In the Absence of Luck

Right, well, guys, another character may be coming into play soon. I'm going to make a discussion thread, but for those of you who want another character, my new guy will open up a couple spots for staff members. Look to the discussion thread for more info.

Sage

Sage glanced up sharply at Dr. Fields. "Cells?" she demanded. "I thought you said we are getting rooms"

The guards standing by the door gave her a strange look, but Sage ignored him. Dr. Fields smiled at her.

"Not to worry, Miss Fleming. Of course, your room's doors must be locked at night, to prevent any possible escape attempts. But I can assure you, your accommodations are quite nice."

Sage swore, looking away. "This is nothing but a glorified prison..." she muttered under her breath. Dr. Fields gave no response. Out of the corner of her eye, Sage saw him turn to Waverly.

"To answer your question about single rooms, I have been informed that we must keep as many rooms open as we can. The only one of you who may have a single room is Mr. Stone, for obvious reasons. A room with three beds has been prepared, and the females all need to room together."

Sage cursed again, throwing a glare in Faye and Waverly's direction. They exchanged annoyed glances. When Sage looked back, Dr. Fields met Sage's eye reproachfully.

"I would prefer it if you refrains from such language in the center, Miss Fleming. there is no need to be negative here."

Sage rolled her eyes at him. 'No need to be negative.' Sure. Dr. Fields apparently took her silence as agreement, and he smiled brightly at her.

"Well, then," he said jovially. "I'm sure you all are eager to see your new quarters, so let's hop to! You are a Rehabilitation group, and as such, you will spend all of your time here together. There is a general living area and eating space, and beyond that are your rooms. Mr. Stone's room is to the left, ladies, your room is to the right. Why don't you all get settled in. Dinner will be brought to you shortly."

The guard ushered them all through a great steel doorway and into the so-called 'general living area'. Sage glared at him for a moment. He spared her a glance, but seemed largely unaffected.

Dr. James Fields

James went his seperate way from the convicts as the guard ushered them into the living area. He turned down a short hallway and entered a small room with a window on one side. The good ol' two way mirror.

James sat down in his chair and pulled out a notebook. As the convicts interacted he took notes and observed, though his mind was certainly elsewhere.

"I wonder if I could manage time travel..." he mused. "Certainly then one could go back and stop these young people from commiting such crimes and leave the Rehabilitation center with no purpose...that would give me more time for my own studies..."

Suddenly, action in the general living area grew. The convicts were doing something. James leaned forward to observe.

Gabriel Stone

I couldn't help but smirk a little when I heard I'd be getting my own room. Perfect. I would get solitude even in this dismal little laboratory of a place.

When the guard ushered us into the room, my smirk faded. Goody. This place was better than the cell I had in prison, but it still had that distinct 'you're a prisoner here' feel to it. Maybe it was the bars on the windows... oh well, at least they gave us windows here.

"Well ladies," I said, "perhaps we should get right down to business; namely, we should help each other figure out what that Dr. Fields has planned for us in this place."

Faye~~

I smiled at the small groupthen at the guy Gabriel.

"Well, Dr. Feilds wants to help us so my bet is on meantal slash physical torture which will scar us into believing that we are oranges and they are going to peel our skin off if we try to do the same exact thing as before. I saw a guy in a rave think he was an orange.. mayve it was just the fact he-"

My comment was interupted with the glares my body recieved.

"Kidding, kidding," I raised my arms in apology and smiled at the group.

Okay, guys - DT is here: http://www.youngwriterssociety.com/topic52213.html
Very, very shortly I will have our new character's profile up there. He is pretty darn crucial to the whole operation, and should really set the plot spinning. (I hope!)

Sage

Sage pursed her lips. She collapsed in the nearest chair and folded her arms tightly across her chest. Sage glared at the pale blue walls for a moment.

"As much as it pains me to admit it," she said tonelessly. "I agree with Faye. She perhaps dramatized this all, but it is a mental adjustment place, isn't it? With stress balls, and happy colors, and ..." Sage trailed off, sitting up straighter in her chair. "The bottom line is that they are going to either cookie-cutter us into model citizens or drive us mad. That's what everyone says about the place."

"Yes, well that's all very good and all," snapped Waverly quickly. "But it is nothing we didn't already know."

