n3m3sis43: (Default)
Research Log, Day 1:

Built a new body for Calla today. Not that she fucking appreciated it. Just glared at me like always and said, "And how, pray tell, do you plan to transfer my consciousness into it, Genius?"

(Least she didn't call me Princess like she usually does.)

Can't give me a lick of credit, can she? Not like I haven't been working on that too. Just hard cause I've never heard of anyone's consciousness getting stuck in a robot body before. Best I can guess it's the lightning strike that did it, but how would I replicate that without fucking killing her?

Even if I knew how to do that, it'd still be way too dangerous to test out the neural interface and make sure it works like it's really her body. No way I'm gonna risk someone else's fucking life like that.

Wes gave me a Look when I said that in front of him. Said not to even think about it.


Research Log, Day 6:

I'm thinking about it. Best way to test the neural interface is with me in the new body.

That way if anything goes wrong, I'm not hurting someone else. Thing is, I'm not sure what'll happen to my body if I'm not in it. What if I get stuck in a robot? Would my body die?

Only way I can think to address that issue is swapping with Calla. Put me in her current body and her in mine. Then if something goes wrong, at least she'd live -- I hope. Gotta run some simulations first.


Research Log, Day 25:

One hurdle cleared. Pretty sure I know how to swap our bodies now and it's simpler than I thought. It works in 99% of my simulations. The other 1%, I die -- but y'know, I just gotta refine the process some.

"Sure, Princess, I'll just stay in this ugly ass bugbot body forever." That's all Calla said.


Research Log, Day 30:

I'm as ready as I'm gonna be. Just need a sufficient electrical current.

Calla never gives me a fucking inch, just skewered me with her laser eyes and said, "How're you gonna do that, Princess? Ask one of those 'friends' you sneak out to meet at night to lend you a rocket?"

Now that I think about it...


Research Log, Day 32:

Say what you want about my line of work, but I got my hands on a rocket.


Research Log, Day 40:

Proof of concept went okay could've gone worse. Swapped with Calla like I planned to, didn't kill either of us in the process. Would've called it a total success if the swap didn't blow a fucking capacitor. Since it did, I had to go out and pick up a bunch of spare parts -- as a fucking bugbot.

Course I tried to get Kalen to do it. Didn't really want to leave Calla in case something went wrong. Got a vested interest in keeping her and my body alive. But Kalen called 30 minutes after he left with a million questions. You want something done right, you gotta do it your fucking self.

Should've heard Calla griping about how she had to stay in my fucking body while I went out. Like it's worse being me than a giant fucking bug. Or maybe she just didn't want to be stuck home with Wes.

Funny thing, I didn't exactly mind going out as a giant fucking bug. Went in 5 different stores and no one hit on me once. No one said any slurs like they normally do when I'm outside the Umani Quarter. Plus I only got kicked out of one store for being a hideous robot bug thing, less than I would've for being Umani.


Research Log, Day 42:

Tested out Body 2.0 some today. Fucking finally.

Didn't have any issues transferring into the new body, or transferring Calla into mine. Swapped back without any problems too. Except Wes took Calla out for oysters to celebrate -- with my fucking mouth. Can still feel that awful slimy texture on my tongue, makes me want to fucking puke.

Other than that, everything went fine. Walked all the way to the city to make sure the legs would really obey my brain, went into my favorite coffee shop in the Umani Quarter. Counter guy told me they don't allow robots but he'd make an exception just this once. Guess he's into 6 foot tall shiny metal chicks?

Took me 'til then to remember I couldn't even drink coffee on account of being a robot.


Research Log, Day 60:

Head's fucking killing me. Calla took my body out dancing last night, had one drink too many.

She's in a fabulous mood today, so I guess there's that. Told me she ran into one of my "friends" at the club, Major General Ellis. Course he thought she was me, on account of her wearing my face.

I tried to play it off. Tried to tell her Majerians just think all us Umani look the same.

"Princess," she said. Don't get how she made it look like her robot eyes narrowed then cause they aren't supposed to do that. "He called me by your name and asked me how the rocket worked out."

Thought she was gonna ask why a Majerian officer'd even be at an Umani Quarter dance club but she just gave me shit for blushing. Dunno why I don't just tell her I'm a fucking escort. Pretty sure she already knows but I hate it. Even Ellis says I oughtta be working in his lab. Says if I had my papers he'd hire me in a heartbeat.

Gonna have some explaining to do, next time I see him. Dude knows I don't fucking dance.


Research Log, Day 76:

Calla's been in Body 2.0 for a week and everything's working great. Not that it's improved her mood any.

She started dating Kalen's dumbass brother, thinks nobody knows. There's practically hearts floating in the air between them! Bet she's mad she can't feel it when he holds her shiny metal hand.

Guess I know one feature I'll have to add in Body 3.0. How the fuck am I gonna test that?


Research Log, Day 100:

Figured out how to test it.

Haven't been able to look Wes in the eye for fucking days but I guess that's the price of innovation?

