The JTC

Ashley:

The bell for lunch rang and I stood up. Here we go again, I thought. Wonder if Foster turns up and shoves me in isolation again...

"Come on Rory."

"How do you know my name!" He demanded. I just sighed.

"Your sister called you Rory when she came in the room. I'm Ashley," I said rolling my eyes. Like I wasn't going to overhear them from the bed next to his....

He stalked off towards the door and it open automatically. He had the courtesy-or was it something else?-to let me go first. I shrugged and headed off down the hall towards the lunch hall. I felt the boy following me, his anger and frustration like a dark storm cloud at my back.

As soon as I entered the room, I felt Hero there. I smiled and went off to join her at her table. I knew Rory was confused now; the lunch hall looked exactly like the hall we were once all in when we first got here. It was meant to confuse us but it didn't work on me... Just because I'm was an Empathic and could only read the worker's emotions didn't mean I was stupid. I had other...skills. Skills that only Foster knew about and I didn't want to share.

"Hey," I said and Hero looked at me. I still didn't know what she could do and I wasn't asking. Almost all of the kids had seen me collapse over a dozen times in the past week; they were used to my episodes by now and realised that Foster set me off--most of the time.

Hero smiled back at me-a rare occurrence and I noted the tiny flickering flame in one hand. It was barely there and I knew why-if Foster saw he'd put her in 'isolation' or rather he'd personally over see some tests and other morbid things I didn't want to think about.

"Hero," I said bringing her head up. She'd gone back to the cold facade. "This is Rory." I nodded towards the boy just as I felt him drift off to the other end of the lunch hall.

I frowned and looked towards him; why was he going to the far end instead of the closer canteen? Then I noticed his sister at the closer one. Huh, guess there was a little tension there...

Hero gave the boy a weird look as he took off for the far end. I frowned again and closed my eyes. Rory was an emotional mess at the moment. I sighed and shook my head, opening my eyes.

I leaned forwards and whispered to Hero; "He's a bit strange, this is probably normal."

She smirked and started eating, hiding her face. I looked around the hall, frowning. There were less kids here than before. Yesterday there had been close to two hundred, now there was less than half that.

I heard a sigh and looked towards Jessica, one of the youngest here. She shook her head when she saw me looking and went back to whatever it was she was reading...

Suddenly I felt a lot of darkness heading towards the Lunch hall... Uh oh, no... Not Foster, I thought desperately and clung to table, biting my lip. Hero gave me a concerned look as did Jessica. They had both seen me like this before and knew how bad I could get.

"I have to get out here," I whispered, closing my eyes. "A-away from him."

Rory:

I sat back down with my lunch only to see that Ashley was clutching the table clearly under a lot of stress. The girl called Hero looked at her with concern. I shrugged and tucked into my baked beans. Then I felt it, a dominating and looming presence pressing on my mind. I reached out to it, to try and control it but it resisted. This person was clearly practised in dealing with my...gift. I looked around the hall for the source of the power adn I saw a man enter the lunch hall.

"I have to get out of here. A-away from him" I heard Ashley whisper, how could this person be having such a bad effect on her? It annoyed me that I couldn't control him but it wasn't that bad.

Hero:

"Hold on Ashley." Hero said and took her hand keeping her from leaving the table. Foster was just a big guy who used muscle power to control everyone. Muscle power didn't cut it here. He drifted over, around the tables, giving everyone a cold look, it was somewhat snide. Everyone seemed pretty grim around here though. Hero took her finger and shot a thin line of fire and hit Foster in the ear. He whipped around and Ashley nearly shook with unease.

"Hero, get your ass over here. " He said in a voice so calm it was menacing. Hero glanced over at Rory, who was also a bit pale. She turned her back stiffly and continued to eat her... mystery food.

"Hero, I'm talkin to ya." He said again, from right behind her. She stayed stiff and took another forkful. Silence had fallen over most everyone and they were looking at Foster who was coolly composed. ( His bright red ears told another story.)