Sage glared at her viciously. "Really?" Sage asked dangerously. Sage decidedly could not stand that woman. "I was under the impression that people ask questions when they don't know."

Waverly rolled her eyes and looked away from Sage. Sage's lip curled slightly, then Sage followed her example. She spotted Gabriel frowning at the ceiling.

"Pardon," he said stiffly. "But as much at this constant bickering is entertaining, it isn't helping any of us. So, if you would please stop, I would be grateful."

Sage felt her color grow in her cheeks. She was a grown woman. Who was Gabriel to be treating her like a five-year-old?

((Yaaaay new characters!))

Gabriel Stone

I noticed the expression on Sage's face and rolled my eyes. "I'm sorry, but there's quite a bit more at stake here than your fragile emotions. I rather value my sanity and my individuality, and if we're to get through this with both of those intact we need to get over this sort of pettiness."

Sage looked ready to eviscerate me.

"Wait a minute..." Faye looked around the room with an absent sort of frown on her face.

After a few seconds had passed and she didn't elaborate, I nodded. "Yes?"

"Do you think maybe they have this room wired or something? I bet someone's watching our every move."

I wanted to scoff and say that was borderline conspiracy-theory, but my stomach twisted uneasily. She brought up a good point.

Attention Everyone! Please go to the DT IMMEDIATLY if you have not already seen our new character. He will be controlled by me, unless a special case comes up. GO THERE NOW, PLEASE! And if you would, post saying that you have been there. It would help me a lot. And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming...

Christopher Cole

Cole punched in the security code for the entrance to the Rehabilitation Center. He had no high expectations for this place. Criminals, after all, stayed criminal.

But, high people in high places ordered him to hold an inspection. And an inspection was what he planned to do.

Cole walked into the compound, eying the unremarkable concrete walls and the dramatic bars on the windows. "How... Quaint..." he drawled to himself. Cole turned to the sound of running feet. Three guards were charging up to him, weapons drawn. Smirking, Cole pulled out his government-issue badge.

"Surprise inspection, boys," he said in his usual clipped tone, tossing the nearest guard the ID. "Glad to see me?"

"Erm - " said one of the guards hesitantly. "Christopher Cole?"

Cole waited patiently for him to elaborate. "I would hardly say I was Bob Smith, would I?" he replied when it became apparent that the guard was asking him for confirmation. Cole sighed. "Where is your Dr. James Fields? He is in charge here, correct?"

"Er - Yes, sir."

"Good." Cole bared his teeth in his version of a smile. "And where would he be?"

"The observation room, sir. For Apartment No. 5. Should I - ?"

"No, I've studied the plans of your building," said Cole sharply, casting a quick glance around. "I'll be going, then."

Cole marched away. He followed the hallways and corridors he had gotten to know well during his months of research of the Center prior to his actually being here. It wasn't difficult for him to find the Observation Room.

Cole punched in the code he had assigned himself when he had hacked into the Center's mainframe earlier in the month. The door swung open with a pneumatic hiss. Cole stepped smartly in, to she the silhouette of a man obviously scribbling something down in a notebook. He hadn't seem to notice Cole's entrance.

Cole's gaze flickered up to the window that the good Doctor was looking through so intently now. The people - Convicts, Cole mentally corrected himself - were looking about the room they were in nervously, as if they suspected someone was watching.

But whether the godforsaken criminals were nervous or not was not Cole's concern. Right now, Cole was only concerned with the doctor, and nothing more. He pushed the button to make the observation room door shut and lock itself. There would be no need for interruptions.

"Dr. James Fields, I presume," said Cole silkily in the darkness of the room.

((post for my guard soon, just letting you know))

John Vincent

I was surprised when the intruder tossed us a government ID. I looked it over, unsure of what to do. "Erm... Christopher Cole?"

"I would hardly say I was Bob Smith, would I? Where is your Dr. James Fields? He is in charge here, correct?"

My jaw clenched almost involuntarily. If there was one thing I couldn't take from anyone whether they were a convict, a fellow guard, or a freaking government officer was the sort of sneering patronizing way this Cole had.

One of the other guards, Marcus West, gave me a warning glance before he went on to answer Cole's question. "Er - Yes, sir."

"Good." Cole's smile looked like it would better suit the face of an angry dog. "And where would he be?"

