Post by acclue lockheart on Mar 9, 2008 1:53:52 GMT -5
Chapter IV: Fright
Tommy was under the control of the Pheder since he was born, and as such, had an inherently undying patience. But for the next few days, measured by the satellite's rotation, he was anxious just to leave the building.
He wasn't used to such consistent times for rest, and often slept in fits, interrupting his dreams of this new world at random.
What he thought was the worst part of the ordeal was, was his complete inability to communicate with his saviors. They saved his life in more than one way and he couldn't even give a simple 'Thank you.' He wanted to know so much about being free, but he would have to go by trial and error.
On the fourth day in Vega's lab, Tommy couldn't wait any longer. He caught Vega's attention by crying out.
"Hmm, what?"
Tommy pointed frantically to his neck while making his noise.
"Kid..." he kneeled down to him again "I don't know if it's possible, I don't know if it was ever possiblr, but I don't think there's a human doctor on Earth that can fix your vocal chords. I'm sorry, but it's just not possible... Hmm... listen, I know a guy who's been looking into the Pheder's AI systems. Maybe I could-"
The door flew open with a loud bang. Tommy's vision was mostly clouded with light from the moon. "Cecil! Give me some warning! He's not used to the light yet!"
"Vega! We've got a situation!" Cecil ignored Vega's complaint and ran back out, expecting him to follow.
"Hmm..." Vega snatched a pair of goggles like his own from his desk and tossed it to Tommy "Wear those, I don't want to leave you alone right now. If the nanos haven't done their job by now then your physiology's too different to recover at all."
Tommy didn't understand what 'physiology' meant, but he was ecstatic to finally leave.
He placed the strap of the dark glasses around the back of his head. He could see the black spots where the light hit, but everywhere that was dark was completely black.
"Come." he motioned Tommy off the chair.
Tommy stood, walked slowly to the door, and slowed to a halt as he saw his surroundings.
The area was a flatland of loose dirt, surrounded by a range of mountains. There were metal buildings scattered all over, most barely standing. Several people were running after Cecil, wearing the same goggles.
Tommy looked up and froze. A visibly torrential wind swirled over the mountains in a constant stream. The complete lack of food for vegetation had wiped the surface of the planet clean, the only thing keeping oxygen in the air being chemical devices planted on the surface and underground in certain areas. Humans were just about the only native species left on Earth because of the blocked sun. And so with the drastic change in the Earth's terrain, deadly wind cut through most of the surface air endlessly.
It was a wasteland planet, but Tommy stood in awe at its barren land.
Even with the light vision goggles, the moon was a brilliant white circle in the sky, surrounded by an endless sea of stars caught between the wind.
Tommy felt himself get dizzy and fell back to sitting. He wasn't used to the altitude or the open space.
"Kid! Move it!" Vega yelled back over his shoulder.
Tommy's attention fell earthward, and in spite of the dizziness he felt, he stood and ran after his guardian.
He followed just within sight of Vega until they finally came to a stop.
A huge perimeter had been given around a small gated box structure, some pointing guns, others just staring with worried looks on their faces.
"What's going on?" Vega demanded from Cecil.
"Since the last trip down, a feral's been hiding under the elevator. No one noticed it until it started making noise."
"It's probably hungry. So what's the plan?"
Tommy ducked his way to the front of the crowd using his size to maneuver between the thin layer of frightened refugees. He had an idea, and he wanted to be rght so there would be a familiar face. He reached the front and saw he was right. He could barely see under the compartment thanks to the goggles, but he could make out just enough to tell it was her.
The little girl from the execution chamber was hanging from a big mechanism on the bottom of the elevator, thouroughly bloodied claws struck into it. She was crying quietly.
Tommy knew he had to help. For some reason, he had a strange attraction to this girl, and he just had to protect her, no matter the cost.
He charged past the line in a mad dash for the elevator, diving on the ground near the base.
Ignoring the shouts to return, he faced the girl and let out a quiet cry to her. She looked up through blurry eyes and momentarily broke from her sobs "You... I followed you... I... I had to..." she sniffed and returned to crying.
"Ehn..." Tommy turned around and began drawing in the dirt with his hand. He scooped out a big circle in his arm's reach and filled it in with a five-pointed star. He watched as the men slowly lowered their weapons, few keeping their place.
"What's going on?" whispered Vega "What's he doing?"
"It's an old cave exploration symbol." Cecil began to explain "People used to use their blood to paint them on walls and show escape routes. It means 'safe'"
"Well how about that?" Vega crossed his arms "Little bastard's got a way to talk after all."
