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Saturday, December 09, 2006

Chapter 5: The Trial

Jeff walked into the cafeteria and saw a group of people standing at a window facing the training grounds. The group was composed of most of the enrolled patients who had just been training outside, and they were whispering to themselves. Jeff took this opportunity to sneak up on them, saying in a very loud voice, “And what are we doing over here?”
This of course made all of the observers jump a foot in the air before shooting glares at Jeff. The little girl, Eva Cooper, spoke first saying, “Why are you so mean! We are trying to spy on the new guy!” Jeff was about to come back with a childish rebuttal when a stern voice called from across the room.
“Eva! Come here please.”
Eva immediately walked over to her advisor, a very mousy woman with black hair in a ponytail. She leaned down and spoke into Eva’s ear. Eva nodded and went back to her seat in the cafeteria, but shot her tongue out at Jeff before returning to eating her food. Jeff made a face at her then looked out the window. Angela was standing beside Tom, who was doing push-ups next to her. A young man with very blue eyes and straight blonde hair poked Jeff asking, “Isn’t he your roommate Jeff? What’s he like?” Everyone turned from their observing to listen to Jeff.
He could understand their curiosity. No one new had been enrolled to the CMA since Eva, who had been there for six months. He wanted to tell them something, but really he didn’t know Tom very well. Actually, Tom had been acting freakishly normal considering the environment. And Jeff had been more interested in the football game anyways. He did have an audience though, so he had to say something. “His name is Tom Gilroy. He is new, so I don’t know much, but, he talks a lot while he sleeps. I don’t know how strong he is if that’s what you’re asking, Keith.”
Keith looked back out towards the training grounds, and then smirked. “It doesn’t matter; he won’t be stronger than me.” With that he went back to a group of guys who were sitting together talking loudly and laughing. Jeff frowned. It was true that Keith was strong, probably as strong as himself, but arrogance and strength are a dangerous combination. Jeff thought about having a word with Keith’s advisor when a slender hand touched his shoulder. He turned and saw Jan Korby, another very strong patient. But Jan was very quiet, and Jeff had always been a little afraid of her. Her developments creeped him out. She was definitely not his type. She looked up at him and asked, “Do you know what kind of surgery he had?”
When he said no, Jan sighed, and walked away. Jeff got a shiver as two beady yellow eyes peered out at him at the nape of Jan’s neck from underneath her long dark hair. They blinked twice at him, then they closed. She sat by her advisor in silence.
When Jeff looked out the window again he saw Tom running laps. Another of the group watching Tom from the window, Benjamin Vargas, spoke then. “She’s wearing him down so that he’ll have to tap into his new strength. That’s how they started me out too.”
Jeff had come to the CMA at the same time as Benjamin, but they never got that close for some reason. Ben was into arts and books and other boring stuff, so Jeff never wanted to hang out with him. Not to mention that whenever the two of them practiced together, Ben always won. Ben could manipulate his will into dark masses, usually in the forms of lines or cords. After getting ensnared in a few of Ben’s black nets, Jeff stopped trying.
When Jeff looked outside again, Tom had stopped running and was breathing hard, his hands on his knees. Angela was yelling at Tom, so he started running again. Jeff laughed, thinking of all the times Angela had chewed him out for not working as hard as possible all the time. Benjamin slapped Jeff on the shoulder, saying, “This is going to take a while, let’s get something to eat, huh?” Jeff was hungry, so he went with Ben to the kitchen area. As they walked away, Ben sent a dark line to pull the string next to the window, closing the blinds. The rest of the onlookers, now deprived of a view, went back to their eating and mingling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

On the training field, Tom was quickly running out of stamina. He had been in a hospital bed for some time, and while it felt good to exercise again, he could feel a big difference in his endurance. Angela called from across the field, assuring him that they would be doing this often, and that he should get used to it. Marvelous. I don’t see the point in doing this though… I figured that I would be doing something weird considering what everyone else here can do.
Angela, feeling that Tom’s level of fatigue was sufficient, called him over to her. He stood next to her, sweaty and gasping while she spoke to him.
“Tom, this next part is very simple,” she instructed as she reached her hand into her pocket, “all I want you to do, is pick up this penny.” She pulled a penny out of her pocket, and dropped it on the ground.
He looked at her incredulously. “You’re serious? It’s a freaking penny.”
