Gecko lost yet another game of poker to Spat, but it didn't matter. They'd
played this game so many times that any ideas of keeping score were long
forgotten. Cards were one of the few things that they allowed in this
place. Today, Gecko's mind was on other things.
Spat sighed and dealt once again. He knew that it always upset her when a new case was brought in. She had strong feelings about morality and freedom. Every new mutant captured meant another lifetime of imprisonment. To him, it was life. Life wasn't fair. Never was, never would be. This new girl was the same as they all were when they first arrived, quiet, and scared, in shock. It would pass, and she would become one of them.
He didn't like seeing Gecko hurting though. She was his closest friend, they knew each other's history, knew what made them who they were. Sometimes it felt like they understood each other better than they understood themselves. She was somewhere deep in her own thoughts and feelings, and even though there was but half a metre between them, it could have been a mile for all the difference it made. He wanted to reach out to her, to say something to make it ok again, but he felt awkward in the presence of this newcomer, and could think of nothing that would make it better. He kept silent.
Grey sat alone and lost in his own thoughts as usual. He never spoke much, unless he was asked to. He liked Spat and Gecko and had, on occasion, made an effort to connect with them, but he was always happiest in his own world. He stole a glance across at the stranger. She sat hunched on the bed, knees drawn up to her chest and her bare feet just curling over the edge of the thin mattress. Her head tilted forward and her long, chestnut hair fell over her shoulders to cover most of her face.
He wandered what her talent was. He guessed it was an animal characteristic, there was something in the way she walked, the way she carried herself that was not entirely human. All their mutant titles were from Latin, a rough translation of what they could do. Flucto Volubilis was the name given to those who could levitate, the name given to him. At best, it was close to flying, at worst; it was rising perhaps a few inches from the ground.
Their powers were effectively subdued with drugs and physical restraints, but without actually sedating the inmates, remnants of their skills always remained. If Grey managed to concentrate fully, and enter a state not unlike deep meditation, the sensation of weightlessness returned to him and he could rise into the air for as long as he chose.
A shrill bell broke the dreary serenity of the cell. Gecko, Spat and then Grey all made their way to the door. Gecko and Spat began walking down the corridor to join the crowd of others. Grey paused and looked back. His eyes met Kate's and he knew he had once looked like she did now.
Back before an eternity of being shut up here in this prison. Back when everything had seemed so different.
At first when he discovered that he was a mutant, it was his escape. He could go into his own world where there was nothing but the sensation of flying. The taunts and kicks from the boys at school couldn't get to him anymore. When he came home every night, he could leave the scissors that beckoned him. The thin, cruel lines that zigzagged viciously across his arms and had once brought painful, fleeting relief from reality now faded into guilty memories.
He had been discovered, and had left a life of lies that he was not devastated to see the back of. He himself had stood in this very cell, with nothing familiar to hold onto, and no idea of how scared he should be.
Her eyes were pleading for help, some direction in this foreign place. He didn't like making conversation, exchanging useless pieces of information just to create a sense of security, but he couldn't leave her alone here. He cleared his throat.
"Lunch bell." He stated quietly. "You hungry?"
She relaxed and lowered her feet from the bed. She nodded and something close to a smile flickered on her face as she got up to follow him.
Kate felt a huge sense of relief that he was going to be with her. She followed him through several corridors and doors, all grey, uniform. They reached the lunch hall and lined up to get the food.
They were each handed a bowl that was then filled with a steaming, brown sludge. It was called 'soup', though they were never told what type of soup it was meant to be. Under normal circumstances, Kate would have been disgusted. But since her last meal had been perhaps 2 days ago, she was hungry enough to accept and the bowl was empty all too soon.
As Kate set the spoon down she was suddenly aware of her surroundings. They were in a low roofed, rectangular hall, with grubby wooden benches and tables set out in rows. Seated at these were perhaps 100, maybe a few more, teenagers. There was little conversation and certainly no laughter, just a low humming noise of a hall of unhappy people mumbling greetings and suchlike.
Kate scanned the room. She had never realised that there were so many mutants now. They made an odd party, so many differences that made them all alike. She spotted the faces of Gecko and Spat among the others, not speaking, but completely together at the same time. After a few minutes, another bell urged them back into their cell. The day was over.
Outside, Kate knew it must be getting dark, but the artificial light of the prison remained as harsh as always. She wondered when she would next see the sun set.
In the attic of a small flat in London a man sat at his desk in the evening gloom. A small desk light glared down onto a spread of official papers that were laid out before him. His scowl of concentration deepened adding more wrinkles to the ones already criss-crossing his wise face.
He reached over and took hold of some papers from one side of the desk, bringing them up closer to his face to see them. A glance around the desk area. He caught sight of the pen he was searching for and used it to make a small, neat note on the papers he had taken, his dark skin in stark contrast to the vivid white of the paper.
The paper was discarded carefully and another found. This work needed doing, but there was no hurry. He worked into the night as darkness fell all around the sleeping city.
