Warning – This may be a bit graphic- so for those who are squeamish or young you may not want to read this. If you don't think it's graphic okay- if you do remember this is a story.
As always I don't own the WW system- and reviews are welcome !
Of Metis and Men – Ch 7
Janus paced in his office as he waited for her, he had summoned her almost ten minutes ago and he already paced a few miles. What he was about to do might get him killed but there was no way he was pushing his baby chick out of the nest with no safety net. He thought about all of the options he had and had come up only with this one. It might mean that he had to call in a lot of favors but it that were the case, so be it. He didn't like these other Glass walkers walking into his establishment and plucking out his children without his approval. He wanted to know who had turned Olivia over to the Directors of the lab and as soon as he had a minute he would find out and take care of them.
"You rang oh great one?" Olivia drawled as she entered the room.
Again he was amazed by the change that had come over her since she had been moved into the training facility. In addition to taking her sweet time to answer him, her posture and attitude spoke of someone who was finally becoming comfortable with themselves. Being away from the group seemed to be the best thing that could have happened to her. Janus always knew that she preferred to be alone but he was beginning to see that she enjoyed being around people, just not her peers. She was fully able to keep up with adult conversation, often interjecting ideas and comments that were well placed and thought. At the age of fifteen she was more mature than most he knew, Garou and human both. He ushered her in with a tap on her nose, glad to see that she was at least making an effort to be in Homid form as much as possible. The more she got used to it the easier these "special assignments" would be for her. He was also hoping that the more she stayed in that form, the more people would forget her true nature and see her as a normal girl. She sat in her usual chair, and lifted one eyebrow at him as he locked the door, turned on a scrambler machine and took the seat closest to her.
"What I am going to tell you and show you is serious and very secret. We will be using various places to learn and I am swearing you to absolute silence to everyone but me." He said lowly, jumping right to the point just in case the two week stay was a lie.
"Okay," Olivia said slowly, her curiosity piqued and then some. She had only ever known the rule abiding Janus so this was a new direction for them.
"You know you have been in training, but never been told for what. I am about to tell you what it is. In addition I will be introducing you to a new skill that has been expressly forbidden to teach to the occupants of this facility." Janus said and then stood up quickly "Let's go for a walk, this is only a temporary fix and we need much more time."
He shut off the scrambler, and pushed it back into the stereo consol he had taken it from. They walked out of the room, and as they rounded a corner, he mentioned in passing to a janitor that his room seemed to be giving off a lot of static and could the wiring be checked. Olivia made sure her mouth was secured firmly in place because she was seeing a side of Janus that she had not even expected of existing. He was being sneaky and seemingly underhanded. It was something new, but from the ease at which he performed spoke of much practice to her. They walked quickly and quietly through the halls and outside. It was an odd sensation for her but she tried to keep up without worrying about what they were doing. She reasoned that she couldn't get in trouble since she was with Janus. They moved into the grotto area and she sat as he motioned to a seat. He pulled out a small white noise machine and turned in on; the hum was low but present. Olivia stared at him, this was so unlike him. She knew he liked his privacy but this was getting crazy. An irrational fear gripped her; perhaps she did something that was going to get him punished.
"As you know, you are in a special facility for Metis children. What you do not know is that any Metis child that shows great potential is taken and specially trained to run "errands" as they are called." Janus said looking very uncomfortable "Most of these errands are dangerous, and sometimes, I fear that those in charge may not care if the child running this errand returns alive or not. You, as Metis, as seen as highly expendable. You know that we give a large stigma for anyone who is luckless enough to be born Metis and these Directors have taken it a step further by making you expendable as well. They pick Metis to go out and run errands that are particularly dangerous."
"But, what do they hope to accomplish if we all die?" Olivia asked in a small voice.
"You clear the way for the Garou based team to come in and be successful." Janus said harshly "You are bait essentially, and if you have the nerve to be successful, then you are rewarded by harder and harder assignments."