Wes couldn't look me in the eye while we did it. Said it was kinda like fucking a creepy doll.

Didn't complain when I did that thing with my tongue Calla's tongue, though.


Research Log, Day 101:

Found out the hard way the neural interface overloads if my heart beats too fast. I'm fine, though.

Went out on a double "date" last night, Wes and Calla and me and Kalen's dumbass brother. Not that Wes and I are fucking dating. Got dressed up, went out to this steakhouse in the city that claims it's "Umani-inspired."

Umani inspired, my ass. Never even tried steak 'til I moved here.

Didn't try it last night either, on account of being a fucking robot. Everyone said it was good, though.

Server took my order last. Said, "And what'll you have, miss?" then looked at me a little closer. Saw her whole expression kinda just... freeze over. Didn't even say another word before she walked away.

Calla said she would've lasered her for that.


Research Log, Day 105:

Worst. Fucking. Day. Ever.

Went out dancing to test my fix for the heart rate issue. Dunno why Calla wants a body that's more realistic, being a chick fucking sucks. Never had so many men staring at my ass before in my life.

...Which is kinda saying a lot, seeing as I get laid for a fucking living.

Speaking of which, Ellis came by the house while I was out. Dunno how he even got my fucking address. Said he was doing inventory, needed the serial number off that rocket he let me borrow.

Wonder if it was just an excuse to see me, though. Fucking hope not.

Calla went up in the attic to try and find it, found my research log in the process. Guess now I don't have to worry she'll find out what I do for work. Just gotta worry about whether she'll tell Wes.


Research Log, Day 106:

Panic attacks fucking suck. Least I know the heart rate issue's fixed, though.


Research Log, Day 107:

Thinking I'm gonna incinerate this thing. What if Wes finds it too?!


Research Log, Day 118:

Can't bring myself to burn it. Can't bring myself to write in it anymore either, though.

Gonna put Calla in Body 3.0 tomorrow.


Research Log, Day Whatever 119:

Party for Calla's birthday. I'm fucking druuuuunnkkkk. Never done that before but it isn't the worst.

Guess Brendan (thats Kalen's brother) isn't so bad. Can tell he's head over heels for Calla.

Probably gonna regret this tomorrow, but me n Wes... y'know. We did. It.

Wasn't even in the robot this time and it felt a million times more fucking amazing.

Definitely gonna incinerate this thing tomorrow.


Research Log, Day 120:

Head's fucking pounding.

Finally managed to make Calla happy for once. Or technically Kalen's dumbass brother did.

Could hear her all the way across the fucking house.

All she said to me after was, "You better not have test driven this with one of those 'friends'," with air quotes and everything. Didn't glare when she said it, though. Which is good cause Wes wasn't wrong.

She kinda does look like a creepy doll. Guess that's something to fix in the next revision.


Some who remember my old writing from LJ might recognize these characters, but this piece is intended to stand on its own. Only time -- and the poll results -- will tell how well it accomplishes that goal, but I stand by my choices.

Thanks to [personal profile] thephantomq for enabling me beta reading.
n3m3sis43: (Default)

Gifs-full-metal-alchemist-32853684-500-281

If you're finding me because of LJ Idol Survivor, I've made some of my (mostly old af) writing public in case that helps people decide whether I'd be a useful teammate. Much of it was written for Idol deadlines and may not be the most polished.

I may add public entries for some of my newer writing if I feel the urge later. :)

Fiction:
https://n3m3sis43.dreamwidth.org/tag/fiction

This Dr. Seuss parody poem I had the most fun writing:
https://n3m3sis43.dreamwidth.org/97556.html
n3m3sis43: (Default)
A Study in ADHD and PTSD
(Subtitle: Who Stole My Focus?)

7:09 am
Today’s the day! I can finally write that fiction piece I’ve been thinking about all week. Too bad I haven’t had the time to do more than type up a few notes, but I’ve got the whole day to work on it now.

*opens Google doc with notes and starts reading through it*

7:12 am
Is that a siren? Shit, we are definitely about to have a real second outbreak. Good thing I took off work early yesterday to give my bubblemate a ride into Manhattan for one last appointment at the migraine clinic before things get really bad. Driving in Manhattan wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought it would be. I’d totally do it again, so I could see --

You know what would be good? Some coffee. But I forgot to clean the French press when I used it the other day and the dishwasher’s full of clean dishes now. Hm, I could order bagels and get a coffee with them.

Yeah! Max would love to be surprised with bagels when he gets up.

7:19 am
*opens Seamless and waffles over which bagel place to order from*

7:46 am
*finally places bagel order, completely forgetting to add in a coffee*

7:50 am
*browses Facebook memories because brain is now in waiting mode until bagels arrive*

7:51 am
Oh hey, on this date in 2009, I helped the Medical Reserve Corps give H1N1 vaccinations. It’s weird how I barely even remember H1N1 because our country’s pandemic response team still existed back then and did what it was supposed to. And it’s even weirder how proud I was of my dad for being head of a local MRC chapter and being interviewed by CNN.

