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Post by Cedar on Oct 23, 2012 0:24:55 GMT -4
"Silas. Atom." Oryn set his phone down on a small table and stood, moving swiftly towards the two in question. "Stop arguing. Are you daft? Fighting amongst ourselves is going to end this rebellion before it even starts, whether you like it or not. We'll be doing Shirune's job for him. Is that what you want?" He didn't wait for a response. "I didn't think so. So please, calm down and discuss things like civil, polite people." He sent a meaningful glance in Silas's direction before relaxing and changing the subject abruptly. "Where were we?"
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Post by Jane on Oct 23, 2012 0:55:50 GMT -4
Atom re-entered the apartment, and curled up in a ball in a corner. She wasn't going to try helping these guys any more, at least for the moment. Instead, she concentrated on breathing.
In. Out. In. Out.
Rational Atom was in charge of the body, not Angry Atom. She'd be ok. She wasn't going to start punching anyone, that was for sure. Even though Silas seriously deserved it. She just had to be patient, stay calm, think about this later, when everyone was gone.
In. Out. In. Out
Atom opened her eyes. The red tinge was all but gone from her vision now. The two men were talking to Silas and Oryn, not that she was really interested in them any more. Her vision fixed instead on a phone lying on the table near her. That would be either Oryn's or Silas's. She looked around at the others briefly, before snatching it up. Whatever game they were playing might have left clues in this phone. She just had to find them
"Uh, I'm not sure that joining forces is such a great idea," one of the men said. He looked a bit shocked by the argument between Atom and Silas. Certainly he was quickly getting the idea that a quick getaway might be smart. "It seems that you can get better information than us, and we haven't really got anything to give to you. So yeah, maybe joining forces might not be the best idea..."
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Post by Cuppy/Wonders on Oct 23, 2012 3:01:43 GMT -4
Polite? Why the hell should I be polite for- He sighed. Fine. I can be polite.
"Just because what you've done so far isn't worth doing doesn't mean that you can't do better," he said slowly, keeping his tone calm. He'd show them that he wasn't just some pathetic, angry inferior non-human. He leaned on the wall, crossing his arms, a fair distance from them. Hood up, eyes hidden. Non-threatening, even though he hated doing it. "Instead of looking through documents, why not look for people? Their accounts won't be changed, and if they are I'm sure you can tell if they've been brainwashed or whatever. That way, you can bring up memories and get them to question Shirune themselves." He didn't know where the thought had came from, but he was pleased with himself for coming up with it. "And if you do join us we can guarantee your safety, more or less. We can make the records think you're dead." It would take a while and would be a pain in the neck, especially considering Silas's supervision, but it could be done. "We could pay for your petrol, or electricity, or whatever you use to power your car so that it's easier." Oryn doesn't spend his money on anything, he won't miss it. "So, what do you say? Still want to leave?"
"This isn't going anywhere," one scientist snapped, throwing the third broken syringe into the bin. "We still need to measure the differences between their strength and speed." He turned his attention to Clark and Cole. "Come with us, please. We'll resume the attempts to take your blood later, but for now we would like to do a few more simple experiments." The guards that were standing by the door moved to either side of Clark and Cole, not touching them but guiding them out of the room and down the corridors until they arrived in a room equipped with some treadmills and weight machines. Calm smiles on their faces, they gestured to the machines and the breath and heartrate monitors sitting neatly beside them. "We just want to measure the difference in your strength and speed. All we ask is that you do as much as you can. We'll measure your heartrates and breathing simultaneously, and judge just how drastic the differences are. If we feel you're pushing yourself too hard, we will stop the treadmill or remove the weights. If you need to stop, just hold up your hand or say so."
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Post by Jane on Oct 24, 2012 4:51:43 GMT -4
The two men looked at each other, then stepped away to whisper. Atom ignored all the proceedings. She opened the inbox in Oryn's phone and opened the first message. It was from a person called Taru.
(Insert message)
She flipped through some of the other messages, hiding the phone in her lap so Oryn couldn't see what she was doing. The messages were confusing her. They certainly didn't seem much like messages that should be sent to an assassin. If she didn't know that this was Oryn phone then she'd have thought it might have belonged to someone who was pretty ok.