Some of the people who were born outside of the Pheder's influence had to be told by the others before they lowered their weapons, one or two keeping their sights aimed at the small gap.
-----
Tommy lied down and tried to keep her calm, but she was hysterical. Hanging from the device for several days out of fear had broken her young sanity. She was hoping that someone would return her to the depths when they went down, but such trips were less frequent than she'd expected.
The humans were cutting a small corner out of the steel floor of the elevator with a large knife that had a glowing edge. Tommy had seen the weapon on the soldiers' persons, but he'd never seen the use anything but guns.
It broke through the thick metal like air, making a loud tearing noise that I had to keep the girl calm at the risk of her falling.
"So do you know her?" Vega asked him.
He thought for a moment, then shook his head up and down. He had to lie, he wasn't sure what they would do with her otherwise.
The floor cracked open and the man tossed it aside with a loud clatter. He reached down in violently and immediately fell back with a thud "Ah! She bit me!"
Vega walked to the man casually and looked at his forearm. A thin red line appeared and slowly started leaking blood. "She scratched you... and she's not feral."
Vega had everyone's attention with that. "If she were, you'd be missing an arm. Ferals don't hold back." he turned and began walking away. "I'll get her some goggles, try not to make too much noise in the elevator. Last thing we need is the Pheder hearing us."
Watching Vega turn the corner, Tommy fixed his attention back on the hole. He let out a small cry to let her know that it was him. He reached his arm in toward her and felt another hand make a panicked grasp of his. He put his other hand on her forearm and felt her entire weight shift onto him as she did the same.
Still weeping steadily, the girl was pulled from the hole with the assistance of some of the men. She was set down gently on the side of the elevator and began to calm down slowly.
Tommy tore off his goggles to get a better look, leaving them at his side. He sat down next to her and, to his surprise, she put her arms around him and started crying into his shoulder.
He didn't understand. He had been deprived of food and put to physical strain for days at a time before himself, but he never cried about it. He had hardly ever cried about much at all once he was old enough to think properly.
He embraced her as well, hoping to comfort the scared little girl. He reached into the ripped section of his shirt and pulled out a plastic-sheathed syringe of clear liquid, holding it out to her. He had hoarded one of the nutrient shots Vega had given him, just in case something went wrong.
The girl grabbed the syringe violently, threw off the sheath, and shoved the needle into her arm. It was carefully aimed thanks to experience, and she breathed steadily for a moment as she injected the entire contents of the syringe.
She tossed the needle aside carelessly and leaned back against the wall "Thank... you." she whispered between sobbing hiccups. She was resisting her tears now, filling herself with the liquid started to calm her down.
The humans had left them alone now, confident from the girl's behavior that she wasn't a threat. It was a few minutes before Vega returned.
"Ah, I see you got her out." he said, entering the elevator. The girl grabbed Tommy's arm and tried to hide behind him. He didn't object, but he was still confused by the behavior.
"Relax, I'm only here to help." he took the goggles off of his head for the first time since Tommy had arrived. His eyes were blank. Tommy had seen it before in his nest. Vega was blind! "Here." he handed them to Gaea directly.
She slowly reached out with her free hand, glancing up at Vega's face once. "Go on." he shook his hand a little.
She grabbed out at it and made a slight cut across his hand as she pulled it back. Vega grunted and pulled it in front of him to examine the needle-thin line of dark fluid.
The girl looked horrified “I-I'm sorry! I'm not used to having claws yet! Please don't-!” she hid behind Tommy's shoulder again, starting to sob once more.
“It's okay.” She looked up to him as if surprised. “It was an accident.” Vega said, wiping the scratch onto his opposite sleeve “Don't panic so much. I understand that you're in shock. You're probably normally as stoic as this little guy. You just need some rest to get your wits back.” He didn't seemed fazed to hear her talk. He had seriously believed that she was still sentient when he had said it.
The girl pulled herself out from behind Tommy and looked at Vega to see a sincere face. She looked at the ground. She had dropped the goggles when she made the cut. She slowly picked them up and looked down at them.
Tommy made a quiet cry and snapped his goggles on. He smiled at the girl as if to tell her they were okay.
She looked away from Tommy again and pulled them on the same way. She looked around worriedly as the elevator became completely dark.
“Alright, so what's your name?” Vega asked.
She looked to Tommy for a moment, and he was surprised again. She was looking to him for confirmation. He waited a moment to see if she would just decide on her own, but he just nodded after those few seconds.
