready?" in a taunting tone. She takes a breath and realizes she doesn't know what she's supposed to be getting ready for. Then it hit her. Reality Space.
Leigha had heard people talk about it. Opinions and ideas about it were mass and confusing. She really didn't know what she was getting into. She hears the whirring of a machine booting up and a keyboard clicking.
There is silence as a bright light flashes and there is a high pitch tone that is almost deafening in Leigha's ears. She gasps and winces, closing her eyes tightly. The tone stops as well as the machine's droning. She's in.
She looks around. She's on a beach. She looks in front of her. She smiles, she may perhaps actually be alone. She hears footsteps behind her and Leigha knows that a good thing will always end.
It's Ram. He smiles and steps toward her, until he is standing beside her. Leigha runs a hand through her long, dark, tousled hair and steps forward, walking along the surf.
Ram speaks. "Don't try to run, Reality Space never ends". She rolls her eyes and clears her throat.
"I wasn't planning on it anyways"
Ram cocks his head and nods.
"I know you didn't really sneak into Jay's room, that would be utterly impossible-"
She stops and frowns. "And why is that?"
He stops as well and turns to her. He smiles.
"Would I allow it?"
Leigha sighs and takes a step forward, continuing to walk.
"I don't think you intended to allow me into the Testing Lab, but I did, didn't I?"
He smiles and nods. His eyes light up. "That reminds me, how did you find this place and basically know where everything was?"
Leigha sighs lightly and says, "I was stuck there before"
"And how did you get out?"
She hadn't expected this. "I don't know," she says uneasily.
He knew she was lying but he didn't push the subject. He knew that there was something between her and Jay. That reminded him, he didn't know her name yet.
"What's your name, anyways?"
Leigha sighs. She would have to tell him eventually, or he would find out anyways, why just not tell him?
"Leigha"
He nods. Ram didn't really care, but at least he was showing some sort of interest. He had a plan already anyways. 1) Manipulate Jay's character so that he looks bad, 2) Bring up his old ex's (if he and Leigha had anything, she might get jealous), and finally 3) Get her to be angry with Jay and betray him, telling Ram everything about Jay, from him getting her out in the first place to trying to keep her safe from being caught again. The second part had been useless.
Ram had known about Jay's part in the story from the beginning, just by the way he looked at her. If anyone felt sorry for Verts and would risk setting them free, it had to be Jay.
"So, how do you know my faithful general?"
She swallows hard. She has to be careful about what she says to Ram.
"We were friends before the Virus"
Ram smiles. "Ah, yes, the Virus did destroy wonderful things..."
Leigha rolls her eyes again. Apparently Ram didn't know about Jay's past. The Virus hadn't destroyed their friendship, her being caught by the Technos and his parents believing she was a bad influence did.
Ram can see her thinking. She smiles abruptly. She is thinking about her "bad influence" on Jay, but Ram thinks she is remembering 'wonderful' memories with Jay. 'Perfect time to introduce his whores,' Ram thinks.
"Don't think he cared about you when you where here or even know that he knows about you"
In the back of her mind, Leigha smiles. Ram is trying to change her loyalties, but it isn't working. She's going to play along anyways. 'Hell, this could be fun!'
"While you were here, under his very supervision, he had many a wild night, weeks, and even months," he hints.
"What- who do you mean?"
Ram smiles slowly. Then he extends his hand in front of him, holding out a finger at a time, counting. "Well," he says slowly, "There was the thing with Ebony, then a crush on Amber, then Ebony again, then Java had a thing for him but I don't know what happened to that, then there was Ebony again, and I don't know who he's with these days"
"I don't care who he's been with, I'm his friend, not his lover," she spits out at him. That caught him off guard. He was almost sure they had had something. 'Maybe she is just...modest?'
Ram sighs. He's just going to skip to the point, there's no use in trying to get her persuaded to his side when he knows it won't work.
"I know you didn't sneak into Jay's room, you two looked too comfortable..."
Leigha doesn't say anything. Ram sighs, he's getting impatient. A gull overhead screams as a wave crashes onto the sand. Leigha is getting tired of walking on the sand.
"Why don't you just tell me everything? Nothing can change my mind about Jay-"
"You're right, you speak so awful about him"
Ram ignores her interruption and continues. "Whatever you say or don't say, you can't protect him like I know you're trying to do. He doesn't care about you the way you want him to..."
"The way I want him to?" she almost laughs, "I don't need anyone to care about me, least of all, I don't need someone like you to tell me who cares or doesn't care about me"
"Tell me why is so dear to you," he says angrily, "Feelings change, Leigha"
She stops and lets out an angry breath. "Yes, but when you are being tested on for two years and even when you aren't, some feelings never change"
He opens his mouth to say something but she doesn't let him. She interrupts him, "And you don't understand that, Ram, and that's why you don't understand me"
Ram looks down for a second, then smiles; he has the perfect comeback. "I suppose Jay doesn't understand you, either. He seemed pretty confused and uncomfortable when he saw that you were back..."
"Yes, that's because usually when some people are set free, they run away and never come back. But, you see, I am not 'some people' and I have morals and things to do. I had to come back"
"And why is that?"
"To kick your ass," she lies.
She turns and slaps him quickly across his face. Ram grabs her wrist quickly.
"You should not have don't that," he says slowly and carefully, threatening.
"Why? Because I should fear you? Well, I don't-"
"I wonder how Jay would react if you went," he rubs the inside of her wrist with his thumb, "missing..."
'He's just trying to scare me'. She rips her wrist away from his grasp and stares him angrily in the eyes.
"Tell me, who is going to save you when Jay is gone?" he asks, taunting.
"Do you think that is worrying me?-"
"What is worrying you?"
He cut her off but Leigha wasn't finished.
"If I had worried about who was going to save me, I wouldn't have come here and let myself be caught"
Ram laughs. "You let yourself be caught? Oh please!"
"I got out once, don't think I won't do it again"
"You got out only because Jay let you out!" Ram yells.
She leans close to him and places on hand on his shoulder. She tilts her head towards his ear and whispers into it, "Yes, but weren't you the one who didn't even notice?"
Ram stares at her coldly as she moves back to where she was. "It won't happen again," he reassures her.