"Why do they hate us so much?" she whispered and silent tears coursed down her face.
Silence crashed down on them as guilt splayed across Janus' face as he softly wiped her tears with his handkerchief. Olivia had never felt so abused in her life. She always thought that the facility had been created so they had a safe haven, and here she was finding out it was in place because some stupid Garou felt guilty about violating the Litany and wanted that evidence out of sight so it could be out of mind as well. Olivia started to look at her childhood home in a very different and harsh light.
"There are plenty of things that you children are not being taught in this facility. But this particular skill is something that is part of your birthright but denied to you because there are those who feel that it isn't necessary for you to learn. I will be teaching you because I feel that it is going to be a much needed skill for you." He said, obviously trying to find the right words to say to her. "As Garou we are part of this world and part of the world of the spirits. As such, we can cross between the two and as Metis you can do so more easily than most. Perhaps you weren't told because the Directors feared that you would run off, as we have less constraint ability in the Umbra."
"Umbra?" she asked, waiting for it to click into place from one of the many books she had read. "Do you mean the spirit realm? I think you gave me a book about it recently."
"Yes." He said, looking like he was trying to put pieces into place himself, then he shook his head "Anyhow, this is what I will be teaching you, how to step sideways, for the next two weeks. After those two weeks they want to send you on an errand so if you get into a position where you obviously cannot win, you have a way to save yourself."
"Okay." She said softly. "And I understand that for no reason I would tell anyone that I have this skill. If I am caught I will act surprised or claim it be an innate inborn skill."
"Yes." Janus said looking at her in surprise "You are so much older that you look, and I hope that your experience here has not been a terrible one."
"It is all I have known, and until recently I thought it was pretty normal." Olivia said with a sigh, suddenly feeling very much older. "So let's start, if I only have two weeks I have a feeling we are going to need to work quickly."
Putting a smile on her face she stood before her mentor, no friend, she amended. Janus was making sure that she would live and that was a pretty strong indicator of friendship in her book. She stood before him and waited for the lesson to start. He took in a deep breathe and had her follow his lead. While their breathing slowed, he explained to her in a soft and singsong voice how to put herself into an almost self-hypnotic trance to be able to reach the other side. Gazing into nothing, she started to drift off and quickly startled herself out of the trance when she recognized she could almost easily see the ghostly shapes of the other side. It took a few more moments to reach her relaxed and mind free state again, but since she rather knew what to expect it was easier the second time. It was eerie to be able to see small shapes on the other side and she willed herself to be there and be with them. It was effortless and sliding on silk. Olivia looked around at her new surroundings with awe. Things looked rather like crudely drawn sketches, until she relaxed back into her natural form. She took in a deep breath and reveled being in her Crinos form, it had been too long since she had really been able to be natural and it was a great relief. Everything burst into active patterns of energy, mingling, mixing and repelling other energies in a soothing flow. She turned around- almost expecting to see a small portal where she could exit but found Janus instead. He smiled widely at her, watching her reactions to the new stimuli.
So this would be the umbra, take a minute and experience it because after this we are going to work hard. He said his voice an odd mix of human speech and growl talk.
It feels different. She said trying to find the words Almost like a relief, it is a comfortable place to be in.
Being Metis, you are used to be in your Crinos form, which has stronger spiritual ties in the real world, than homid form does. You are probably feeling more relaxed because it is less taxing for you to be here. This is the sanctuary Gaia made for her chosen and being here should be comfortable. Janus said as he shifted into Hispo and with a lupine smile darted off. Follow me! It's time to stretch your legs."