She turned back to Vega “It's... Gaea.”
Tommy was under the control of the Pheder since he was born, and as such, had an inherently undying patience. But for the next few days, measured by the satellite's rotation, he was anxious just to leave the building.
He wasn't used to such consistent times for rest, and often slept in fits, interrupting his dreams of this new world at random.
What he thought was the worst part of the ordeal was, was his complete inability to communicate with his saviors. They saved his life in more than one way and he couldn't even give a simple 'Thank you.' He wanted to know so much about being free, but he would have to go by trial and error.
On the fourth day in Vega's lab, Tommy couldn't wait any longer. He caught Vega's attention by crying out.
"Hmm, what?"
Tommy pointed frantically to his neck while making his noise.
"Kid..." he kneeled down to him again "I don't know if it's possible, I don't know if it was ever possiblr, but I don't think there's a human doctor on Earth that can fix your vocal chords. I'm sorry, but it's just not possible... Hmm... listen, I know a guy who's been looking into the Pheder's AI systems. Maybe I could-"
The door flew open with a loud bang. Tommy's vision was mostly clouded with light from the moon. "Cecil! Give me some warning! He's not used to the light yet!"
"Vega! We've got a situation!" Cecil ignored Vega's complaint and ran back out, expecting him to follow.
"Hmm..." Vega snatched a pair of goggles like his own from his desk and tossed it to Tommy "Wear those, I don't want to leave you alone right now. If the nanos haven't done their job by now then your physiology's too different to recover at all."
Tommy didn't understand what 'physiology' meant, but he was ecstatic to finally leave.
He placed the strap of the dark glasses around the back of his head. He could see the black spots where the light hit, but everywhere that was dark was completely black.
"Come." he motioned Tommy off the chair.
Tommy stood, walked slowly to the door, and slowed to a halt as he saw his surroundings.
The area was a flatland of loose dirt, surrounded by a range of mountains. There were metal buildings scattered all over, most barely standing. Several people were running after Cecil, wearing the same goggles.
Tommy looked up and froze. A visibly torrential wind swirled over the mountains in a constant stream. The complete lack of food for vegetation had wiped the surface of the planet clean, the only thing keeping oxygen in the air being chemical devices planted on the surface and underground in certain areas. Humans were just about the only native species left on Earth because of the blocked sun. And so with the drastic change in the Earth's terrain, deadly wind cut through most of the surface air endlessly.
It was a wasteland planet, but Tommy stood in awe at its barren land.
Even with the light vision goggles, the moon was a brilliant white circle in the sky, surrounded by an endless sea of stars caught between the wind.
Tommy felt himself get dizzy and fell back to sitting. He wasn't used to the altitude or the open space.
"Kid! Move it!" Vega yelled back over his shoulder.
Tommy's attention fell earthward, and in spite of the dizziness he felt, he stood and ran after his guardian.
He followed just within sight of Vega until they finally came to a stop.
A huge perimeter had been given around a small gated box structure, some pointing guns, others just staring with worried looks on their faces.
"What's going on?" Vega demanded from Cecil.
"Since the last trip down, a feral's been hiding under the elevator. No one noticed it until it started making noise."
"It's probably hungry. So what's the plan?"
Tommy ducked his way to the front of the crowd using his size to maneuver between the thin layer of frightened refugees. He had an idea, and he wanted to be rght so there would be a familiar face. He reached the front and saw he was right. He could barely see under the compartment thanks to the goggles, but he could make out just enough to tell it was her.
The little girl from the execution chamber was hanging from a big mechanism on the bottom of the elevator, thouroughly bloodied claws struck into it. She was crying quietly.
Tommy knew he had to help. For some reason, he had a strange attraction to this girl, and he just had to protect her, no matter the cost.
He charged past the line in a mad dash for the elevator, diving on the ground near the base.
Ignoring the shouts to return, he faced the girl and let out a quiet cry to her. She looked up through blurry eyes and momentarily broke from her sobs "You... I followed you... I... I had to..." she sniffed and returned to crying.
"Ehn..." Tommy turned around and began drawing in the dirt with his hand. He scooped out a big circle in his arm's reach and filled it in with a five-pointed star. He watched as the men slowly lowered their weapons, few keeping their place.
"What's going on?" whispered Vega "What's he doing?"
"It's an old cave exploration symbol." Cecil began to explain "People used to use their blood to paint them on walls and show escape routes. It means 'safe'"
"Well how about that?" Vega crossed his arms "Little bastard's got a way to talk after all."