She then went to the send items. The messages here were even more confusing.
(Insert message)
They seemed to belong to someone much nicer than an assassin. She didn't know what to think now. An assassin couldn't possibly have sent such affectionate messages. But this was Oryn's phone, and Oryn's messages. She really didn't know what to think about him now.
The men finally turned back to Silas. "If you really think that we could be of help to you, then we'd be very pleased to take you up on your offer. It certainly seems to benefit us greatly, and I hope we can help you in some measure too."
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Post by Cuppy/Wonders on Oct 24, 2012 5:09:08 GMT -4
"We expect information on a weekly basis, sooner if you find anything more urgent," Silas said. "Atom will give you our phone numbers." Silas paused, remembering his unfair supervision, and grimaced. "On second thought, she'll just give you Oryn's." He offered his hand for them to shake, and one of them did. As they shook hands, Silas flexed his fingers, making sure that they felt the full extent of his power just in that simple movement. So they knew that if he so wished he could crush their hand beyond repair in a heartbeat. He smiled pleasantly, and as they looked up he knew that they could see his red eyes shining beneath the hood. "We look forward to hearing from you, and we do hope that you don't disappoint us." He released their hand and turned back to Atom and Oryn. "Atom, give them his number so we can leave." After a moment, remembering her little hissy fit and Oryn's words, he tacked on a sickly sweet 'please'.
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Post by Jane on Oct 24, 2012 5:37:24 GMT -4
Atom got to her feet, sliding the phone surreptitiously back onto the table. "What, are you so lazy that you can't give the number to them yourself?" She helped the men save Oryn's number to their phones. Then the men nodded to Atom, Silas and Oryn before leaving the apartment .
"Finished? Because I'm sick and tired of having you in my apartment shorty. I don't particularly like being ordered around by a person half my size." Atom turned away from Silas and sat on the edge of her bed. This had not been the best of days, and she hooed Oryn and Silas woukd go away so she could rest.
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Post by Cuppy/Wonders on Oct 24, 2012 6:16:53 GMT -4
Silas stared at her, taken aback by the hostility. Was she still annoyed with him for mentioning the maze? Pathetic. "Excuse me? Shorty? Half your size?" He didn't move, knowing that getting in her face would be ineffective. Instead he just crossed his arms and regarded her, hiding his anger and pretending that she wasn't getting on his nerves. "There's nothing wrong with my height. If anything, it distracts people like you before I kill them. Small and unarmed, no threat... then my eyes are the last thing they see. So call me short all you want, lab rat. Doesn't change the fact that I can do anything and everything that those others in the maze could. And I'm proud of it. I don't waste time complaining about how terrible life is because I'm powerful. If you actually control your strength and stop complaining about the pitiful little experiment then there wouldn't be a problem."
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Post by Jane on Oct 24, 2012 6:31:04 GMT -4
"Whatever Shorty." Atom didn't even bother looking at him. She was seriously sick of this little guy right now. Give her half a chance and she'd try jumping ship again. "You don't understand what it's like Silas, and I doubt that someone so heartless and violent as you ever will understand. Unless you've been in the maze, unless you've experienced it, you won't understand. Go away now, before I start to regret staying and being involved with you. I'm tired, and you're stopping me from sleeping."
She hoicked her feet up onto the bed. "Goodbye Shorty, and don't let the door hit your backside on the way out. Enjoy intimidating some poor defenseless human."
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Post by Cuppy/Wonders on Oct 24, 2012 6:39:25 GMT -4
Silas rolled his eyes. He was about to speak up and tell her how exactly how much he knew about what happened in the maze, but he knew better. He would save that for when he needed to get rid of her - he didn't need more injuries to explain to Shirune. "Whatever you say, lab rat." He walked towards the door, and called over his shoulder before leaving. "You might want to fix your door sometime soon, by the way, so that big bad assassins can't get in again. We'll be in touch." He left the apartment, going back to the car and climbing into the passenger seat. He turned on the radio, listening to the idiot DJs while he waited for Oryn to catch up.