She sounded a little mad when she answered, “I am always serious when it concerns you, Tom Gilroy. And don’t say ‘freaking’. It makes you sound like a delinquent.” She stared at him, crossed her arms, and looked at the penny. “This will probably take you a while, and I have some errands to attend to, so I’ll come back and check on you later tonight, alright Tom?”
She walked away, leaving Tom feeling foolish and confused. He reached down to pick up the penny, and was amazed to find his hand slow down as he got closer to it. When his hand was a few centimeters away from it, he found he couldn’t move any closer to it at all. He pulled back, and called out to Angela who was still walking away. “What is this? I can’t even touch it!”
“That’s why it will take you until tonight to figure it out, Tom!” Then she went inside the cafeteria.
Tom already hated this penny game, and wanted to take a break. He reached at it several more times for it, each time failing. He kicked it once, only to discover that it was much like kicking a cinderblock, and cradled his foot for a few moments afterwards. He jumped on it, punched it, then just squatted there staring at it.
Well, this is getting me nowhere.
You’re going about this all wrong, Tom.”
Tom spun around, sure that the voice had been directly behind him. There was no one on the field though. Yet the voice had been so clear, so real.
“Where are you?” he spoke to the air.
“Who are you talking to?”
Tom turned back around and saw a tall woman with short brown hair looking at him with her hands on her hips. She had pale skin and big green eyes. She tilted her head and asked, “Anybody home?”
Tom looked around one more time for the speaker of the strange voice then replied, “My name’s Tom. I just got here.”
She looked down at the penny. “I can see that. What have you tried so far, Tom?”
When he told her, she nodded. “I actually tried to chew my way through I think. What a frustrating day that was. Hmmm.” She looked up t the sky and smiled. Then she patted him on the shoulder. “Well, I’m gonna go, but you keep at it!”
Tom had a quick dilemma over whether to ask for her name or her help. One quick glance towards the penny made him choose the latter.
“Any hints on how I’m supposed to do this?”
She gave him a look that said “Isn’t it obvious?”, but instead told him, “Just remember why you are here at all. Bye Tom.”
She closed her eyes, and as best as Tom could tell, she evaporated right in front of him into a cloud of steam. The cloud quickly floated all the way over to the door of the apartments, where it passed through the cracks, and she was gone.
Tom was dumbfounded, but she was right, whoever she was. He just wished he knew what he could do. He sat down next to the penny and tried his best to focus on it alone. He stared at it for what felt like an hour. His mind started to wander to other things. Why am I here? I don’t see how this is supposed to help me at all. Stupid penny. Why couldn’t they get a large stack of money? That would be more motivating.
Irritated?”
Actually, yes I am! And who are you?
Think on that irritation Tom. Think of exactly you want to do to that penny. Any words coming to mind?”
I’d really like to throw that penny off a cliff. I’d like to melt it down into a bullet, and shoot some other penny with it.
While those are interesting suggestions, it’s not quite what I’m looking for Tom. You’re thinking too broadly. Give me… an idea, a concept, something that captures how you feel in one word.”
Um, how about smash.
Smash? Are you fifteen?”
Why does everyone criticize how I talk? It’s not like
Whoa, easy killer. Just give me another one.”
Ok then… err… obliterate.
As Tom even thought the word “obliterate” he could somehow feel an excitement growing in his chest. He stood up quickly, and took a step back.
There it is, Tom. Now, I want you to focus on just that word. I’ll say it with you.”
Tom clenched his fists, and thought hard on the word “obliterate”. This was very weird, and a more than a little unnerving, but nothing else seemed to be working, and whoever this was seemed to have more of an idea of what was going on, so why not? His thoughts started to feel like a chant in his head.
ObliterateObliterateObliterateOBLITERATE!
Tom lifted his left hand straight out towards the penny, and spoke in a vehement voice, “Obliterate!”
Tom’s eyes shone with a brilliant pale blue light as heat flew from Tom’s left hand. The heat gathered into a sliver of white light above the penny. The sliver slid into the sphere protecting the penny, and when Tom felt the sphere being pierced, he instinctively knew to make the sliver of light explode. The explosion knocked Tom back a few feet, but he kept standing. He knew that he shattered the sphere though, he had felt it. Once the smoke had cleared, he walked over to the penny and, after a slight hesitation, picked it up. It was a little charred, but still a penny.
Yes, I did it! Now who are you!