Olivia followed suite and shifted into Hispo and began to chase him. It was exhilarating for her, as this terrain was not the ground she was used to running. Small animals, rather animal spirits, moved quickly out of their way as they ran top speed and other spirits hung in the air seeming to be amused as they watched the chase. It was vibrant, fresh and cleaner than anything Olivia had ever encountered, but somewhere in the back of her mind she very much longed for her computer station and her nice tidy apartment. Janus took her running until they were both panting for breath. Grips of panic started to shake her, but a strong hand on her shoulder calmed her. Olivia couldn't figure out why she would panic, she had been in the woods before but this seemed different. She knew she could get lost and the wide openness of it made her long to run back to her room and lock the door. It was almost as it was too much nature, which she tried to shrug off but there definitely was something about being without her gadgets that made her nervous. Janus smiled at her reassuringly and led her through a series of breathing exercises, once she was calm they began to walk quietly back to their starting area without conversation. Olivia took in the scenery around her, amazed that they covered a vast area during their run and it had seemed to go by so quickly. When they got closer back she noticed a small shimmer off to her left and realized that it looked like where she lived.
What is that? She asked pointing at a large lump where a building should have been.
That is our home. He said knowing there would be much more discussion.
Why is it covered? She asked filing away the small indication that Janus lived in the same area that she did.
We are Glass Walkers, we live closer to the Weaver and she in turn claims us as hers by using spiders to be messengers, so anywhere we choose to congregate or live there tend to be a lot of spider webs. He said, with pride Think about your internet, it's called the World Wide Web, which is not coincidence. This is also the same reason some other Garou have problems with us, they think that we are tainted. Not evil mind you, but tainted because we have such a closer relationship with the Weaver. However those of us who really understand how things works do understand that most Garou like to stand on pomp and circumstance and would rather tout the old ways than adapt and come up with new ways that work just as well if not better. We use technology because our enemies have adapted and use technology, we protect cities because that is where the need is and most of all we continue to adapt to make sure that can do Gaia's work in all realms not just those most comfortable to us.
Olivia nodded, sure that more questions would pop up but for the time being they were shunted aside by all of the new stimuli and information coming in from learning about the Umbra. She slowly shifted back into Homid form and stretched her little girl legs out some. To her surprise she didn't feel nearly so weak in the Umbra in the useless form, and using her fingers to explore was an explosion of texture and sensation that she had not known in that form before. It almost gave her hope for the weak little form, not much but it was better. It suddenly occurred to her that she had no idea how to leave, which was an odd sensation because while she did not feel trapped she did feel like it was a constraint. Still she didn't panic; she merely turned to Janus and smiled.
You will show me how to leave, of course. She stated, as if it were all normal and she was okay.
Just as you came in, pet, just relax and think of home. He said.
She grinned at his term of endearment, it slipped out now and again but more often than not he didn't because of the implications around other children. She often wondered what made her so special in his eyes, but at the same time was very afraid to ask and find out. Olivia turned her attention back to Janus, who didn't seem in any particular hurry to leave the Umbra, so she shifted back to Crinos, reveling in being able to and sat down on the spongy ground. He sat across from her and looked at her for a while.
The Umbra does have its downsides too, for instance you can get lost out here. It has been almost impossible to get a static map and there are many different realms that are here that you can inadvertently cross into, so be careful while you are here. He said playing with a blade of grass that was glowing with a vibrant green energy. More importantly, not everything that is here is friendly. Just like in the real world, bad things do exist and with these new missions that you will be going on you will be forced to encounter them up close. Where ever bad things are, bad spirits follow drinking up the negative energy and they can hurt you. In fact most will take malicious delight in doing so and your hurts carry over from either world.
Olivia looked at him carefully, digesting this new world and everything attached to it. The Umbra was a place of unique beauty to her, possibly because it was the one area that she felt completely in synch, despite the fact that it made her feel unwound. Being in the open, in unending nature was definitely something she was not used to and it made her rather edgy. Even still she felt like she was finally comfortable in her Crinos skin, something that she wasn't aware of being uncomfortable in just until then. She pondered more about her life, the Umbra and the obvious lies told to her for a while until Janus stood and motioned for her to stand as well.