Some of the people who were born outside of the Pheder's influence had to be told by the others before they lowered their weapons, one or two keeping their sights aimed at the small gap.
-----
Tommy lied down and tried to keep her calm, but she was hysterical. Hanging from the device for several days out of fear had broken her young sanity. She was hoping that someone would return her to the depths when they went down, but such trips were less frequent than she'd expected.
The humans were cutting a small corner out of the steel floor of the elevator with a large knife that had a glowing edge. Tommy had seen the weapon on the soldiers' persons, but he'd never seen the use anything but guns.
It broke through the thick metal like air, making a loud tearing noise that I had to keep the girl calm at the risk of her falling.
"So do you know her?" Vega asked him.
He thought for a moment, then shook his head up and down. He had to lie, he wasn't sure what they would do with her otherwise.
The floor cracked open and the man tossed it aside with a loud clatter. He reached down in violently and immediately fell back with a thud "Ah! She bit me!"
Vega walked to the man casually and looked at his forearm. A thin red line appeared and slowly started leaking blood. "She scratched you... and she's not feral."
Vega had everyone's attention with that. "If she were, you'd be missing an arm. Ferals don't hold back." he turned and began walking away. "I'll get her some goggles, try not to make too much noise in the elevator. Last thing we need is the Pheder hearing us."
Watching Vega turn the corner, Tommy fixed his attention back on the hole. He let out a small cry to let her know that it was him. He reached his arm in toward her and felt another hand make a panicked grasp of his. He put his other hand on her forearm and felt her entire weight shift onto him as she did the same.
Still weeping steadily, the girl was pulled from the hole with the assistance of some of the men. She was set down gently on the side of the elevator and began to calm down slowly.
Tommy tore off his goggles to get a better look, leaving them at his side. He sat down next to her and, to his surprise, she put her arms around him and started crying into his shoulder.
He didn't understand. He had been deprived of food and put to physical strain for days at a time before himself, but he never cried about it. He had hardly ever cried about much at all once he was old enough to think properly.
He embraced her as well, hoping to comfort the scared little girl. He reached into the ripped section of his shirt and pulled out a plastic-sheathed syringe of clear liquid, holding it out to her. He had hoarded one of the nutrient shots Vega had given him, just in case something went wrong.
The girl grabbed the syringe violently, threw off the sheath, and shoved the needle into her arm. It was carefully aimed thanks to experience, and she breathed steadily for a moment as she injected the entire contents of the syringe.
She tossed the needle aside carelessly and leaned back against the wall "Thank... you." she whispered between sobbing hiccups. She was resisting her tears now, filling herself with the liquid started to calm her down.
The humans had left them alone now, confident from the girl's behavior that she wasn't a threat. It was a few minutes before Vega returned.
"Ah, I see you got her out." he said, entering the elevator. The girl grabbed Tommy's arm and tried to hide behind him. He didn't object, but he was still confused by the behavior.
"Relax, I'm only here to help." he took the goggles off of his head for the first time since Tommy had arrived. His eyes were blank. Tommy had seen it before in his nest. Vega was blind! "Here." he handed them to Gaea directly.
She slowly reached out with her free hand, glancing up at Vega's face once. "Go on." he shook his hand a little.
She grabbed out at it and made a slight cut across his hand as she pulled it back. Vega grunted and pulled it in front of him to examine the needle-thin line of dark fluid.
The girl looked horrified “I-I'm sorry! I'm not used to having claws yet! Please don't-!” she hid behind Tommy's shoulder again, starting to sob once more.
“It's okay.” She looked up to him as if surprised. “It was an accident.” Vega said, wiping the scratch onto his opposite sleeve “Don't panic so much. I understand that you're in shock. You're probably normally as stoic as this little guy. You just need some rest to get your wits back.” He didn't seemed fazed to hear her talk. He had seriously believed that she was still sentient when he had said it.
The girl pulled herself out from behind Tommy and looked at Vega to see a sincere face. She looked at the ground. She had dropped the goggles when she made the cut. She slowly picked them up and looked down at them.
Tommy made a quiet cry and snapped his goggles on. He smiled at the girl as if to tell her they were okay.
She looked away from Tommy again and pulled them on the same way. She looked around worriedly as the elevator became completely dark.
“Alright, so what's your name?” Vega asked.
She looked to Tommy for a moment, and he was surprised again. She was looking to him for confirmation. He waited a moment to see if she would just decide on her own, but he just nodded after those few seconds.
She turned back to Vega “It's... Gaea.”