"Hey Rory," She started loudly, "Wanna hear a story about Foster? Okay... this morning he woke up, and put on his fancy shmancy suit, and his fancy hair gel, and his shined up shoes and brushed his fancy fake teeth, and coifed his fancy fake nails. He got up and looked in the mirror, and despite all his fanciness and artificial appearance, he's still a fat, lazy son of a bitch, who's jealous of us all and that's why he's keepin us here." Foster smiled politely and nodded, then took out a strait jacket.

You guys, this is goin great. Check out the DT for the plotline I kinda have planned, and make any suggestions/edits before we really get going.

I am not falling behind. I like this one.

Isaiah Foster

He looked down at the girl, his eyes starting to dig into her. Brave. Courageous, but free-willed. She could go either way... He fingered the cloth behind his back, and put his hand out to her beckoningly.

“Miss Grywisovich, may I ask you to come with me?” She looked at him like he was a beetle asking, folding her arms and cocking her head. “It would be easier if you took my hand.” He shook the jacket behind him a bit. There was silence in the room, and no one moved. Isaiah shrugged and called over two security guards, tossing them the jacket.

“Bring her to my office, thirty mil of Nithozine* for protection.” He turned and said to the other kids, “Sorry to disrupt your meal, I’ll try to be a little more subtle next time.” Then he left.

(*Is it okay that I made it up? I needed a way to cancel out her powers, otherwise I think things would get messy.)

Pshhhht, yeah, you can make up whatever you want.

Hero

"What the hell?" I screamed as two security guards closed in on me. I would have given them a good fight if that bastard Isaiah hadn't drained my powers with that nithozine crap. After succeeding to shove me out into the hall they zipped the straitjacket all the way up to my chin and wrapped it around me multiple times.

"Let's go to the waiting room." One of the guards said, smiling. I was lead into a vaccuum locked, soundproofed room that was rounded somehow and completely white. They removed the straitjacket and tipped their hats as they left.

Ashley:

I didn't look up as Foster left with the two security guards in tow, dragging Hero out with them. I felt the darkness receed and collasped on the table, my eyes closed.

"What the hell was that?" Rory asked. I did move as someone put their had on my shoulder.

I jekred away from them as their emotions started flooding towards me and sat up, eues wide.

"I...I have to go," I whispered and stood up. I gave Jessica and Rory a small smile and fled the room, returning to the dorm.

I curled up on my bed, my head on my knees and closed my eyes. I took a few deep breaths, trying to control my empathy; if I lost control of it, everyone would be feeling what I felt...

I heard the door open but didn't look up, I knew who it was anyway.

Rory,

I entered the room to find Ashley curled on her bed breathing deaply.

"Ashley, what's going on?" I asked sitting on my bed opposite her. She didn't look up but she mumbled something. "I don't have the power of exceptional hearing," I said sarcastically. She looked up and laughed a little, but the laugh didn't touch her eyes.

"I'm empathic," she said as though it were something to be ashamed of.

"I won't pretend that I know what that is, but I'm assuming that its your power."

She nodded and sighed.

"Thats why I was so tense. Fosters attitude..."

"Foster?" I said cutting across her.

"He runs things around here."

I nodded and waved my hand for her to continue.

"His attitude is so... so evil." She shuddered.

Ashley:

"His attitude is so... so evil." I shuddered and tossed my blond curls over my head, hiding my face.

Rory stared at me for a moment, I could feel his confusion.

"Well," I said and his bed creaked. "Epmathy is only one of them..." I trailed off, unable to continue.

He coughed and I looked up. I sighed and shook my head.

"I'm useful for him," I whispered. Rory frowned. "For Foster," I added and then continued, "He knows all about their emotions. I can't stop it, I try not to react but he always knows..."

"Their emotions?" Rory asked. "You mean the other kids?" I nodded and Rory swore under his breath.