It's time to go back, I only bought us an hour and time is rapidly coming to an end. He said Don't worry if you didn't understand everything today, we will be practicing for the new two weeks, so get used to enjoying yourself.
Olivia sighed and followed him back into the real world, where she noticed an immediate heaviness about her, as if the gravity was just a bit lower than in the Umbra. She quickly shifted to homid form, as in her new environment being in Crinos form - even though she was not deformed was frowned upon. She pushed imaginary wrinkles out of her clothes, wondering if Janus would think her greedy to ask for more than one set of clothing to be dedicated for her use. He had already made sure that she had two sets of clothing, from the inside out, that she could easily use when she shifted, but he still seemed leery of teaching her how to do it herself. She grew frustrated, often, knowing that there was a larger wealth of knowledge that she should have access to, but because of her being Metis again it was denied to her. It seemed like nothing had been easy since this whole changing business and she wasn't sure if she liked it. It was bad enough always feeling like a second hand citizen but then to realize that the people who cared for you saw the same way was a bit disheartening to her. Olivia also realized just how much Janus did care for her. He seemed to be going very much out of his way to make sure that she was safe and had a way to care for herself. She realized that even living on her own had given her a new set of skills that she would not have gotten in the center with the other children.
Olivia walked quietly next to Janus, to others it might have looked like he had just gotten just chastising her, but anyone who knew her, also knew this was her thinking face. Before she left to start these missions she did want to see her old friends again. Justin, Brynne and Tim were the rest of her family beside Janus and aside from a three visits their contact had been severely curtailed, even email had been cut down. She might have been lonely but she kept herself so busy that she didn't think about it, much. Olivia had even taken to walking around the grounds. It was new and scary but because she could, she was outside as much as they allowed her to be. She guessed she was making up for 15 years of being inside, so she wandered around, putting scents and texture to plants that she had only ready about. She often took her bird book and tried to identify all the birds she saw, and was getting really good at sitting still enough that they came by, not close but enough for her to see them.
The next week and a half flew by for Olivia as Janus tried to cram everything he knew about the Umbra and umbra travel into her head. Thankfully she did have a photographic memory, so he let her review the texts that had been written about the subject, even though most of them contradicted each other it gave her one more source to consider. Olivia wished she dared to try it on her own, but considering the amount of surveillance that was around that facility, it would have been easier for her to break into the kitchen for a midnight snack. Not much got by the guards, and she had lived with it her entire life it honestly didn't faze her as a breech of privacy. It was just expected that she would be monitored through some camera. Janus didn't talk much more to her about anything but he certainly spent as much time as possible with her. He often met her on her walks outside and they debated about new technology. He showed up to her practices, and she could tell that he was more impressed than surprised by her ability with the rope dart. She had wanted to walk around with the rope at her side, but she was openly scoffed at by her teacher, saying that on their facility grounds there was no reason for her to brandish a weapon. Olivia tried to explain it was to show off her weapon, just more that she wanted to practice with it in a real space, to see if she could knock an apple off the tree without bruising it too badly but she was still denied. She read everything she could about the rope dart and it helped to augment what she was learning, and then of course there was her hours and hours of practicing.
With one day left before Olivia's departure for her first assignment, Janus seemed to have a need to be around her. He met her for breakfast, and even held a study session with her. He watched her practice for hours, and yet he said nothing about her leaving and the potential danger that she was going to be in on this mission. He did surprise her by giving her two more sets of dedicated clothes, a dedicated rope dart and most importantly her PDA and accoutrements were dedicated. Of course he said nothing about it, but they came to her wrapped even though she already owned them. Olivia was certain the people watching her must have had a chuckle thinking that he duped her by giving her "gifts" of her own belongings. She was trying to find a way to get a bit of breathing room, when he left her with a heavy sigh saying that there was a meeting that he had to go to. Blessing who ever made the meeting mandatory, she gave him a small smile and promised to meet him for dinner.