Thanx to all my reviewers, hope you like the new characters. (
Spat sighed and dealt once again. He knew that it always upset her when a new case was brought in. She had strong feelings about morality and freedom. Every new mutant captured meant another lifetime of imprisonment. To him, it was life. Life wasn't fair. Never was, never would be. This new girl was the same as they all were when they first arrived, quiet, and scared, in shock. It would pass, and she would become one of them.
He didn't like seeing Gecko hurting though. She was his closest friend, they knew each other's history, knew what made them who they were. Sometimes it felt like they understood each other better than they understood themselves. She was somewhere deep in her own thoughts and feelings, and even though there was but half a metre between them, it could have been a mile for all the difference it made. He wanted to reach out to her, to say something to make it ok again, but he felt awkward in the presence of this newcomer, and could think of nothing that would make it better. He kept silent.
Grey sat alone and lost in his own thoughts as usual. He never spoke much, unless he was asked to. He liked Spat and Gecko and had, on occasion, made an effort to connect with them, but he was always happiest in his own world. He stole a glance across at the stranger. She sat hunched on the bed, knees drawn up to her chest and her bare feet just curling over the edge of the thin mattress. Her head tilted forward and her long, chestnut hair fell over her shoulders to cover most of her face.
He wandered what her talent was. He guessed it was an animal characteristic, there was something in the way she walked, the way she carried herself that was not entirely human. All their mutant titles were from Latin, a rough translation of what they could do. Flucto Volubilis was the name given to those who could levitate, the name given to him. At best, it was close to flying, at worst; it was rising perhaps a few inches from the ground.
Their powers were effectively subdued with drugs and physical restraints, but without actually sedating the inmates, remnants of their skills always remained. If Grey managed to concentrate fully, and enter a state not unlike deep meditation, the sensation of weightlessness returned to him and he could rise into the air for as long as he chose.
A shrill bell broke the dreary serenity of the cell. Gecko, Spat and then Grey all made their way to the door. Gecko and Spat began walking down the corridor to join the crowd of others. Grey paused and looked back. His eyes met Kate's and he knew he had once looked like she did now.
Back before an eternity of being shut up here in this prison. Back when everything had seemed so different.
At first when he discovered that he was a mutant, it was his escape. He could go into his own world where there was nothing but the sensation of flying. The taunts and kicks from the boys at school couldn't get to him anymore. When he came home every night, he could leave the scissors that beckoned him. The thin, cruel lines that zigzagged viciously across his arms and had once brought painful, fleeting relief from reality now faded into guilty memories.
He had been discovered, and had left a life of lies that he was not devastated to see the back of. He himself had stood in this very cell, with nothing familiar to hold onto, and no idea of how scared he should be.
Her eyes were pleading for help, some direction in this foreign place. He didn't like making conversation, exchanging useless pieces of information just to create a sense of security, but he couldn't leave her alone here. He cleared his throat.
"Lunch bell." He stated quietly. "You hungry?"
She relaxed and lowered her feet from the bed. She nodded and something close to a smile flickered on her face as she got up to follow him.
Kate felt a huge sense of relief that he was going to be with her. She followed him through several corridors and doors, all grey, uniform. They reached the lunch hall and lined up to get the food.
They were each handed a bowl that was then filled with a steaming, brown sludge. It was called 'soup', though they were never told what type of soup it was meant to be. Under normal circumstances, Kate would have been disgusted. But since her last meal had been perhaps 2 days ago, she was hungry enough to accept and the bowl was empty all too soon.
As Kate set the spoon down she was suddenly aware of her surroundings. They were in a low roofed, rectangular hall, with grubby wooden benches and tables set out in rows. Seated at these were perhaps 100, maybe a few more, teenagers. There was little conversation and certainly no laughter, just a low humming noise of a hall of unhappy people mumbling greetings and suchlike.
Kate scanned the room. She had never realised that there were so many mutants now. They made an odd party, so many differences that made them all alike. She spotted the faces of Gecko and Spat among the others, not speaking, but completely together at the same time. After a few minutes, another bell urged them back into their cell. The day was over.
Outside, Kate knew it must be getting dark, but the artificial light of the prison remained as harsh as always. She wondered when she would next see the sun set.
In the attic of a small flat in London a man sat at his desk in the evening gloom. A small desk light glared down onto a spread of official papers that were laid out before him. His scowl of concentration deepened adding more wrinkles to the ones already criss-crossing his wise face.
He reached over and took hold of some papers from one side of the desk, bringing them up closer to his face to see them. A glance around the desk area. He caught sight of the pen he was searching for and used it to make a small, neat note on the papers he had taken, his dark skin in stark contrast to the vivid white of the paper.
The paper was discarded carefully and another found. This work needed doing, but there was no hurry. He worked into the night as darkness fell all around the sleeping city.
Thanx to all my reviewers, hope you like the new characters. (