[Note: My parents are narcissistic abusers and I haven’t had contact with them since 2013.]

7:53 am
Dammit, I forgot to order the coffee, didn’t I?

7:54 am
*rinses out French press and empties dishwasher so French press can be washed and coffee can be made*

8:00 am
*loads dishwasher and adds detergent pod before getting distracted by bagels arriving*

8:05 am
*eats half of breakfast sandwich*

*spends next 55 minutes Googling dad's local MRC chapter to find out how it responded to the pandemic, then ranting at BFF because it basically didn't respond to the pandemic*

9:00 am
Hm, I'm obviously pretty passionate about this. Maybe I should write an Idol piece about it.

*spends another 48 minutes Googling and ranting*

9:48 am
*notices other half of breakfast sandwich exists and eats it as well*

Hm, I don't think I want to write about COVID two weeks in a row, though.

9:49 am
Wait a minute. My parents knew I was in NYC, at the epicenter of the pandemic.

And they never even asked if I was okay?

*digests this for several minutes because it's apparently never come to mind before*

[Mental soundtrack: this clip]

9:55 am
Oshit, I forgot to start the dishwasher.

9:56 am
*finally starts dishwasher*

9:57 am
Oshit, remember last night when I was telling Nadine how my in-laws voted for Trump and Max overheard by accident?

And asked if that meant Grandma was a bad person?

...And all I said was "Um, it's complicated?"

I should probably go do something about that.

*spends 23 minutes explaining to 9 year old that choices are complicated and his grandparents aren't Nazis and it's okay to love them unconditionally, the same way they love him unconditionally*

*hugs 9 year old while he cries about grandparents not being Nazis*

*considers purchasing duct tape for own mouth*

10:20 am
*more ranting to BFF, first about own failings as a parent and then about parents' failings as parents*

10:48 am
You know what? I really want to buy a snake plant for the apartment. I wonder if I should buy it on The Sill or on Greenery Unlimited. Are there other good plant delivery services here?

*googles best plant delivery services in NYC*

*eventually orders snake plant from Greenery Unlimited*

11:12 am
Am I even going to write something?

11:17 am
Holy fuck, there are a lot of sirens today.

11:18 am
*spaces out [or possibly dissociates] for 14 minutes*

11:33 am
*makes food for 9 year old and shows him pictures of the snake plant*

11:37 am
Wait a minute, can I write about my failure to write due to my brain being... *flaily hand gesture*

11:38 am
*makes food for self*

11:50 am
*sits down to write Idol entry about ADHD/PTSD brain*

11:55 am
Shit, did I leave the oven on?

*goes to check*

11:57 am
*finally writes Idol entry*

2:01 pm
Shit, I still never made that coffee.
n3m3sis43: (Default)
 

The Before Times (Barely!)


“It’s never this empty here,” Gina says, herding her youngest out of the Titanosaur exhibit.


My best friend Alex, who’s come up from Delaware to visit me for a day, shoots me a look. I raise an eyebrow. He moves closer, speaking softly enough that Gina can’t hear him.


“It doesn’t seem all that empty to me,” he mutters, eyeing our fellow museumgoers.


I swallow a nervous laugh. By Delaware standards, the Museum of Natural History probably does seem crowded. The borough of Queens, my home for just over three years now, is more than twice as populous as Alex’s home state. Still, this isn’t the crowd I’d expect on a Sunday.


Most of the city’s seemed emptier than usual this past week. It’s… kind of creepy.


We make our way to the Discovery Room, a hands-on science area for kids. A friendly twenty-something checks us in. “Stay as long as you want,” she says, offering up the hand sanitizer that’s quickly become a fixture in all public places here. “It hasn’t been busy.” 


“Do you think it’s because of the virus?” I ask once the kids have run off to explore.


Gina shakes her head. “It’s the first really nice spring day. People are just outside enjoying it.”


I nod and fall silent, my insides twisting a little as I watch my 9 year old son strong-arming a kid he’s just met into serving as his assistant for whatever experiment he’s dreamed up. 


It’s March 7th, nearly a week since New York state confirmed its first case of the “novel coronavirus.” New Yorkers mobbed the grocery stores that weekend, standing in line for hours in hopes of stocking their tiny pantries with bottled water, toilet paper and Clorox wipes. 


Not yet, my friends told me when I asked if I should worry.


Since then, life in the city has proceeded as usual; it always does. But there’s more space than there should be on the subway during my commute, and the streets in midtown feel subdued when I walk them on my lunch breaks. It’s almost as though the city is holding its breath. 


And yet, when rumors swirl about closing the NYC public schools, I roll my eyes. Why would they do that for 33 cases? I thought New Yorkers were supposed to be good in a crisis.



The Calm Before the Storm


It’s only 7:30 on a Thursday night, but the N train is all but empty. I sanitize my hands. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I sanitize that as well before texting Alex: On my way home now.


Was it fun?