But Tom was met with silence. He couldn’t get a word out of the voice, no matter how hard he focused. Then a wave of fatigue hit him, and he fell to his knees. He was confused, but elated. All he could do was laugh at himself, sitting on the ground, holding a burnt penny. And I’m talking to a voice in my head! I must be going crazy!

~~~~~~~~~

Angela was watching from a window as the gleaming light glistened beside Tom, and widened her eyes at the resulting explosion. This had taken far less time than she had anticipated.
A man in a white coat walked up behind her. She didn’t have to turn around to know who it was. She spoke first, hoping to leave a good impression on the silent figure.
“He is advancing quickly, sir. Would you care to look at his—“
“Did you not notice anything unusual about that display of power, Angela?”
Angela couldn’t help but to jump a little at the gravelly voice. Before she could answer, she heard him turn and start walking away. Before he left he told her, “Look more closely at his mannerisms in the future. That is all.”
She quickly tried to recall everything that had just happened in her mind. Tom had sat for a moment, then he stood up in a hurry, concentrated on the penny on the ground, raised his hand and… raised his hand. He raised his left hand! She flipped through her notebook to confirm what she already knew would be written there. Many physical movements can be given a probability or certainty of occurrence. The mental reconstructions specified that Tom Gilroy would, if given the choice, use his right hand in all instances. She snapped her book closed, and began walking to her office. There were some calls she needed to make now.

CheeseShaman posted 11:49 PM

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1 comments

1 Comments:

Nice!

Nice nice nice!

Nice nice nice nice nice nice nice!

Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice!

^_^

By Blogger The Gourd, at 2:49 PM  

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Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Chapter 4: The Advisor

All Tom could do was stare. Right there, right in front of him, was a man floating in the air.

This can't be real?! How is he just--

A wave of tingles passed through Tom's body. He gasped and fell back onto his pillow. His body started to shake a little, and he heard whispering in his mind. He couldn't hear it clearly, he had to focus to get anything at all. Then, very hushed, words started coming through. Tom's eyes
bulged as a voice spoke to him in his mind.

"...back to sleep, Tom."
What?! What is wrong with me?? Who is this talking?
"These questions will be answered for you very soon Tom, but right now I need you to calm down and rest. Now close your eyes."

Despite having this extremely unnerving event happen to him, Tom listened to the voice. He closed his eyes and tried to calm his shivering body down.

"Do you know...ongs.."
What? I can't hear you!
"...ocus!"
Right, focus... Ok, I'm focusing!
"Good Tom, do you know any songs?"
What? Well yeah, why? Who are you?
"Hum a song to yourself, Tom. It'll help you sleep. It always helped me sleep."

Then the voice was gone, no matter how much Tom thought about it. He opened his eyes and caught Jeff in his peripheral vision. He snapped his eyes closed, turned on his bed and curled up into a ball. Despite the growing suspicion that he was going crazy, a song did come to mind.
Something his mother had hummed to him. Or someone. He started to think about the song, and forgot about his surroundings. He was soon fast asleep again.

Jeff wasn't in the room when Tom woke up the next morning. The shocking
events that occurred the night before were still vivid in Tom's mind, but
at least he didn't feel tingly. He got up, and took a shower. Again,
clothes were waiting for him when he got out. The same white outfit, but
this time, white socks and sneakers waited for him. He got dressed, and
walked back to the bedroom. He heard a conversation going on in the
living room. He walked up to the door and Listened for a while. It was
Jeff and some woman talking.

"...didn't I get you for an advisor, Angela?"
"Oh, Jeff, I can be your advisor, here's some advice. Back off."

She's got a wit to her, thought Tom. I guess it's time to meet the
advisor.

Tom opened the door and saw Angela. She was standing next to Jeff, who
was looking smug. She looked at him, walked over and extended her hand. When Tom took it she said, "Hello Tom, my name is Angela Freed. Let's take a walk, yes?"

Tom nodded and got up. This would be his first opportunity out of his room with Jeff, and he could maybe figure out where he was. He followed Angela to the door, and looked at Jeff on his way out, who was making a weird face at him. All Tom could do was laugh as he caught up with
Angela.

She gave him a glance. "Something funny?"
"No, it's just, Jeff is just weird."
"Oh. Yes, Jeff certainly has a strange way about him. Now Tom, today may
be a little difficult for you, because we're going to start training."
"Training, what am I learning?"
"We will get to that later. For now, it would be better if we just got to know each other."
"We're going on a date? I like Chinese." He said smiling.