As soon as he left, she quickly gathered up her MP3 player, bird book and headed outside for some fresh air and blessed alone time. She sat down and looked up into the crystal blue sky, not looking at anything but reflecting inward to thinking. She wondered if life would ever get fair, and if her nation would understand that Metis were not some second hand citizens to be abused. She hoped that someday the fight would be won and when her people looked around they would see a nation of strength and unity. She sighed and pressed play on her MP3 player and let the soft Celtic music carry her into her musings about a life where little tidbits about her life did not crash down on her in a frenzy of hurt and confusion. She was enthralled with the soft song that played, putting it on repeat until it penetrated her so completely she could think around the haunting music. Even more exciting is that it was a Garou singing, there was a private company in New York that had a recording studio and was Garou run, Glass Walker no less! It gave her a few moments of hope that she might actually have a regular life at some point.
She was so engrossed in what she was doing that she did not notice the two boys until they were literally walking up on her. She looked up as a shadow crossed her. They looked at her and smiled. Only years of practice allowed her to hide the startled look on her face, they looked so very alike that it was hard for her, in useless bald little homid form at least, to tell them apart. She squinted up at them, and tried not to look mean or sour.
"Nice day." One said, looking at her in a way she couldn't quiet interpret.
"Yes," she said softly, knowing that they must be visiting Garou, it happened often around the Center, but these were younger than most. "Can I help you? Are you lost?"
"No, our father is in a meeting and we were left to amuse ourselves the way we saw fit." Number two said with a grin towards One that she had no idea of what it could possibly mean.
Olivia had immediately assigned them numbers, because they looked so much alike that the only difference she could tell, in the blasted homid form, was the color of shirts they wore. Number one was in a brilliant red and the number two in a deep green. She was fascinated by them, and felt a slight flutter in her stomach as she watched them smile at her. Boys were not new to her, but feeling funny around them was and especially with two who had looked so much alike. They stood watching her observe them with smiles that she answered tentatively. One sat next to her and looked at the book in her hand and took it from her.
"Are you really just watching the birds?" he asked softly
"Yes," she said finding something interesting on the ground to look at.
"So this is how you spend your breaks?" Two asked standing behind her.
"Well sometimes," she said "It's been really nice weather lately so I am just enjoying it."
"So what do you do here?" One asked, moving a bit closer.
"A lot on the computers really, just training and stuff, nothing really important." Olivia said.
"So what do you do for fun?"
Olivia shrugged; feeling a bit crowded and flushed at the same time. She wasn't sure why they were so interested in what she did. They smiled at her and tried to converse with her more, and her feelings almost drowned her, so she hopped up and got her water bottle. She stood away from them some distance watching them, their heads close as they murmured and she wished hard she could just shift her ears so she could hear them. Instead she just looked them over again, amazed that Two seemed to be wearing a silver cable around his neck, of course it was hardly thicker than the wire she used when making new headphones, but why wear silver? She had noticed that they had metal around their fingers, gemstones in their ears and one even had a red stone in the side of his nose. They smiled at her as the caught her staring at them, and walked towards her.
"So why don't we take a walk and see if there is something we can find to do for fun." One said casually putting his arm around her shoulders.
"You do like to have fun, don't you?" Two said, walking up and flanking her.
"I guess so." She said, looking again at the bizarre metal all over them, maybe it was some city fashion. "What do you want to do for fun?"
"Well we thought maybe some exploration was in order." Two said, guiding the group more deeply into the foliage. "You look like you enjoy exploring."
"I don't know if I can go back there, I might get in trouble." She protested, as they all put pulled her into shadows that suddenly seemed darker. Something felt wrong, like she was being closed in and she tried not to panic and just interact.
"Oh, come on! They don't own you!" One said with a chuckle "You do get free time don't you?"
"Well yes, but even still I have to check in."