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Post by Squid (Carys) on Oct 24, 2012 15:29:13 GMT -4
Clark and Cole stayed close as they were led to another room. After one scientist finished explaining what they were there for, another came forward and told them first they would measure their maximum speed. They were motioned towards the treadmills and then the monitors were hooked up and the treadmills turned on. The scientists increased the speeds one level at a time until eventually Clark couldn't keep up and had to step off. Cole was still running, barely even seeming strained yet. Clark was still connected to the heart rate monitor, and it showed as his heart rate slowed down, moving back towards his normal rate. And then the numbers started acting a bit more peculiar. Cole's heart rate, even though it had already reached its maximum, and even though he was still running, started dropping. Clark's started rising again. Before it could be made sense of however, Cole stepped off the treadmill, declaring that he could go no faster. His speed was precisely double Clark's.
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Post by Cedar on Oct 25, 2012 0:35:56 GMT -4
Oryn walked back across the room to the table, picking up his phone and turning it over slowly in his hands as he debated whether or not he should speak. "Atom... I'm sure you are aware of how Shirune is censoring things, and hiding from the people what the government is actually doing... Do you think you would be able to start spreading the truth? Finding people, telling them about what is actually happening, turning them against the emperor...?"
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Post by Jane on Oct 25, 2012 5:31:37 GMT -4
"Why would people believe me Oryn? I have no proof. I have no people skills. I could try, but I reckon people would just think I'm a crazy girl who needs to be locked away. If you want me to try then fine, I'll try, but I don't think this will end well. I'm not a help to the cause Oryn, you know that. I can,t even make a negotiation with Silas and another group go well. Sometimes I think I should have just stayed in the maze. At least I knew that my skills were useful there." Atom kept her head down. Things would be so much easier if she'd never escaped from the maze. At the back of her mind she knew she was being silly, but still, right now she seemed to be a girl with no purpose.
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Post by Cedar on Oct 27, 2012 0:13:20 GMT -4
"Making a negotiation between anyone and Silas go well is nearly impossible," Oryn pointed out. "Perhaps it would be best to seek out people who already doubt the Emperor. There have to be some out there... they'll believe you. And the older generation, those that have been around since before Shirune... There are people who will believe you when you tell them the truth. Do what you can." He hesitated before adding, "But be careful."
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Post by Jane on Oct 27, 2012 5:00:01 GMT -4
"I'll try," Atom said, trying to shake off the weird mood that always came after an episode, or near episode. "I mean, I'm outta here if things get sticky, I'm giving you fair warning. But I'll do my best. And that's all I can really promise."
She didn't really know why she agreed to this. It would have been just as easy to tell Oryn to scoot and to run away again. Maybe it was because she was trying hard to stay positive, or maybe it was because, deep down inside, she actually believed that it could do some good, but she found herself vowing to try her hardest to bring down Shirune's rule. Whether she did it working with Silas or not remained to be seen.
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Post by Cedar on Oct 27, 2012 11:19:14 GMT -4
"That's all I'm asking you to promise," Oryn replied. He glanced at his watch. "I have to go now. We'll keep in touch." He left the apartment and hurried out to the car, sliding into the driver's seat and turning on the car. "She'll help us, no thanks to you. We should get back to headquarters now, unless there's anywhere else you need to stop beforehand." He really hoped there wasn't, because quite frankly, he was exhausted.
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Post by Cuppy/Wonders on Oct 27, 2012 11:55:03 GMT -4
Silas rolled his eyes. "I was the only one being of any use in there and you know it. If it wasn't for me we wouldn't have anyone doing research for us, and we'd still be waiting for her to get a grip and for you to actually speak up." He paused, staring resolutely at the windscreen. "I don't like her," he said moodily. "I don't even have a grudging respect for her. She's just suitably enhanced and bitter enough to be of some use. The sooner we find someone to replace her, the better." He muttered his next words, speaking to himself more than Oryn. "I'm not small, I'm not his pet..." He cursed her under his breath and sank further into the seat, glaring at the world like a petulant child. "Just go back to headquarters. The sooner we get rid of him, the sooner I get away from your kind." Not that my own kind is much better...