She stopped and looked him right in the eye, no humor in her face. "I'm
aware you overheard my conversation with Jeff earlier Tom, but do not be
mistaken. I am not your buddy to joke around with. I may have the title
of 'advisor', but for the next couple of weeks, we are not even friends.
Is that perfectly clear?"

All Tom could say was, "Oh. sorry."

"That's alright. Now, you are no doubt curious where you are." As she
spoke Tom looked around, not impressed. He was in a hallway just like
that in any office or hotel. Some pictures were on the walls and there
were other rooms, but beyond that there was nothing extraordinary. But
looking up ahead there was a door with sunlight pouring through a window.

He turned his attention back to Angela as she continued.

"This is the Center for Mental Acutement. Here, we take those who have had mental surgeries and teach them to use them to their fullest potential. This is a long process mind you. We do not expect your changes to manifest themselves instantaneously." She stopped at the door with the
window. "These are the training grounds." She opened the door and walked outside. Tom squinted against the brightness of the outdoors, and when his eyes adjusted, he saw the grounds.

There was a large field, about the size of two football fields placed next to each other. There were twenty or so people on the field, many of which were wearing the same white outfits. Some of them were with trainers, learning how to fight, with either their fists or very short
sticks. They were fairly impressive, but what really held Tom's attention were the others.

One girl, who couldn't have been older than ten was standing in front of a barbell, watching it as it floated up in down midair. Across from her, her advisor was talking to her, encouraging her to keep it up. When the barbell finally crashed to the ground with a thump, the girl fell to her
knees, gasping for breath, but laughing also. Her advisor walked to her side, writing something in a binder.

While Tom stared at the girl, a gunshot on the far side of the field roused him from his stupor making him jump. Angela stopped to watch Tom. Across the field, a man was standing with a firearm, unloading his magazine on another man who stood not twenty feet away. It was difficult for Tom to see, but what looked like black cords were spitting out of the man's body, deflecting the bullets. While this was happening, another man was sneaking up on the black cord man from behind. The black cord man looked behind him just as the man was jumping for him. The jumper was quickly ensnared with cords and tossed aside.

Angela put her hand on Tom's shoulder. "You'll get to meet everyone eventually, Tom. Let's continue on through the rest of the facility."

Tom was slow to leave these unbelievable people he was seeing, but decided answers to his questions were more important. He walked next to Angela to the other side of the field, where another building sat, much larger than the one he had come out of. As he passed those in white, they would stop and stare at him, until their advisors would berated them for lack of focus.

When Tom entered the building, he stopped and asked, "Will I be able to do that? Can I lift things with my mind?"

Angela pushed the hair out of her face before answering. "I'd like to tell you that we had an idea of how you will develop, Tom, but I can't. Your specific surgery was the first of its kind. Because of this, we have to be very careful and closely monitor how you change. We'll get to that
later today. This is the main headquarters and cafeteria of the CMA. The cafeteria is this way, and we can talk there.

While they ate, Angela asked Tom about his past, the training he had at his previous jobs, his likes and dislikes, and other topics. It really did feel like a date to Tom, except for Angela taking notes on what he was saying. They finished eating, and walked back out to the training
fields. There were only two people out there now, two young women jogging with each other around the field. They saw Tom and Angela come out of the headquarters and quickly left the field. The field looked a lot bigger with no one on it.

Angela walked in front of Tom, the sun bright overhead.

"Now Tom Gilroy, let's see what you can do."

CheeseShaman posted 9:03 PM

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2 comments

2 Comments:

I feel giddy.

By Blogger The Gourd, at 7:47 AM  

the people with the powers remind me of the X-men. ^^

By Blogger psykadelicbutterfly, at 9:05 AM  

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Saturday, September 16, 2006

Chapter 3: Roommates

Tom awoke in a room entirely different from the one he had last been in. He turned his head to look around. This room was larger, complete with a dresser, mirror, and all the usual furnishings of a bedroom. He sat up, and tentatively bent his legs to his chest. It didn't hurt, and he realized that nothing hurt at all. He felt wonderful.

He found a bathroom and saw it too was just like any other bathroom. Unsure of what else really to do, he took a shower. While he washing, he heard the bathroom door open. Sticking his head out from behind the curtain, all he could see was an arm placing clothes on the sink counter. Before he could thank the arm the door was swiftly closed. He finished and got dressed.

