In the Absence of Luck

Faye~~

The dark haired girl looked from the the Sage girl and the guy she was looking across the room at and decided something. this was exactly like the mob, including the dumb mutts making sure nothing went sour and two people growing at eachother. Her large smile faded to a dark demenour, she hated the mob. They had made thier best acheivement into a laughing stock that they screwed over, but she screwed them over more for half thier money was invested in faulty crap she made up. Too bad they found out, soon they couldn't even afford the pavement they tried to own. The two others were growling, could be crazy scychotics for all Faye knew, about to murder anyone in sight.

"i suggest you don't do whatever your thinking," Daye commented on the woman's expression.

Faye got up and scooted next to the other girl who was on the other side of the room.

"Faye," Faye stuck out her hand with a smile of a god.

"Gabriel," The girl didn't shake Faye's hand.

"What are you in for?"

"One Murder and the other Attempt," She answered looking away.

"Ok then.." Faye sat next to the person.

Dr. James Fields

"I have to say, it feels excellent to be out of the Rehabilitation center cor even just a few hours." James mused as the van made its way down a particularly bumpy road.

"Never thought I would hear you say that, Doctor." the guard driving the van said.

James leaned back and smiled. "It's just going to be a good experience to come along for a pick up, I suppose."

The guard didn't say much else. It was to be expected though, James was the head of the entire program and the boss of this very guard.

The van rattled to a stop as James was lost in thought. The guard leaned out a window and spoke softly to another person. The grating sound of rusty gates opening sounded from in front of the van and the van started again.

"Almost there, Doctor."

James nodded. "Wonderful."

Only a few minutes later, the two found themselves walking down a corridor lined with prison gates. Every once and a while an insult would be yelled from a cell when they realized what type of people were walking past.

"Here we are." the guard said, tone nonchalant, as we stopped in front of a large cell filled with three people.

"Well hello there!" I greeted the prisoners.

One of the females smiled at me, and the other glared. I could not see the mans face from where I stood.

"So, shall we be on our way then?" I asked.

((I'm slightly confused Lizzifier. Did Sage move to sit next to Gabriel? If so, he's a dude and he's been incarcerated for numerous accounts of burglary and forgery. If she's talking to Sage, well, Sage's name is Sage, she already told Faye her name, and I think she's in for one count of murder. Then again, if you're assuming that Elly's character is there with them, her name is Waverly. Sorry, I'm just a bit confused.))

Gabriel Stone

I knew it was unwise to torment a fellow prisoner in this fashion, but it was my natural response to be irritating when I was feeling anxious about something. I only stopped because at that moment who should enter but Dr. James Fields himself.

"Well hello there!" Was he trying to put us off with a false show of cheerfulness, or did he really enjoy his job that much? I watched him uneasily.

"So, shall we be on our way then?"

"On our way where?" asked Sage. She seemed at least as nervous as I felt. Hopefully I did a better job of hiding it.

Dr. Fields grinned. "To our first session of course."

I blinked. "Already? We just got here."

He nodded and peered at me like I was something on display in a museum. "Of course. You're Mr. Stone, correct?"

"Well, as I'm the only male prisoner here..." I said dryly. The voice in the back of my head told me to shut up, but it was a little late for that.

The only effect my statement seemed to have on the Doctor was to make him seem more interested in me. "I think we're going to get to know each other very well, Mr. Stone," he stated with a smile I didn't quite like. "Come."

I glanced at the guards before getting to my feet. The others did likewise.

"Weren't we supposed to be given a physical?" asked Faye. "And what about our living arrangements?"

"All in good time," Fields said with a good natured laugh. "It can wait until after the session."

With another glance at the guards, the three of us filed out of the room after him.

Sage

The guards formed a tight circle around Sage and the other two convicts. Sage looked around herself, feeling self-conscious.

Sage stepped up to the doctor. "So," she said nervously. "What kind of session are we talking about?"

He glanced at her briefly. "You sound concerned. Why is that?" Sage stared at him, stiffening.

"'That' is none of your business."

The doctor smiled at Sage. Sage narrowed her eyes at him. He watched Sage for a moment; Sage stopped walking for a moment, staring at him nervously. Sage had the distinct impression that the doctor was calculating her, that he was inspecting her every flaw, and that every word or movement Sage made meant something to the good doctor.

"Well," he replied cheerfully after a moment. "I think, Miss Fleming, that you will find that it is my business."

Sage was silent now. She daren't say anymore. She was being watched. The doctor watched her for a moment more, then turned and walked briskly toward the end of the hall. He pulled a key out from a chain in his pocket. The doctor twisted the key in the nearest door's lock. A keypad slide out smoothly, and he quickly punched in a long key-code and pressed his thumb to a finger pad. The door pinged, and slid open.