"Interesting," one of the scientists mused, jotting down a note that Cole's speed was precisely double. "Once you two have suitably recovered, we'll move on to the weights." The abnormalities between the two were growing more and more fascinating with every experiment. He wondered if the invisible one's mental capacity was doubled, his IQ, his organs, his bone strength, his pain threshold... He was sure that Shirune would want to know these things just as much as he did. It was for science, after all.
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Post by Cedar on Oct 28, 2012 17:18:23 GMT -4
"You still have to work with her," Oryn muttered, accelerating slightly. He didn't normally push the speed limit like this, but he wanted to get back home. His phone buzzed, and he glanced down at the text from Shirune. Where are you? Trying to watch the road, Oryn replied. North. On the freeway. I want you to pick up some things from the warehouse at the north military base. Shirune sent him the list, and several minutes later Oryn pulled off the road into the parking lot behind the warehouse. He didn't see any soldiers around, but that didn't mean they weren't being observed. "We have to get these things," he showed Silas the list, "for the Emperor. Come on." Several minutes of rummaging through supplies, and they had found the requested items. As they were carrying them back out to the car, a gunshot sounded. "Put your hands up!" someone ordered. Oryn glanced around, seeing a group of men pointing guns at them. "We work for Emperor Shirune..." he began, slowly backing away from the men. "You're a filthy liar and a thief! Arrest them," one man ordered. "But..." Oryn was gradually moving towards the car; regardless of Shirune's orders, he wanted to get out of here. "Protesting will only increase your punishments," the man warned. "I am Or--" A bullet shot past his head, and he ducked instinctively, turning to sprint towards the car. What did they think they were doing? They should have at least asked to see identification... Another bullet barely missed him. He doubted they were shooting to kill, but they were still shooting. And since the military outposts could technically execute them without a trial, he wasn't going to stick around to try to explain himself. Reaching the car, he flung open the nearest door and slid in.
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Post by Cuppy/Wonders on Oct 28, 2012 18:12:46 GMT -4
Silas slammed the door shut, dumping the stuff that Oryn had made him carry onto Oryn's lap, and belatedly noticed that he had managed to secure the driver's seat. The smug satisfaction at disobeying Shirune's orders was quickly quashed, however, when another bullet was fired and embedded itself into his side mirror. Oryn had left the keys in the ignition, and Silas quickly fired the car into life. He put it in reverse immediately and floored the accelerator, watching them dive out of the way through his rear-view mirror. He still felt the car bounce as the back tires hit something solid, and moved into 1st gear. The tires screamed as he powered the car forwards, away from the base and away from the men with the guns. "That'll distract 'em," he muttered, messing up his hair with a shaking hand before shifting into 2nd. "Are they following us?" He didn't wait for an answer, glancing in the rear-view mirror again. One of them was lying on the ground, but the others were running in the same direction. The further away they got, the more cars he could see. Newer, faster cars. "Oryn," he said. "You'd better tell me if they're coming, and if you don't shoot at them if they get close I will flip this thing." They were on the horizon, following. Silas had reached the freeway again, and was weaving between the cars as their speed kept rising. 3rd gear, 4th, but they were still getting closer. The back window exploded, shards of glass flying across the car, and Silas felt the bullet strike his headrest. 5th gear, and he overtook a truck. As they turned a bullet went flying past his face, grazing his skin. He jumped, knocking the wheel and almost veering off the road, when the car suddenly jarred. There was a loud bang, and everything suddenly sank to the right. There was a loud thrumming, and the speed died. "The tires," Silas whispered. "They shot out the fucking tires..." Another bang, and the screech of metal against the tarmac. Silas turned the wheel right, hoping to balance it out... and a truck slammed into the side. The car flew, tripping on the shot-out tires and flipping three times before landing on its side, screeching against the tarmac before coming to a stop. The silence that followed was deafening. "Oryn...?" Silas whispered. He almost sounded afraid, but there was definitely poorly veiled pain in his voice. "You alive?"