His clothes were the first abnormality. They were pure white, a tunic and comfortable pajama style pants, with white sandals. He looked in the mirror and grimaced. I look like a marshmallow. He sighed and went to figure out where in the world he was. Outside of his bedroom there was a regular looking living room, with a couch and a plasma screen TV. He heard a knock at the door across the room. He walked over to it and opened it. He ogled at the very large man on the other side.

He stood at what must have been seven feet tall, and was the strongest looking person he had ever seen. He had brown hair and was wearing normal clothes. Tom was glad that the stranger was smiling or he might have shut the door as quickly as he could. The man said, "Hey there, roomie! I'm Jeff. Who are you?"

"Uh, Tom. Where are we?"
Jeff ducked under the doorframe and entered the room. He walked over to the couch while he talked. "What, they haven't even given you the intro yet? Wow, no wonder you look confused." Tom shut the door and followed Jeff to the couch in the living room. Jeff's massive frame took up almost the entirety of the couch. Tom was about to ask another question when he heard another knock at the door. Jeff picked up a nearby remote and turned on the TV. He turned to Tom saying, "You gonna get that?"

Tom went over to the door and thought, What am I, the butler? On the other side of the doorway stood another man, in a business suit. He did not smile, but he offered a hand out to Tom. Tom shook his hand, and the man said, "Hello Mr. Gilroy, may I come in?"

But Tom had had enough. "What is going on?! Who are you people, and where am I?" Jeff snickered on the couch.

The man walked into the room, taking the outburst in stride. I understand your confusion, Mr. Gilroy, so please try to calm down while I explain things. The man saw Jeff on the couch. "Mr. Freed. Will you excuse yourself please? I need to go over a few things with Mr. Gilroy."

"Aw come on Doc! The game just started and--"
"Mr. Freed. Have you received some sort of accolade that I have not been informed of allowing you to not take orders from me? No? Then leave the room please." Jeff threw up his hands and got off the couch. He walked over to the TV, picked it up, and took it into the bedroom. He slammed the door. The man sighed. "You will have to excuse his manners. My name is Doctor Johnson. I would like for you to watch a little movie that will answer a few of your questions." He handed Tom a pair of sunglasses and gestured towards the couch. "Have a seat, please." Tom walked to the couch and sat down.

He looked at the sunglasses. "Are you serious?"
"I rarely joke, Mr. Gilroy. Now if you would put them on, please."
Tom put the glasses on. The lenses suddenly turned on, and an image of a woman in a lab coat appeared. She was blond and thin, and quite pretty. Tom thought he recognized her, but dismissed the thought. The woman smiled, and began to speak.

"Hello. My name is Dr. Appleby, and if you are seeing this, then you have completed your mental surgeries. Your healing process has been completed, and you have been sent out to your specific worksite. You have signed a contract agreeing that you will offer your services to whichever program has been chosen for you," Tom thought that the sunglasses squeezed against his head, but he ignored it and kept watching, "...and will operate by the guidelines established by the program. Your advisor will go over the specifics of your new life. Thank you, and welcome to the MentalWorks family." The lenses went black and Tom removed the sunglasses, handing them to Dr Johnson. "I had a mental surgery? I've never heard of that before." Dr. Johnson pocketed the sunglasses and replied, "Yes, it is a relatively new procedure, but completely safe, I assure you. Now Mr. Gilroy, you do remember signing the contract concerning working with us, correct?

"Yes, I...," an image flashed in his mind of him in an office signing papers, "I signed them before I had the surgery."

Dr. Johnson smiled. "Good. Now as you saw in the film, an advisor will go over the specifics of your new life with us. You will meet him later today. For right now, I have a few safety guidelines to go over with you. We would like if you would refrain from leaving your apartment until you have met up with your advisor. Also, do not be alarmed if you feel any tingling or odd sensations during your first few weeks here, it is just some after effects from the surgeries. Lastly, if you feel you are in serious pain, tell your roommate and he will take care of you." He stuck out his hand again to Tom and said, "Welcome to the company." Tom shook his hand and said, "Thank you." The doctor left soon after. Tom just sat there on the couch in silence. He recounted what had just happened in his mind. The warning about serious pain made him nervous, but he hoped that it was just business-fineprint-mumbo jumbo. A bellow from the bedroom roused Tom from his thoughts.

"Nooo! You should have had that. WUSS!"