Sage and the other convicts were hurried into the room after the doctor stepped in. Sage's jaw dropped. The room was a pale blue, with a ring of chairs in the center. The doctor was sitting in the chair farthest away from the convicts.

Sage spun around at the sound of the door sliding shut behind them. They were locked in the room with only the doctor and the three guards standing at the edges of the door.

The doctor smiled at them pleasantly. "Well, now, isn't this nice?" he said sweetly. "Sit, sit!"

The three convicts didn't move. The doctor glanced at the three of them, his eyebrows raised. He looked over his shoulder at the guards.

"Well, I'm afraid that sitting isn't much of an option. We need to be calm and relaxed, therefore I really must insist - "

Sage jumped as one of the guard's strong arms landed on her shoulder. The guards began to guide them to their seats. Sage jerked out of their grasp and sat stiffly on her own seat. She saw Gabriel glance at her as he sat down. The doctor pulled a clipboard out of his coat, smiling at all of them once more.

"Very good. Now, if you are not aware: I am Dr. James Fields. We will all get to know each other very well during your stay here. But, for now, our only obligation is to talk. Does anyone have anything that is on their mind?"

Gabriel Stone

I glanced at Sage as she jerked out of the guard's grip before sitting down on her own. Despite what I has said earlier, she was interesting in her own odd way. At least, I'd prefer to watch her being defiant than to focus on the doctor. Everything about him made me uneasy, as loathe as I was to admit it. His cheery disposition seemed off. Way off.

I didn't resist too much as the guard pushed me down into the seat. Generally it was smarter to keep your head down.

"Very good. Now, if you are not aware: I am Dr. James Fields. We will all get to know each other very well during your stay here. But, for now, our only obligation is to talk. Does anyone have anything that is on their mind?"

"I have something on my mind," I told Fields. "Namely why so many people in your program have gone insane."

I said it was smarter to keep your head down. I didn't say that was what I did.

Dr. Fields looked at me as though I'd told a joke he didn't quite get. "Pardon me?"

I shrugged and crossed my arms. "I've read about you and your program, and all the books are very sketchy on the details of what it entails. What exactly can we expect from this rehabilitation?"

Sage and Faye watched him expectantly, waiting for his reply.

Dr. James Fields

"Well..." James checked the files on his lap "Gabriel, as you could assume, in this world today we are all so very dependant on the Luck. My program is focused on bringing you fine people through with a much lower dependancy on Luck. Many people just can't handle that."

Gabriel still looked skeptical.

"Well why weren't we informed of this program earlier?" the girl, Sage asked.

"I am only connected to the prison system through this program, and was unaware that Rehabilitation is not avidly discussed. Maybe that could be a reason some patients find it hard..." James trailed off into his own world of thought.

The patients stared at eachother and James.

"Doctor." one of the guards said loudly, jolting James back to reality.

"Well yes, anything else?" he asked.

Gabriel Stone

I stared at Dr. Fields in disbelief. Again with the vagueness. Why couldn't they just come out and say what they would be putting us through here?

"That's all well and good doctor, but what will we be doing here? What sort of things will we be put through?"

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough." Dr. Fields grinned at me like a man about to present a child with a gift. "Let's make it a wonderful surprise."

The other two exchanged a glance. They were probably thinking that most wonderful surprises don't result in people losing their minds.

"Well, if there aren't any more questions..." said Dr. Fields.

Faye~~

Faye's green eyes rolled about the room, bored out of her mind yet interested in this doctor person.

"If there are no more questions.." The doctor said, looking up then back to his watch.

"I have a question," Faye remarked.

"Yes, Miss..?"

"Faye, Faye Hendricks," She answered, "I wanna know how much freedom we have."

"What type of freedom?" The doctor raised an eyebrow.

"Like social, pyscical and mental," Faye responded smiling like a cat would. The doctor just raised an eyebrow.

Dr. James Fields

James considered this question for a moment, mentally running through the entire program's features, benefits, and drawbacks.

"Well, as you can assume, we can't just let criminals go running around all willy-nilly before Rehabilitation is complete. There are restraints, but there are certain freedoms." James said.

"Can you explain?" Faye asked. It was apparent that all the patients were feeling the same sort of anxiety and annoyance.

"Yes, of course." James said as he scribbled some notes in a notebook. "You will have free rein to socialize with all other patients in Rehabilitation, and will be sharing rooms with five or so other patients. So the cells are a thing of the past!" James laughed momentarily at his own statement.

The patients watched him expectantly.

"You will of course not be permited outside the Rehabilitation center, but the center does contain an excellent exercise facility and a rather large courtyard for your enjoyment. The program is quite stressful though, and takes a lot of determination to complete. But then again, we don't want half-hearted Rehabilitated criminals running around do we?" James smiled as he finished. His program surely was excellent.