"Yeah," I said sadly, thinking of my sister and her ability of being unable to die. "He's bad news. Just watch your back around him..."

Rory sighed and looked towards the door. I looked towards it as well just in time to see his sister disappear from sight.

"What the hell?" I asked, returnnig my attention to him. How had I not felt her coming, let alone noticed her before now?

Note to Mayapple: Please post soon! We may be otherwise forced to kill off your character!

Carmen

I went off to tell Isaiah what they said about him. He could sure be annoying, but he wasn't evil. He just looked at things differently, or so I thought.

"Isaiah!" I said, walking through the double doors.

"What?" He hissed.

"my brother and his new pal...." Then I stopped short. They could be killed for this, This was a bad idea, "yeh, well, I think there still hungry. Why don't you get them some more food."

"How do you know?" he asked.

"I listened in on there conversatiion."

"So the drug is working, then? They can't use there powers on you."

"Nope, the empath didn't even feel me coming."

"Excellent." He hissed.

*Susan Holmes*
Susan awoke to a world of pain. Her muscles burned like they were on fire, and her blood seemed to be frozen in her veins. When she attempted to move her legs, they erupted in the worst pins-and-needles sensation she had ever felt. She opened her eyes, although even that was painful. She was in a different room now, a small one, painted... she realized that she couldn't see colors. The walls were a shade of gray, her feet were grayish-white, and one lock of hair that was annoyingly placed over her nose was black. She screamed, but no sound came out. She wished she was dead. Then, at least, the pain couldn't find her.

The squeak of a door hinge sounded behind her. A young girl in a lab coat, different from the one she had seen before (an hour ago? a day?a week?) walked in. She made a clicking noise with her tongue and marked something on a clipboard. Susan couldn't tell the color, but by the way the light glinted off it, it was something bright.
"You poor little thing. You shouldn't have gotten that injection until your powers developed. That should have gone to the girl next to you." She sighed. "At least you're having the right reactions. You're in for a rough couple of nights." Susan opened her mouth in another silent scream. The worker shook her head in pity and left.

Demeria (Deme)


"What worked?" I asked, butting in on the conversation between Carmen and Isaisah.

"The drug...er...the pill, the one you gave us to keep the patients powers from working on us." Isaisah said.

"Yeah, the empath couldn't even feel me coming. I was able to eavesdrop on a conversation betweeen two of them." Carmen said.

"It worked that well, that was just a medium strength. Huh, glad I didn't give you the high strength one. I can't believe an empath didn't feel you though. That is pretty impressive." I said. I note this on my clipboard.

"Will you have us keep taking this, or make some changes?" Carmen asked.

"I am think about adding more Gerathomer G, or Herasemer X, to strengthen the addition to your bloodstream to make contact with the frontal lobe in the...." I started.

"Could you dumb it down a little bit?" carmen says. Isaisah laughs.

"Basically, I want to add an extra precaution to prevent anyone controlling you." I said.

"Well you could have said that in the first place." Carmen mumbled.

Ashley:

I felt the pressure building in my mind. Damn it! What did he have to give me that stupid drug? It was making everything worse than usual.

I groaned and rubbed my temples. "Rory, unless you want to die," I whispered. "Get out now."

He stared at me for a moment; I knew even though I wasn't looking at him. I felt the emotions pouring in and tried to focus.

"Why?" he asked. "You look like you're in pain or something."

"That's because I am in pain!" I yelled. I didn't know it yet but I had alerted Foster and a few others to my little problem just then. "Now get out! I'm losing control and trust me when I say this; you will not like to be near me when I lose control!"

Rory heeded my warning and fled the room, slamming the door behind him. A second later and my empathy exploded, casting an outward force of pain that anyone locked in the room with me would have felt. I knew what would happen; I'd lost control at school before I'd been brought to the JTC. Everyone had either lost consciousness or died later on of heart failure and a lot of other complicates.

I collapsed on the bed, my eyes closed and listened to the sound of running feet as I drifted into unconsciousness.