I bite my lip, glancing around the eerily deserted subway car. 


I ghosted everyone as we were about to walk into another bar but yes.


For good measure, I sanitize my hands again. It’s probably excessive, but you never know these days. It’s March 12th, only five days since the museum, and our case count has more than tripled. There are almost a hundred cases in NYC alone. The National Guard has set up what they’re calling a “containment zone” in New Rochelle, less than an hour away from the city. 


If my team at work hadn’t planned this outing months in advance, I would’ve backed out. I almost did anyway. But it’s for a good cause -- volunteering at a food bank. And once I got there, I figured I might as well stay for dinner and drinks; I’m not planning to go back into the office again until this whole virus thing blows over. Who knows when I’ll see everyone again?


But now I’m regretting how long I stayed, how careless I was. In Harlem, the food bank was quiet but the restaurant where we had dinner was nearly at capacity by the time we left. My coworkers and I sneak-shared food from each other’s plates when our boss wasn’t looking.


Meanwhile, Broadway’s announced it’s shutting down for the next month. And on a private Facebook group, my mom-friends and I are discussing whether we should pull our kids out of school; I decide tomorrow will be my son’s last day. Just for now, and just to be safe, but -- 


What if the virus really is as deadly as the news is saying? What if we all get sick?



A Beautiful Day


“Is it still safe to be outside?” my son asks.


They showed him videos about the virus in school, before I withdrew him. He’s discovered that the theme from Steven Universe is 21 seconds long, and he’s taken to singing it while he washes his hands. But overall, he’s seemed unperturbed by the virus so far.


“It’ll be okay,” I tell him, gripping his hand a little too tightly.


It’s Sunday, March 15th. There are 720 confirmed coronavirus cases in New York state, 329 in the city. Only yesterday, we reported our first coronavirus death; today there were two more.


My corner of Queens doesn’t seem to have noticed. The weather is glorious, unseasonably warm and breezy. People are out in force, strolling beneath the brilliant blue sky as though it’s a normal spring day -- as though our city isn’t dying before our eyes. I burst into silent tears.


“Are you okay, mommy?”


I nod numbly, towing my son down the sidewalk toward the corner bodega. 


In Italy, hospitals are now so overwhelmed they’re “triaging out” coronavirus patients who aren’t considered as likely to recover, turning away the elderly and those with exacerbating conditions.


Italy is us in two weeks, the news keeps saying. Will we be able to walk outside then? President Trump is already threatening to impose lockdowns for areas with large numbers of cases. I try not to think too hard about what that could mean, given his well-known vendetta against the city.


Should I find somewhere else we can stay? Just for a little while, you know. Just in case.


“It’ll be okay,” I say again, more for my own benefit than for my son’s.


We stock up on toilet paper and snacks we don’t really need. Once we’re home and showered, our cast-off clothes safely sealed away in a plastic garbage bag, we snuggle and watch cartoons. I hold it together for him; I don’t look at the news again until he’s gone to bed.


When I do, there’s a new round of closures: New York City public schools, all movie theaters, concert venues, and bars. All restaurants as well, except for takeout and delivery.


This time I allow myself to weep in earnest, and this time it’s out of relief.



At the Epicenter


In case you were wondering how many days into the apocalypse it would be before I snapped and gave myself a terrible haircut with blunt scissors, I text Alex, it’s today many days.


It’s Thursday, April 2nd. I call the virus by its proper name now, or COVID for short. I guess the city didn’t shut down soon enough to keep it in check. There are 92,381 confirmed cases of it in New York state now, an increase of 8,669 from the day before, and 2,373 total deaths. 


More than half of both are in the city. 


Times Square stands empty, though like most people, I’ve only seen it in pictures. We don’t go outside anymore, not even for walks; my son refuses to leave the apartment. The city is painfully quiet, apart from the unrelenting sound of sirens. We hear them all day and all night, echoing oddly off the silent buildings, and we all know each one means another likely death.


My friend Gina, the one from the museum, posts this on our Facebook group:


So John was called to work today in a hospital to put up shelves. He assumed the shelves were to store masks and other emergency equipment.


He just got home.


The shelves were for bodies.


At other hospitals, the parking lots are filled with refrigerated trailers to store the dead. We lose another New Yorker to COVID approximately every two and a half minutes. And as if this isn’t torture enough in itself, it seems people in other parts of the country believe it’s all a lie.


On Twitter, #FilmYourHospital is trending, an attempt to debunk the severity of the situation here by filming empty reception areas in overtaxed NYC hospitals. It makes me want to spit nails.


I learn to take comfort in small things: Governor Cuomo’s briefings, my talent for finding an Amazon Fresh delivery slot when no one else can, the fact that as our death rate continues to rise, the number of new cases per day seems to be plateauing at “only” 8 to 9 thousand.


We build a new normal, Zoom calls and waving from windows passing for social interaction. At 7pm every night, we cheer for the healthcare workers fighting for our lives. My friends talk about summer, as though camps and vacations are something we’re still allowed to believe in. 