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Post by Squid (Carys) on Oct 28, 2012 22:11:52 GMT -4
Clark and Cole rested for a bit, neither one saying much for fear of letting slip something that might wind them up in even more trouble. Instead they communicated through silent looks and touches until eventually one of the scientists told them they had rested long enough. They ran the experiment of weights just as they did with the test of their speeds. They continued lifting heavier and heavier weights until first Clark, and then a while later Cole stopped being able to lift the weights they were given. Once again, Cole reached double the weight that Clark could lift. "How many more tests do you have to do before we're allowed to go home?" Clark asked in a quietly exasperated murmur.
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Post by Cuppy/Wonders on Oct 29, 2012 4:51:00 GMT -4
"Double again," the scientist mused, jotting down the note. He raised his head at Clark's question, a fake smile plastered across his face. "I'm afraid that information is classified. But don't worry, once all of the experiments are over with you will be able to return home." He changed the papers on his clipboard before smiling at them again. "Next we have some experiments to test your mental capacity. These experiments will be much easier, just some simple mind tests and games to measure your mental speed, IQ, et cetera. We're curious as to whether or not the correlation is linked to qualities outside strength and speed. "Please, follow me." He led them into a completely different room, equipped with computers and chairs. "We'll measure your progress on our own computers," he said. "We'll time how long it takes you both to complete the tasks, but please don't feel pressured. These are only simple tests after all."
Silas didn't hear Oryn answer, and that made him panic. If Oryn was dead, everything would go to hell. He shakily undid his seatbelt, falling against the car door, and looked around slowly, wincing as his head throbbed. The windscreen, although sporting a large spider-webbed crack, had yet to shatter, and his door was currently against the ground. Slowly and carefully, scared to jolt any injuries that he had received, he made his way towards the back window. "Don't move, Oryn," he called over his shoulder. "I'll call an ambulance, then Shirune. You'll be fine." He didn't know why he was trying to be comforting, but it felt right. He crawled towards the back window, trying to avoid the scattered shards of glass, but winced as a few buried themselves in his palms. He managed to get out, cutting his hands to pieces as he did so, and heard the men who had shot at them talking not too far away. "What are you worried about? They'll be dead. And we need that stuff back." Silas pulled himself to his feet, feeling battered and bruised and sure that either the truck or the car itself had finished Cole's attempts to break his ribs. He turned around, and the men with the guns stopped dead at the sight of him. Silas grinned, feeling blood dripping down his face, and stormed over to them. They raised their guns. "Don't come closer!" one shouted, but Silas had already grabbed his gun and crushed the barrel between his fingers. He brought up his other hand, punching the man in the side of the head. He felt their skull give way, heard the crunch, and they dropped to the ground like a stone. His accomplice was already running. "Where do you think you're going?" he screamed, and threw the mangled gun as hard as he could. It hit their leg, and the bone snapped. They fell down screaming. There was the boom of a gunshot, one of the others had started firing at him again. He looked for some sort of weapon, and saw the car bumper lying abandoned a few feet away. He picked it up and threw it towards the car, watching it fly through the windscreen. He turned around before he could see if the bumper had hit anyone inside, and moved to the side of his own overturned car. He was still furious, still at his full strength. He grabbed the side of the car, dug his heels into the ground, and pulled. Slowly but surely the car began to turn, and the shot-out wheels landed on the road. He could see Oryn inside, but couldn't tell if he was awake. He leaned against the car door and got out his phone. It was a little dented, but it looked as though it would still work. He dialled the staff-specific ambulance number, and quickly told them where the crash was. He called Shirune next, and cut across the Emperor before he could speak. "Good to know your military base staff are trained to shoot at us," he said, fighting his fury and trying to keep his tone calm. "They shot out our tires and tried to kill me. The car crashed. I don't know if Oryn's alive, but don't worry - I think we managed to get half of your crap into the car before it flipped. You may want to tell your ambulance crew to hurry up if you want any of those idiots to get away from this alive." He hung up, cracked his knuckles, and went to see if any of them had survived.