Tom put his head in his hands and sighed. He had so many questions. I hope my "advisor" will be able to clear this up... I feel like I'm in college again. This is so bizarre.

Jeff poked his head out from behind the bedroom door. "Is he gone? Awesome. Help me hook this back up." He sat the TV next to the wall and walked back to the bedroom. Tom got up off the couch and fiddled with the wires, eventually getting it back in working order. He spent the rest of the day with Jeff, watching football or just talking about nothing. It was freakishly normal considering what had just occurred, and Tom knew he should be worried by the severe juxtaposition in events, but he didn't. Someone from the company brought their meals to them, and all in all, the day passed quickly. Jeff was still watching TV when Tom went to bed. He dreamed about something horrible and woke up in a sweat, unable to remember what the dream was about. Something about a voice. He looked across the bedroom and saw the impossible.

Jeff was asleep, snoring in a stretched out position. And he was levitating three feet off the ground.

CheeseShaman posted 9:38 AM

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3 comments

3 Comments:

ahh, the third chapter.

the sunglasses movie is pretty neat, but i'm not sure why it was really needed - Dr. Johnson could've told Tom everything in person without Dr. Appleby having to in the movie sunglasses. i can understand it if you want to keep up the sci-fi ambiance. perhaps it would help if Dr. Appleby went on to explain MentalWorks a little more (unless you're saving that for late). ^^

By Blogger psykadelicbutterfly, at 6:40 PM  

I added Elise as the speaker in the sunglasses to establish that Tom's memory of her had been erased. The movie is there at all to make it seem more like a real corporation. For instance, Walgreens has the lamest/funniest movies when you start working there. MentalWorks is the name of the government organization that conducts the surgeries. I probably could have made that more clear in chapter one...

By Blogger CheeseShaman, at 10:02 PM  

mmmyes.....mayhap.

By Blogger psykadelicbutterfly, at 3:20 PM  

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Friday, September 08, 2006

Chapter 2: Bad Memory
A voice roused Tom Gilroy from his sleep. "Wake up, Tom."

Groggily, Tom mumbled, "...Cassie?"

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Gilroy. My name is Dr. Appleby. I have a few questions to ask you, if you feel you can speak." Nodding slightly, Tom sat up in his bed to view his interrogator. She was a thin pretty blond woman, with a stethoscope around her neck. She held a clipboard to her chest as she looked at him. Besides the stool she sat on, there were not any other pieces of furniture in the room. She looked down at her clipboard and asked, "How are you feeling today? Is there any soreness on your shoulder or arms?"

Tom took a moment to look over himself. His shoulder did ache a little, and there were bandages on his arms, but he felt good otherwise. "Where am I?" he asked.

"I'm asking the questions, Tom, and you still need rest, so we need to finish this quickly. Now, can you bend your legs for me?" Confused, Tom bent his legs up. He winced as they locked up. "I can't move my legs any more. Dr. Appleby, what is going on?" Sighing, she set the clipboard on the bed. "I am doing a check-up on a patient who had some very intensive and expensive surgeries. I am trying to determine where you are in your healing process, so that I can see whether or not we need to aid you with medicine. Now just answer the questions please." She picked up her clipboard and started again. "What do you remember of your life Mr. Gilroy?"

He felt a twinge inside his head. "Uh... I remember everything, I grew up in Pennsylvania, went to college at Brown, moved on to a career in...uh..." There was another twinge, sharper this time. He put his hand to his head. Now his eyes were starting to water. "I don't know, maybe something for the government? Something important, uh..." "That's enough for now Tom, you don't have to--" "Wait, someone important, I was protecting someone important! It was... a woman! Who was she--" An explosion of images flew through his mind. A brown haired woman handing him some papers. The same woman smiling across from a table, then at a house, now they were at a lake, a huge fire, a man in all gray, a face. His face. Needles arcing across his line of vision.

"Mr. Gilroy, are you alright? Tom, I need you to say something. Tom?" Tom heard nothing, all he could see were needles moving in slow motion towards him. He started spasming in his bed, writhing and clawing at his back. Dr. Appleby jumped back, but then pulled a syringe out of her lab coat. She grabbed onto his arm and injected him with a sedative. He turned his head towards her, already feeling the effects of the sedative. His expression was distant when he said, "I couldn't save you." Then he collapsed onto his pillow, completely knocked out.