But personally, I only hope for days where we don’t hear sirens.


n3m3sis43: (Default)
 

The first time he come, it was just after supper.


“D’you have any matches, ma’am?” he asked straightaway when I opened the door.


He couldn’t’a been more than ten or eleven, I reckoned then, the top of his curly head not even as high as my breastbone. And I could tell he weren’t from around these parts neither -- or leastways his family weren’t -- on account of the way he called me ma’am instead of missus.

Wherever he come from originally, I’d’a wagered the clothes off my back on one thing. It weren’t from a poor district like this one. Something about him just stank to the heavens of money. 


Ain’t nothing I need less, I said to myself, than to find myself wrong-side of a HIgh-Ender’s kid.


I must’a looked at him sideways one minute too long, ‘cause he opened his big brown eyes impossibly wide and fixed them on me. “Please, ma’am?” he squeaked, his lower lip all aquiver.


“What on this green earth’s a child like you gonna do with matches?” 


“It’s cold and I’m lost,” he said, but I seen how them doe eyes couldn’t quite meet mine.


“What’s your name, child?” I asked, just as gentle as I could.


His little body tensed all up at the question. He looked up at me again, his eyes near the size of dinner plates. For a hot minute he didn’t say nothing, just stared at me like a cornered deer.


“Eric Woods, ma’am,” he finally got out.


If that ain’t the fakest name I ever did hear, I said to myself then. In the Sentry Wood district, the forest’s both life and death. Ain’t nobody here named after it, though. I shook my head.


Please,” he said again.


“You know you’re too young to play with matches,” I chided him. “Where’s your momma live? I’m more’n happy to help you find her. There’s leftovers from supper too, if you --”


My words caught in my throat and I seen I was talking to empty air. The boy was gone.


* * * * *


He showed up again a week later, still in the same plaid pants I seen him in before. The cuffs of ‘em was black this time, and the front of his grey shirt was streaked with the same black dirt.


Or soot, mayhap, I thought to myself. I reckon he found them matches after all.


He didn’t look like he’d found any means to warm his self, though, on account of the way he was hugging his self and shivering. And I couldn’t hardly blame him for that, with the wind howling through the trees like a wounded beast. He gave me the saddest little smile.


“D’you have any matches, ma’am?” he asked just the same as the first time I seen him.


‘Cept this time the words sounded wobbly ‘cause of how bad he was shaking.


“I told you, you ain’t old enough to be playing with matches,” I said. “But you’ll catch your death if you don’t warm yourself a bit. You can set by my fire for a spell if you --”


But just like that, I might as well’a been speaking to the stars, ‘cause the boy was gone again.


* * * * *


I started to fret in earnest, once he come knocking a third time. His cheeks had gone hollow by then and his dark curls were matted. Just like before, he come looking for matches again. 


And just like before, he vanished as soon as I offered him anything other.


That night, I set up late and scoured the ‘net for a trace of an Eric Woods. It weren’t a surprise when I came up empty -- I knew all along it couldn’t’a been his real name. But by then, I couldn’t just leave sleeping babes to lie anymore. I’d already let that boy suffer alone for too long.


In my line of work you can’t hardly just sit by and watch when a child’s in danger like that.


It weren’t strictly legal, looking him up in the Citizens’ Record. A Care Assistant’s never meant to access the Record for personal reasons. But I reckoned the good I could do canceled out any sin on my part. ‘Sides, I never expected no more’n the goose egg I’d already found on the ‘net.


You could’a knocked me clean over with just a breath when his name and pic come up there.


And I near fell flat out when I read the last page of his record:


Citizen perished in a house fire on Wintertide Eve, one week after his twelfth birthday. The fire claimed the life of his mother, Drea Woods, as well. The only surviving witness was Sasha Tolliver, a classmate at Sentry Wood Middle Grade School. Tolliver died tragically less than three years later, while detained in the Home for the Intractably Insane on suspicions of --  


I had to pause there, ‘cause I knew full well what they thought Sasha Tolliver done.


* * * * *


“Remind me again why you brung me here?” I fight the urge to squirm in my seat.


Doc Brinkley crosses his arms and leans ‘gainst the conference room table, tall and towering over me. I smooth down my skirt and cross my legs tighter ‘neath it. There’s something ‘bout being all by my lonesome with him that makes me feel naked as the day my ma birthed me.


He smiles the same fake smile my instructors always did when I asked why a girl couldn’t grow up to be a doctor -- or even a measly Care Tech -- instead of a stupid Care Assistant. 


“I’ve brought you here,” he corrects me, speaking nice and slow like I might be too thick to understand him, “because the boy trusts you as much as he’s capable of trusting anyone. Which means the Board will take your word if you --”


“If I betray that trust?” The words spill past my lips like bile before I can stop ‘em.


“If you present evidence supporting my case,” the doc says, that smile near cracking his face.


My eyes narrow of their own free will. “You know full well I ain’t got that evidence.”