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Post by Cedar on Oct 29, 2012 9:43:53 GMT -4
Oryn was vaguely aware of Silas talking to him, but the effort required to respond seemed too much. Silas vanished, and some time later--Oryn wasn't sure exactly how long, though it couldn't have been more than a couple minutes--he heard sirens approaching. At some point he felt someone's hand on his wrist, checking for a pulse. "Are you okay?" He groaned, opening his eyes to look at the woman. She put one hand on his shoulder. "What's your name?" He managed to gasp his name between pained breaths, and felt her hands running across him, identifying injuries. "We need a stretcher over here!" she called over her shoulder. "Don't move," she told Oryn. Like I could, he thought, though he didn't speak. Some other people came over, and he was maneuvered onto a stretcher and taken towards the back of the ambulance. "Silas...?" he asked, as they loaded him into the vehicle. "We'll take care of him," someone assured him. He didn't follow the rest of the medical jargon that was exchanged between the medics as they hurried about him; he was drifting in and out of consciousness anyway...
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Post by Squid (Carys) on Oct 29, 2012 12:55:53 GMT -4
"Why the heck is that classified?" Clark grumbled. "If it's me you're experimenting on I think I deserve to know what the heck you're going to do." Still, he sighed and followed the scientists to yet another room for yet another test. He and Cole were sat down at different computers and the test was started. They clicked through the simple questions and puzzles at similar rates. Ultimately Cole finished before Clark, but not by a hugely significant margin, and once the scientists looked at the results of their answers they would see that Clark actually had more of them correct.
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Post by Cuppy/Wonders on Oct 29, 2012 15:16:44 GMT -4
The scientist frowned, writing a note of 'no significant correlation' before nodding to the other scientists and the armed guards at the door. They moved in between Clark and Cole, and the scientist smiled at the two placidly. "We would like Clark to take part in some individual experiments, for the time being," he said. "They won't take very long, but they're non-negotiable, I'm afraid." The scientists gently pulled Clark up and away from Cole, trying to be as non-threatening as possible. They locked the door behind them, and led Clark down the corridors until they reached the same room that Gage had been brought into. Before Clark could question it he was pushed into the chair and strapped in, and electrodes were attached to his head, arms, neck and chest. Once all of the electrodes were in place beeping echoed through the room. "The electrodes are only there to measure your stress levels," the scientist said. "Don't panic. These experiments won't last long." He nodded to one of the other scientists, and they moved over to a rather large but unassuming power box. They flipped a switch and turned the dial to a relatively low voltage. That was the beginning.
Silas sat on the seat in the back of the ambulance, keeping his eyes on Oryn and the doctors fretting over him instead of the woman slowly removing the shards of glass from his hands. "Mr Almaras," she was saying, and Silas was trying his best to block her out. "This is important. We need to know what happened, so we can look for any injuries on Oryn that we might have missed. It could save his life." "I have a concussion," he muttered as an excuse. The woman pursed her lips, barely stopping herself from swearing at him. "No, you don't. We've dealt with your head injury, and checked for a concussion. Besides your ribs - you'll need an x-ray - you're absolutely fine. Now tell me, what happened to the car?" "The tires were shot out and Oryn flipped it. Happy?" "Oryn was in the passenger seat." "I moved him." "Why?" Silas shrugged. "Kicks?" The woman repeated the pursed-lips glare. "You flipped the car, didn't you?" "No. My license was revoked. I'm not allowed to drive, Emperor's orders. And a little non-human like me wouldn't dare disobey the all-powerful Emperor." "How long are you going to lie for?" Silas shrugged. "Until you realise that I'm telling the truth." They were fixing an oxygen mask over Oryn's face, and Silas frowned. Was making sure that Shirune didn't know he was driving worth it? If Oryn died... He's a human! he reminded himself. Who cares? But he wasn't just a human - he was smart. He had beaten him at chess. He clearly disliked him, but didn't talk down to him... at least not noticably. He was the first person who he had bothered to get into the overthrowing-Shirune scheme. Heck, he practically trusted him. He's the closest thing I've got to a friend, he realised with horrifying clarity. Well, doesn't that just make you want to kill yourself... "I was driving," he admitted. "Turned into a truck. It hit my side, not Oryn's, flipped the car... three times, then landed on my side. I crawled out and phoned you people. Now are you happy?" "At what speed?" "Around 45mph? I was driving faster, but having 2 tires shot out kind of kills your speed. Now finish with my hands and go back to saving him. You just said I was fine, after all." He pushed her away, pulling his knees to his chest and glaring at Oryn like a sulking child.