"So you work in a classified area?" Two said looking more interested.
"I live here, we have to check in every few hours." She said confused as to why they would think she worked at the facility.
"You live here?" One asked slightly confused "Must be a super classified job. Don't you miss being on the outside?"
"I've never been on the outside, I was raise here." She said "This is my home."
"You were raised here?" One asked again, not getting it.
"You're Metis!" Two snapped out a few seconds later in an ugly voice as realization sunk in. "You led us on you little bitch."
Olivia shrank back in fear; the harsh voice was more sinister than anything she had heard before. She was confused, everyone around knew that Metis lived in the facility so why were these boys so confused. They had come over to her and talked, not the other way around. In fact she had been trying to leave but they wouldn't let her.
"I didn't lie, everyone here knows that this a Metis facility." She said, trying to pull away from the grip one of them had on her arm. Panic was starting to blind her.
"Show us your deformity!" One snapped "It's against the rules to hide your deformity! Show us what you really are!"
"She was leading us on!" Two over lapped the first "She needs to be taught a lessons about lying to Garou."
"This is what I am…" Olivia faltered, terror coursing through her.
Two snatched up before she could say anything, while One easily ripped through the flimsy barrier that her clothing made. She tried to shriek as her clothes were shredded off her and got backhanded for her efforts. She was roughly fondled, pinched and poked. When she protested she was hit again, she felt blood course down her brow and felt her face start to swell.
"Shut up! You cannot possibly think that we would let a little Metis freak get away with trying to seduce us!" Two snapped shaking her.
"Especially one of the expendable ones!" One said as he watched Two hit her again.
Apparently it seemed to be a good idea because Two stopped hitting her, gripped her tighter and let One pummel her.
"You shouldn't be pretty anyway, you Metis whore." He snapped "It's bad enough that you are alive, but trying to hide your flaws and copy us! You will be punished for that!"
She was pushed into One's arms suddenly, and then the most excruciating pain screamed a course through her body as she felt a push and then ripping as Two violated her from behind. Her stomach lurched and her eyes widened in panic, she knew what rape was, because she had read about it but the reality was much worse than she could have fathomed. She tried to scream and was punched in the mouth; her head was yanked back by the hair with each vicious thrust. She stared into One's eyes as he laughed and high-fived Two, after which he began to fondle her, saying things that were not registering in her mind. Two was unnecessarily rough as ground into her and encouraged his friend to try a double. She didn't know what that was until One began to violate her from the front as well in deep ripping strokes, she thought she might pass out but instead the shock and panic drove her into a frenzy and she began to writhe and fight back, locked into the most hated form she had. In homid form she could not howl for help and had no sort of weapon on her person so she was utterly defenseless. She twisted, kicked out and tried to yell but it seemed to be no use. She flailed about as her mind spiraled in and out of pain and terror hoping that somehow Janus would come and save her that was about the last coherent thing she remembered.
As she fought with every ounce of strength she had, her wilding groping hands caught onto something that burned her, she bucked, twisting her hand around and around, trying to make the burning leave. She shook fast and furious to rid her hand of what was on it. Gasping blew fetid breath through her nostrils and she redoubled her efforts to escape from the torture that ripped and tore through her body in wracking waves. Her hand shook and trembled but she still she pulled tightly, yanking and tugging until it finally was slack, and then burning slipped away from her hand. She looked down at her hand and was shocked to see blood running in rivulets down her arm, it was thick, oddly sluggish and she realized that her eyes had begun to swell from blood over her body. Every inch of skin she could see was welted, burned and deeply cut. Her brain had not registered much more, before she was thrown to the ground jarringly.
"You Bitch!" Two roared, "What have you done?"
She had enough time to look at One's prone body on the ground before Two descended upon her in a furious rage, shifting mid step, and snatched her up. He brutalized her with punches, claws and teeth until a sharp blow to the head allowed her to slip into the blessed dark of unconsciousness.