He leans in, near enough so’s I feel his hot breath on my face. “I know ‘full well’ that the boy’s real name is Sasha Tolliver. That he’s suspected of setting a house fire that killed his best friend.” He takes my hand and squeezes, hard enough that I’m biting my lip so’s not to cry out.


“And I know about your career aspirations, Ms. Page, along with the allegations against you before you came to work at the Home. It’d be a shame to --”


I stand up, my blood fit to boil. “I ain’t never laid a hand on that man.”


It’s a lie, a’course. They told me the records were sealed, when they helped me smooth it all over. Said I deserved a second chance on account of how my husband-to-be hurt me. But it don’t change the law. It won’t change what’ll happen to me if word of what I did gets out.


The doc smiles again, for real this time. It’s the grin of a wolf on the hunt. “And I never laid a hand on the Tolliver boy. It appears it’s not only my future that hinges on proving it now.”

 

* * * * *


The Wood’s ablaze, the trees on three sides of me in flames. I’m running for safety, my lungs fit to burst and my feet pounding hard ‘gainst the forest floor. The sound of my shoes on the hard-packed dirt swells ‘til it fills my ears and I can’t hear nothing else, and -- 


My eyes fly open. I set up with a start, my head full of fog, and blink at the Wintertide log still burning merrily in my fireplace. I must’a fallen asleep in my chair -- on a holiday eve, no less.

 

I shake my head. It’s been a dog’s age since I had a full night’s rest. 


Someone’s pounding at the door, I realize, loud enough it’s a wonder the windows ain’t rattling in their frames. I hold my breath, my heart slamming into my breastbone. It’s him, I just know it.


‘Cept it can’t be him, can it? He’s been dead nigh on four years and I know that now. It’s my guilt getting to me, ain’t it? On account of me selling out that Tolliver boy to save my own -- 


“Joyous Wintertide, ma’am,” pipes a sweet, clear voice from behind me.


I leap from my seat like I seen a ghost. Which I s’pose I have. He’s covered in soot from head to foot, ‘cept for clean tracks on his cheeks -- mayhap from tears, but he’s smiling softly now.


For once, it ain’t him shivering. “I told you, child, I ain’t gonna give you any matches.”


He bites his lip. I reckon he’s gonna plead with me again, but he don’t.


“You don’t need to, ma’am,” he says, in the saddest little voice. “I’ve got something better now.”


His hands are behind his back, I notice. And whatever he’s got in ‘em, it’s… bright. He holds it up to show me -- the kerosene lamp I keep in the shed out back. It’s lit up and I don’t understand how I ain’t seen the shadows it’s casting ‘til now. I shake my head. 


Mayhap I’m still dreaming. 


He shakes his head too, his filthy curls bouncing. “Believe it or not, I’m sorry to do this.”


The lantern’s sailing through the air before I can say boo. I duck, but it ain’t headed towards me. It hits the fireplace dead-center with a tinkle of shattered glass, and it hits me that I oughtta run.


I turn to do just that. There’s a thwump from behind me, along with a rush of heat.


And then his little voice: “Joyous Wintertide, Sasha.”


n3m3sis43: ((FMAB) Huuuughes and Winryyyy)
“Let go of my fucking son.” Murdock moves in close.

Can smell the stench of his carnivore breath, feel it hot on my face. Heart’s in my throat, stomach right behind it. I gulp ‘em back, keep my knife hand steady. Keep my eyes on his, searing blue and all but shooting sparks. World goes dim, him and me and nothing else.

“Let go of him, you Umani piece of shit,” he growls, like I didn’t already hear him.

I smirk, my arm still tight around the kid. “Gotta give me what I want first, General.

Course he can’t, not really. Can’t give me back the man I love, the man I lost. He’s gone for good ‘cause I tried to stall the war Murdock wants so bad, but --

Least I can finish what I fucking started.

Murdock glares, teeth bared. “I don’t have to give you anything.”

“Guess not.” I drop my gaze, focus on the blade. Blood wells up with just a tiny shift in pressure, almost black against the kid’s brown skin. Paints slick trails around the bruises on his neck. Kid’s silent, doesn’t move a fucking muscle. His eyes meet mine, calm as summer seas.

Air’s too thick, heavy in my lungs. Hands wanna shake, takes all my strength to hold ‘em still.

Murdock’s carved from fucking stone, a true Majerian. Folds his beefy arms across his chest and stares me down. “Why stop there?” He shakes his head. “Go ahead, cut deeper. Bleed him dry, for all I care. I don’t negotiate with terrorists.”

I swallow hard, mouth dry as desert dunes. “But he’s… your fucking kid.”

“He’s expendable.”

Kid goes stiff against me, lets out this little squeak. My hold on him relaxes and I stroke his hair with frozen fingers. Pulse pounds in my ears, throat closes up. No choice now, no way out --

Devin, sweetheart. Breathe.

I blink, remember why I’m here. Strain to hear that soft, sweet voice and let it ground me. Force myself to breathe in deep, be strong for him. I push the kid away, mouth one word at him:

Run.