"The observation room, sir. For Apartment No. 5. Should I - ?"

"No, I've studied the plans of your building. I'll be going, then."

I watched him leave, eyes narrowing. "I don't care if he's a government agent," I murmured to West. "I'm going to keep an eye on him."

Marcus rolled his eyes. "Whatever. If you lose your job because you were being a pain in the-"

"I don't see how my job's any of your business," I remarked before stealing after Cole, automatically wishing to go unnoticed.

It wasn't long before he ducked into the observation room. I sighed and leaned against the wall, waiting for him to come out.

*Will someone bring me in, please?*

I mentioned Waverly in Sage's last post. Just post a reaction.

*Oh! Thanks!*

Waverly took a glance at Faye who was staring at the walls, seeming to be inspecting them. Waverly soon found herself doing the same. Her eyes traveled from the roof, to the thickness inbetween the walls, all the way to the bathroom mirrors. She shuddered. Sage was being rude, but she would have to man up and take it. Befriending everyone here and participating in the activities was her only way out of there. She'd have to put on a friendly face, a mask. Waverly smirked at the thought of this. She started to think that all it was was a game, a masquerade ball. And whoever played nicely, and used their imagination (pretended) the best was the first one out of there. It was an illimination game mainly. This was a test of mental strength and wits. And as much as Waverly hated it, she couldn't help but think that they all had to get out of their together, as friends...for the time being. Waverly found herself wondering over to a corner. She sat down and started to think about other things, like what she would do if she got out of there. If she would even have a life because all of the things that she lived for or loved, was dead or gone. She felt her eyes start to water, releasing a tear on her cheek as the memories of her mother popped into her head.

*Agh! Is that any good? I can always change it!*

**Does anyone know where Lauren2010 is? I think I've got to PM her, because Sole is tied up until she posts...

Sage

Sage gave a loud groan as she glanced at Waverly. She stood up and walked over to a window and rested her forehead against it. She glared out at the view around her. The Center was out in the middle of a desolate nowhere land, far away from the helpless civilians.

Which left a lovely desert view from the convicts' windows.

Sage frowned. Waverly was insane. She goes from being furious at Sage to crying, for pity's sake. Uneasily, Sage wondered how long she would last in this godforsaken place. There seemed to be no hope left for her.

Slowly and deliberately, Sage turned around to face the rest of the convicts.

"What now?" she asked in a monotone. "We are locked in a room that is likely watching our every move, there are literally hundreds of guards outside waiting for us to escape, we have no luck, and don't get along well. I don't know about you, but things aren't looking great to me."

Sage looked at each of them, waiting expectantly. Faye glanced around for a moment.

"Sounds like we should start talking," she said cheerfully, ignoring the three stares she received for it.

Faye~~

"Cause lets look on the bright side!" Faye ignored the cold stares, "I'll bet we will be the best of friends in the end!"

The silence unnerved Faye so she opened her mouth again.

"Hi my name is Faye Hendricks," Her introduction was met by one or two eyerolls, "I am a con artist who likes cooking and reading trash magazines on the beach along with the occasional french novel. I am fluent in four languages incuding Arabiyya, espanol, france and english. I also killed two men, even though I was all the way across the country at the time."

She looked at the rest of the group, brushing back her hair while doing so, her eyes flashed an innocent truth, too bad she just lied. She only lied about half of it though, really no lying.

Sorry for missing so much of this guys!!

James Fields

"Dr. James Fields, I presume?" James jumped at the sudden sound. He had been so engrossed in his observations and notes he hadn't noticed someone come in.

James swiveled around to see an official looking man behind him. "Yes, that would be me. And you are?"

"Christopher Cole, government inspector," he said.

James nodded. "I hadn't been alerted of an inspection," he thought aloud.

"What good is an inspection if you have a chance to hide something?" Cole asked.

James thought about this for a moment. No, of course it would be no good if there was time to hide anything. There was nothing to worry about though, at least not yet. For now, all James' experiments were shut up in his own pretty little head.

"I suppose you have a point, sir." James stood and stuck out his hand. "Pleased to meet you."

Cole shook his hand roughly and looked around the room. He stared intently through the window at the convicts apartment. "Convicts," he stated.

"Yes, they are. I have high hopes for their rehabilitation." James said.

Cole didn't look impressed.