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Post by Squid (Carys) on Oct 30, 2012 0:09:11 GMT -4
Clark looked to Cole nervously when the guards moved into place and grabbed him. He shook his head at Cole though, telling him not to overreact and make matters worse for them both. As soon as the door locked behind them though he wished he hadn't let them separate him from Cole. He struggled uncertainly as he was strapped into the chair and as the electrodes were attached, but he wasn't brave enough to put up any more of a fight than to tug against the straps and make a few complaining noises. And then one of the scientists moved to a box in the room and flipped a switch, and Clark felt the bite of electricity, even if it wasn't very strong. He frowned a little, confused for a moment before it sunk in just what this test was for. Once that realization hit his heart rate jumped significantly. "Stop! I don't want to do this test... Not without Cole here... You can't do this. I have rights!" In the other room Cole was glaring after the door, fuming at the thought of the scientists who dared take his Clark away without so much as explaining what was going on.
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Post by Cuppy/Wonders on Oct 30, 2012 12:51:56 GMT -4
The scientist continued to smile. "I'm sorry," he said, but his tone completely contradicted his words. "But until we can conclusively prove that you are human, your human rights are revoked. I know that this probably seems rather cruel and unnecessary, but it is the way of the Empire. This test will not be prolonged, so please try to stay as calm as possible." He nodded to the other scientist again, and they turned the dial up further. They flipped the switch again, and repeated the process, jotting down notes into a pre-made table.
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Post by Squid (Carys) on Oct 30, 2012 14:55:16 GMT -4
"What is that supposed to mean? I have rights whether or not I'm human!" Clark protested. "I'm still a living thing, I'm still sentient. You can't do this!" He fell silent as he felt another shock, stronger than the last. This time the scientists didn't give him time to object before they adjusted the voltage and shocked him again. This process just kept going on until Clark was gasping from the pain of it, unable to take much more of this. When the next shock came he could see spots in his vision from it.
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Post by Jane on Nov 2, 2012 20:22:49 GMT -4
Atom couldn't stop thinking about the encounter with Silas and Oryn. She didn't really want to think about Silas, so instead she focused on Oryn's phone. Ok, so snooping around in his messages probably wasn't the nicest thing to do. But really, she needed to know who she could trust. The world outside the Maze seemed almost stranger than the world inside it.
The messages had her confused. Oryn was an assassin. He'd tried to kill her twice, and he'd shot her. She'd though he was an enemy. but now she was supposed to trust him, or at least work with him. And looking through his phone was confusing her more. The messages from Oryn to that other person, Taru, didn't sound like messages from an assassin. And the messages from Taru to Oryn didn't sound like messages to an assassin. Why, one of the last ones had been asking Oryn to get him some books from a library.
Atom just didn't know what to think about Oryn. Was he a bad guy, or a good guy? Or a shade of grey? She didn't know, and she wasn't sure she wanted to trust him. But something inside her was telling her that she should at least consider it. Out of the pair of them, Oryn was definitely nicer than Silas. She couldn't stand Silas, but she might be able to get along with Oryn.
At any rate, sitting there and thinking about Oryn and Silas wasn't going to do anything. She had to get back out into the world, start talking to people, starting finding people who might be turned against Shirune. She had a message to spread, and it wasn't going to get spread any faster by her sitting here and thinking random thoughts. Pulling herself to her feet she headed for the apartment door.
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Post by Cedar on Nov 4, 2012 2:00:26 GMT -4
Several minutes later the ambulance pulled into the trauma center, sirens blaring. A team of trauma medics was already waiting outside, and they swiftly loaded the unconscious Oryn onto a gurney and wheeled him inside, briefly questioning one of the paramedics as they began monitoring his vitals and setting up an IV and respirator. A young intern observed, wide-eyed, as the medics worked. When one doctor stepped back for a moment, he ventured to ask, "Will he make it?" The doctor shrugged. "We're doing everything we can at the moment. I need to go question Mr. Almaras to see if he knows anything more about the specifics of the crash, or about Oryn..."