“Everyone’s expendable,” I whisper when he’s gone.

I lift my shirt, reveal the wires bundled nice and neat above my shattered heart. Those ice-chip eyes of Murdock’s widen, fixed on my homemade bomb. His hand creeps toward his blaster and I grip my knife, white-knuckled. Raise it up and press its blade against my throat.

“Guess what happens if I fucking die,” I croak.


n3m3sis43: ((FMAB) Huuuughes and Winryyyy)
“Aidan.”

I can almost hear her lips purse, as though my name tastes sour on her tongue. Tension tugs at a spot between my shoulder blades, and I brace myself for what’s to come.

We’ve done this dance one time too many, and I know I’m in for a lecture; I always am, when she calls me by my given name. I linger at the window, prolonging the inevitable. It’s only once the sleek black car pulls away, my young companion safe inside, that I turn to face my fate.

“Yes, Lilly? I ask, meeting her glacial blue gaze.

With swift, efficient fingers, she plucks a vial from my living room table and tucks it into her medical bag. “I expect you already know what I’m going to say, not that it’ll make any difference.”

But she’s going to say it anyway, I suppose. My teeth clench against a retort, and the action sends a flare of pain through my newly set nose. I hold myself still, forbidding my face to betray my discomfort. It’s a cardinal sin, after all, for a man of my ilk to display any sign of weakness.

“It hurts, doesn’t it?” The hard line of Lilly’s mouth quirks up at one corner. “Good.”

“I won’t fire him.”

“Oh, of course not.” She snorts, crossing her well-muscled arms over her chest. “The last one tried to stab you on more than one occasion. What’ll it take before you let this one go?”

“They have names, you know.” Heat rushes into my cheeks, and I’m certain that whatever I’m about to say, it’s going to be the wrong thing. “You met Mosan tonight. The ‘last one’ was Jasen, and I hired him on your advice.” My voice rises in pitch, becoming a feminine falsetto. “‘At least take a Majerian boy this time,’ you told me. ‘They’ll talk less if he’s one of our own.’” I let out a gusty breath, raking a hand through my hair. “That certainly worked out well, didn’t it?”

She regards me with narrowed eyes. “You’re really going to blame me for that.”

“I’m not --” I pause and replay my own words. “I suppose I just did, didn’t I? My apologies. I only mean to say that there’s a reason I prefer Umani sidearms. They’re --” I glance down at the dark stain on my uniform shirt, and a ragged laugh escapes me. “They’re less prone to violence.”

“So I’ve noticed.” She lays a hand on my arm. “Sit down. You look exhausted.”

I open my mouth to protest, but her fingers close around my bicep.

“Yes, yes, I know.” She shakes her head, all but dragging me to the couch. “You’re Major Aidan Ellis, a fearsome Majerian warrior, and are therefore impervious to fatigue. Now sit.”

I do as she says, though I suspect it’ll only make her more insufferable. She settles herself beside me, her back straight and strong as a girder, and waits for me to state my case.

“What happened tonight, it wasn’t Mosan’s fault,” I say at last.

“He was drunk,” she says, each syllable clipped and clinical. “At a military ball.”

“He’s Umani." My pulse quickens, and I fight to keep the pleading note from my voice. "His people don’t frown upon such indulgences the way we do, and it settles his nerves. He suffers from anxiety, you know, and he’s little more than a boy --”

She lifts a hand, and my defense dies on my lips.

“It’s never their fault, and they all seem to suffer from something,” she says with a dismissive wave. “You’ve always liked the pretty, broken ones, and --”

She shakes her head and stares off into the distance. I know what’s coming next, the list of allegations. It’s difficult to watch me sabotage myself, she’s going to say. If I’d only held my tongue when the general baited me, or hired a female sidearm instead, I’d never have been demoted.

We’ve done this dance one time too many, after all, and I’ve long since learned the steps.

“It’s never your fault, either, is it?” She speaks slowly, moving to an unfamiliar rhythm. “You parade them about like exotic pets, with no thought for how it affects them. Do you think they don’t hear the whispers on the ballroom floor, or do you let them drink to drown them out?”

I flinch as though she’s slapped me. “They know the truth, regardless of the rumors. I don’t… indulge myself with any of them, nor have I ever wished to. I’ve only ever --”

My words catch in my throat, Mosan’s shrill accusation ringing in my ears.

You say you don’t look at me that way, but -- you get off on this, don’t you? I’m not a person to you at all. I’m just here to make you feel good about yourself, to inflate your stupid ego.

Once more I hear his screech, the crunch of bone and cartilage beneath his fist. I blink, my vision hazed. “I’ve only ever had their best interests at heart, haven’t I?”

She tilts her head to one side. “Have you?”


n3m3sis43: ((FMAB) Huuuughes and Winryyyy)
It turns out that there's going to be another season of LJ Idol.