Elise stepped back from the bed, finger on her lip, thinking. An intercom popped on, and a voice asked, "Should we wipe more from his mind?"

"No, if we erase too much we may stunt his mental growth. Let's watch his progress some more and if it's absolutely necessary we will erase more. Call in to Mr. Johnso--"

She stopped mid-sentance when smoke started creeping out from under Mr. Gilroy's sheets. She rushed over and lifted his covers away from him. The smoke was coming from his chest. Lifting his shirt off, she saw a word being written on his flesh. The writing was cursive, and when it was finished, it read, "Cassie", directly onto his left breast.

"Vern, call in Dr. Hazel please."

"The plastic surgeon?"

"Yes, we can't have this causing problems with his development. Her memory would only interfere with our desired result." She walked out of the room, and the lights dimmed in Tom's room. Light flickered from beneath his eyelids.

CheeseShaman posted 3:06 PM

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2 comments

2 Comments:

and now i'm freaked out a little bit. seizures always do that to me.

very nice - feeding little bit by little bit to the reader. A minus.

^_^

By Blogger psykadelicbutterfly, at 8:34 PM  

This is better than the X-Files, and I never even really watched that show!

By Blogger The Gourd, at 7:42 AM  

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Monday, September 04, 2006

Chapter 1: The Treasure State

A black SUV drives along a newly-paved road in eastern Montana. Two men sitting in the back of the vehicle talk in hushed tones, while a man in a lab coat drives. They arrive at a long fence covered with various warnings towards trespassers. The man in a lab coat flashes a badge, and they are waved through by a pair of guards. The man in the coat turns to his passengers, "We'll be there in just a moment Mr. Avery."

"Thank you, Vern."

After a few miles, the vehicle pulls up at a gray windowless building, what appeared to be a school. A gust of cold air burst out of the building as the three men entered. The group is greeted by a thin blonde woman holding a clipboard named Elise. Mr. Avery and Elise engaged in the usual small talk that business people always enjoy. The man with Mr. Avery remained silent. Vern parted with the group saying he had work to do. As he walked away, Elise motioned for the two gentlemen to follow her.

They walked through several hallways, passing many doors with small square windows, allowing a meager view of their contents. Mr. Avery looked in one that had caught his eye, a room that appeared to be full of a red fog. Leaning in he saw a boy sitting on the ground. The boy looked up, and upon seeing Mr Avery, exploded into a wisp of red fog. Mr. Avery jumped back, agast. Elise put a hand on his shoulder saying, "If you would just follow me, please." She smiled, and they continued through the hallway. A face in the fog watched them walk away.

They stopped at room 148. Elise opened the door and asked the gentlemen to enter. The went into a room that was much like an interrigation chamber observation room. It was bare except for a few chairs, and a large pane of glass seperated them from the adjacent room, where a slew of scientific instruments were spread around the room, monitoring a man lying in a bed. The prone man was not conscious.

"Is this him?" Mr. Avery asked, walking close to the glass partition. Elise turned to a few pages on her clipboard, answering, "Mr. Tom Gilroy, unit number 13-2-01. His procedure was completed not but 20 minutes ago. He will be out for a couple of days. The changes should start to occur by then." The man with Mr. Avery finally spoke. "What kind of results should we expect? Perhaps you could show us someone else? I want to be sure of what we're dealing with.
Elise flashed her business smile at the man and walked to the glass. "Mr. Gilroy is the first to have this specific sort of mental alteration. We have a general idea of what to expect from him, as we have sent you in our report when you first decided to have this procedure done, Mr. Johnson, but as to the specifics, we are unclear. His physical alterations will take more time to emerge, and are entirely based upon his mental progress." At Mr. Johnson's frown she added, "But I can ensure you he is not a hazard to your cause."

Mr. Avery then leaned very close to the glass. "What is that?" he asked. A quick glance from Elise and she started ushering the two men out of the room. "We will send you a progress report as soon as possible. I will have Vern show you the way out. Thank you for your patronage." Before she shut the door on the now irritated pair, Mr. Avery saw scientists rushing into the room where Mr. Gilroy lie. His left shoulder was bleeding as something writhed out of it. Soon after the door slammed close, an intercom voice called for assistance in room 149, and for Vern to head to room 148. Mr. Avery looked at Mr. Johnson, who just shrugged, "This is not a setback Jean, let's not worry about it. Come on, let's see if they have anything to drink somewhere in this freak show, eh?" Mr. Avery shook his head, but followed along next to Mr. Johnson. They met up with Vern, who told them he would be glad to get them something to drink.