The patients didn't speak anymore, and seemed annoyed with not knowing any more about the actual program than they had before.

"Well, let's get a move on then, shall we?" James stood and walked to a metallic door and knocked twice.

The door opened and a woman doctor stepped out.

"Time for physicals then." James announced.

Dr. Wu

I looked around, a little surprised. "Only four? Huh, I was expecting there to be more of you." A smile crossed my face. "But that doesn't matter. Who wants to be first?"

No one looked very happy about having to go through a physical. They never did.

I kept smiling. "You start then." I grabbed one of the girls by the arm and dragged her back into the other room. There was no way I was going to wait for someone to step forward. We might have been there all day.

Dr. Fields shut the door behind me, and I took out a clipboard. "Okay, if you could just tell me your name and remove your clothes."

My patient wrinkled her nose. "Excuse me?"

"This is a physical, remember?" I peered at her over my glasses. "It shouldn't take too long if you just cooperate. Now what's your name?"

**the girl can be any of your characters**

Sage

Sage glared at the woman. She glanced pointedly at the clipboard. "Take a look for yourself. I'm sure you people have some sort of file on me, right?"

The woman sighed. "I do, but it would be much easier for me if you just told me your name."

Sage maintained a stony silence. The woman flicked a piece of hair away from her face irritably, nodded to the guard standing at the door, and moved across the room to glance through her file cabinet. After a few moments she turned back to Sage with a crisp folder in her hand. The woman opened the file and flicked through its contents.


"Let's see, now... Fleming, Sage... Age: Thirty-three. That you?"

Sage had been having a silent glare-contest with the guard. She glanced away from him now to look back at the woman before her.

"Yes," came Sage's stiff reply.

"Good. Now, will you cooperate for the rest of this, or do I need to take further action?"

Sage lifted a finger and pointed to the guard. "I want him out of the room."

The woman exhaled sharply through her nose.

Dr. Wu

I watched Sage for a moment. The guard tensed.

"Leave us. She doesn't have luck; if she tries anything, it should be pretty easy to stop her."

The guard growled and stalked out of the room.

I turned back to Sage, smile a bit strained. "Now, if you would please take off your clothes, we could get this over with."

Sage gritted her teeth and started to undress.

"Thank you," I said as I returned my attention to the clipboard. "Do you have any medical conditions I should be aware of?"

Sage

Sage stiffened again, crossed his arms tightly. The woman flashed Sage a stern look. Sage's eyes widened indignantly.

"None."

The woman made a tick on her clipboard. She turned to Sage again, her mouth open to ask another question.

"Who are you?" demanded Sage suddenly. The woman pursed her lips for a moment. She gave Sage a very irritable look.

"I am Dr. Wu."

Sage growled in frustration, rubbing her face. "You are all doctors here!"

"Did you expect otherwise?" was the stiff reply. Sage glared at the woman.

"I didn't expect to be here at all, Doctor."

Wu's eyebrows rose. "Regulations," she said in a formal, clipped tone. Sage snorted.

"Regulations. Right."

Dr. Wu

I rolled my eyes. This Sage was getting very tiresome. "Could you turn around, please?"

The girl turned, though it was obvious that she was a bit reluctant to turn her back to me. I didn't really care. Her stay here wasn't going to be comfortable, so she could just get used to it.

I looked her over again, made a few more checks on my clipboard, took some measurements, had her step on a scale, and nodded. "Good, good. You can put your clothes back on Sage."

**Onoz! I didn't know that we had started. I'll just pop in here**

Waverly's arm was hurting from the guards grip.

"It's your fault that you took so damn long to wake up! Now we are very late and you need your physical taken!" he yelled. Waverly flinched.

"Don't yell at me," she said. Her tone was flat and dark. The guard didn't open his mouth until they met up with the doctor.

"This is Waverly Rolfs. I am very sorry that she is so late," the guard said tightening his grip on Waverly's arm. She only winced and continued looking at her feet as the guards grip was replaced by tender fingers lightly touching her forearm pulling her into the room, closing the door.

"How are you, dear? I am Doctor Fields. Sadly, you missed the chance to socialize with the others, but you are in time for your physical. I am just going to hand you over to Doctor Wu so she can look over you." Dr. James Fields stopped and so did Waverly. She hadn't looked up once. "Doctor Wu, you have this one to do also. Her name is Waverly Rolfs," he said letting go of Waverly's forearm.

"Hi, Waverly. I am Dr. Wu," she said holding out her hand. Waverly looked up.

"Pardon me if I don't shake hands," she said cold-heartidly. She could feel the tension that suddenly entered between them. It made her smirk a tad.