Shirune cursed under his breath. He had told the military outpost to increase their security and surveillance measures, and as Oryn and Silas had not been in any sort of empire uniform, they would have been seen as suspicious persons when they stopped to pick up supplies for the emperor's speech. "We will continue this meeting at a later time," he informed his advisers, then dialed the hospital's number. Having been informed that Silas was essentially fine and that Oryn was in critical condition, he called the military commander at the outpost, upbraided him for his hasty actions, and told his advisers he was going to go check on his injured employees. "Someone tell Taru," he ordered, before heading out to his limousine and ordering the chauffeur to take him to the trauma center.
Taru tensed as the man entered his room, looking up fearfully. Nothing good ever happened to him when Shirune's men came here. But even before the man spoke, he sensed something was different this time. "The emperor told me to inform you that your brother was in an automobile accident and is currently in the hospital in critical condition. The car he was in was struck by a truck." Having abruptly spoken his piece, the man exited, leaving Taru to stare after him in shock. But... Oryn had been fine just yesterday... and now this... "Please let him live," he whispered, drawing his knees to his chest and rocking back and forth. "Please... please..."
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Post by Cuppy/Wonders on Nov 4, 2012 4:06:34 GMT -4
"I've already told you," Silas said to the doctor, "I was driving, I crashed, the car flipped, end of story." "One of the emergency team members in the ambulance said that the wheels were shot out. That doesn't sound like a normal crash. What exactly was going on?" Silas gave him a blank look and started fidgetting with the bandages wrapped around his hands. "Figure it out." "There were three dead bodies at the scene of the accident," the doctor continued. "One had head injuries consistent with being hit by a sledgehammer, and two had their skulls crushed by what appears to be a car bumper." Silas smirked at that, and the doctor suddenly looked very uncomfortable. "What exactly were you doing that led to such violence?" "People were trying to kill us," Silas said simply. "So I was driving away from them. They shot at us, so I was driving a little fast." "You claim that you hit the truck at around 45mph, correct?" "Yes, but I was going a lot faster before that." "Are you aware of any injuries that Oryn may have suffered before the crash?" Silas paused, thinking hard, before he nodded. "He got the crap beaten out of him by a girl not too long ago. I don't know the specifics, but she knocked him out. So there's that, at least." "Does Oryn have any medical conditions that you know of? Is he allergic to any painkillers?" Silas stared at the doctor in disbelief. "Humans are that badly put together that they can be allergic to painkillers?" "Never mind," the doctor said, and began to walk away. "If any questions arise, I'll come and find you." "Whatever." He leaned back on the hospital bed, staring at the fluourescent lights before he sensed someone near and tensed. He glanced down, and froze when he saw Shirune himself standing not too far away from him, looking very unimpressed. He faked a smile, wondering how much of that he had heard. "Hello, Emperor." I'm doomed.
"He's losing consciousness," one scientist pointed out. "I think that he's reached his limit." "60 milliamps," the scientist at the ammeter confirmed. "Perfectly human threshold. In fact, that's rather good for a man of his age." The scientist with the clipboard nodded, jotting down the results before turning to the others. "I think we should take Clark back to the holding room, and bring in Cole for the same measures. It will be interesting to see if the electricity has any effect." They removed the electrodes and unstrapped Clark from the chair, seizing his arms and dragging him back to the other room. As soon as they were inside they moved to grab Cole, the guards pointing their guns directly at his head in case he tried anything.
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Post by Squid (Carys) on Nov 4, 2012 17:31:34 GMT -4
Clark could barely stand as the guards dragged him to his feet and back to the room he had been in before. His muscles were still so weak from the electrocution that when they released him to grab Cole instead he sank to the ground. Cole's eyes widened at the sight of Clark, and without even caring about the guards he moved to Clark's side. The guards kept their guns trained on him, but Cole was far more worried with making sure that Clark was okay. "Kick their butts, Cole. We need to get out of here," he whispered weakly, almost inaudibly quiet. Cole nodded and then looked back at the guards around him. For a moment he raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. That is, before he turned suddenly to punch one of the guards in the face. The guard lost consciousness almost immediately from the blow and collapsed.
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