Later that evening, after Mr. Johnson and Avery had left, Elise met with Vern in room 148. She had lost her fake smiles, and wore a very stern expression. She was pacing, and firing questions at Vern who attempted to calm her down. He assured her that the two men suspected nothing was wrong, and were still willing to close the deal. Elise walked up to the glass, staring at Mr. Gilroy, who now had a bandaged shoulder.

"If this goes through, Vern... if we can get funding from these men we will be able to do so much more. We just have to keep them happy. And him alive."

In room 149 Tom Gilroy breathed in and out, while incredible changes occured inside of him.

CheeseShaman posted 5:41 PM

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4 comments

4 Comments:

good start so far, CS. ^^ aside from general spelling and grammar, i can dig it. Although the paragraph about the boy in the red fog a bit unclear (doesn't take away from the whole story though).

Also, Jean - I assume that is Mr. Johnson? Usually Jean is used as a woman's name - "Gene" is the male equivalent. usually. ^^

Also, i noticed the setting of your paragraphs is centered, but perhaps you want it that way.

that's all the nitpicking i have. i await the next chapter!

By Blogger psykadelicbutterfly, at 9:28 PM  

I would prefer the writing to not be centered, but I'm not sure where I fix this.

Since I have to write on Notepad to have cut/paste capability, I usually forget about spellcheck on blogger.

Red Fog boy. Mr. Avery happens to look into a room filled with a red fog. The boy who is inside the room sees Mr. Avery and turns into a cloud of the same fog. Kind of like how Nightcrawler would teleport and leave some smoke behind, except red fog boy doesn't teleport. I put this character into the story to establish the level of fantasy attributed with the alterations that occur at this institute. I say that they are rooms, but they are really cells. Perhaps I should have said that in the story.

Jean is SOOOO a guy name too. Example - Jean Reno, the famous actor. It's French. Deal with it. ^_^ And Jean is Mr. Avery.

By Blogger CheeseShaman, at 9:45 PM  

Did you say the paragraph about the fog boy was UNCLEAR? Hehe...

Good stuff! Keep up the good work.

By Blogger The Gourd, at 7:14 AM  

*stares at gourdy* 9.9

well.

someone's hackles were raised. *hiss* hehe

the centeredness is in your html someplace. it'll more than likely say "center" with the word closed in by <>s. and perhaps you can give the feeling of the rooms being cells through the POV's of one of the visiting gentlemen.

and so i forgot Jean could be a man's name. I didn't think French. -.- bah!

By Blogger psykadelicbutterfly, at 8:34 AM  

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Sunday, September 03, 2006

Tingly would be the best way to describe how he felt. Lying on the ground, he recounted what had just occurred over and over in his mind. At least, it felt like the ground; it was kind of wet. Straining to open his eyes, he sees the hint of fluid in the dim light. Oh, it’s my blood…heh. Before he could think of what to do next to revert this catastrophe, he feels something slide up his back. A quick stab of pain, and then he felt the worst thing in the world… nothing. Spine now shattered, all he could do was stare straight ahead as he lie dieing on the ground. The sickly gray goop of putty slid in front of him, but instead of a putty forming, a face began to form in the matter. His face. Overwhelmed with shock, eyes welling up with tears, all he could get out was a gurgle before the putty formed a series of urchin-like needles, finishing his short life in an instant.

But it was not the end.

Everything was dark. It didn’t really feel like falling, more like…floating on water. A prick on his shoulder. Pain. Something recently happened. ...Pain? I can feel! I must have…lived?

You are not dead.

I can’t have moved on to an afterlife… who are—

You will be silent now.

But I don’t understand, how can I be alive wh—a beep, and his mind felt like jelly. Sleep came quickly, but before he succumbed, all he heard was…

Begin the procedure. He is perfect for the change.

CheeseShaman posted 12:14 PM

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2 comments

2 Comments:

Mwahaha! A new story!

Who is this man, and why was he in combat with putties?

Questions that will be answered in a segment called...

Less of Self, More of Me

By Blogger CheeseShaman, at 12:22 PM  

and I have comments. ^_^

Thanks for the help PB.

By Blogger CheeseShaman, at 10:43 AM  

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