I tend not to actually write things for Idol when I sign up for it, but I'll give it a shot anyway. Wish me luck?
n3m3sis43: ((FMAB) Huuuughes and Winryyyy)
I wrote this back in... January? Since it's wayyyyy out of order and possibly kind of "so what?" without context, I didn't share it at the time. But [livejournal.com profile] alien_writings requested a recent thing in Brendan voice, so here it is. Concrit and questions are cool, just be gentle because I'm really weird about sharing my things lately.




There’s a storm coming but I’m the only one who can feel it.

The sky above is clear, blacker than black and filled with stars except for the thin strip where the light from the border lamps washes it out. Nightbirds call out to each other, blissfully unaware. A cool breeze blows, sighing over the sand dunes and filling my nose with the sweet, almost sickening scent of flowers that only open in the dark.

Inside me, though, a wind’s whipping up. Kalen doesn’t notice any more than the birds do, and that only makes me madder. He’s my brother, my best friend as far back as I can remember. It’s always scared the shit out of him, the way the rage takes me. Used to be he could sense it creeping up, smell it on the air like ozone.

Not anymore.

Now it’s like I don’t even exist, like nobody does. The fact that he hasn’t noticed I’m here right now pretty much says it all. He’s only thirteen but he’s already being scouted--practically has been since birth. Kalen’s that good, so good that he skipped a grade and started Academy last fall when I did. He outranks me already, along with everyone else in Year One and half of Year Two. I train twice as hard as him for maybe half the results.

Part of that’s my own fault. I’m always letting my temper get the best of me, rushing into things half-assed just like I did tonight. If I’d been thinking clearly, I never would’ve picked this stupid tumblebrush as a place to hide. It’s prickly and its branches keep poking me through the pajama pants I didn’t have a chance to change out of. My legs itch like crazy and the dry branches rustle loud enough to blow my cover every time I move enough to scratch.

Kalen, though, he always keeps a level head. Which is why he should’ve caught me by now-- why he would’ve, if he weren’t so different these days. No one but me seems to see how he’s changed. He’s quit hanging out with me and the other guys and hides out all the time in his room, building his stupid robots. He’s always been into that junk, but now it’s all he does--except for whatever it is he’s up to when he sneaks out late at night.

Up until now, I was hoping he’d turn out to be meeting one of the girls from school to make out or something. Except girls throw themselves at his feet all the time and he pretty much ignores them, so I figured maybe it’d be one of the guys from school instead. I was okay with that, really. Some people might look at him funny if they found out, but he’s still my brother either way. Either way, I’d have gone home laughing and I wouldn’t have to worry anymore.

Too bad that’s not going to happen.

Kalen’s waiting for someone, all right, fidgeting and running a hand through his hair every so often. But the way he’s staring at the chainlink fence in front of him, I don’t think it’s anyone from this side of the border, let alone someone from school. The hairs on the back of my neck rise and I’m suddenly too warm despite the breeze. I don’t want to think about what business he’d have with someone from the Other Side, why he’d go against everything we’ve both been raised to believe in--

A figure, tall and freakishly thin, appears on the opposite side of the fence.

“You’re late,” Kalen says.

Dead silence.

“I brought you something.” Kalen pulls a small object from the pocket of his jeans and pokes it through a gap in the fence.

The figure steps forward with a noiseless grace that gives me the creeps. There’s a flash of movement as whoever it is takes whatever Kalen’s offered and pockets it. Half hidden by the pulled-up hood of a bulky black sweatshirt, the stranger’s face looks shadowed and gaunt. It’s hard to make out features, to even tell if it’s a guy or a girl. Not that it matters--male or female, this long-limbed... person obviously isn’t one of us.

My jaw clenches and so do my fists, tight enough to be painful.

“You got anything for me today?” Kalen holds out a cupped hand.

So quick that it’s barely more than a blur, the stranger’s own hand moves. Something about the size and shape of a waveless earpiece glints in the weak lamplight as it slides through the chain links and drops into my brother’s open palm.

My brother.

A pulse beats below my eye as I watch Kalen’s back. It’s what I do, what I’ve been doing since I was old enough to stand, not that he appreciates it. All my life I’ve been a lightning rod for Father’s fury, bearing the brunt of it so Kalen doesn’t have to. Weathering his rages so they won’t so much as ruffle my brother’s golden hair--and for what? So he can sneak out here and trade information with the enemy?

My vision goes funny, like I’m seeing everything through a rounded lens. Blood roars in my ears.

“What’s wrong?” Kalen asks. He sounds far away.

I open my mouth instinctively to answer, but he’s not looking at me. His attention is fixed on the stranger, who grips the links of the fence and peers through it with narrowed eyes--eyes that flash an unnatural yellow as they lock onto mine. My bowels turn to water.

We stare each other down for a long moment. All of a sudden, the stranger looks away, stumbling backward jerkily and sneezing twice into one sleeve. I blink. It’s a surprisingly human sound. The figure straightens up quickly. It--he?--looks directly at me.

“Storm’s coming,” he says. “Best be inside when it does.”

A chill races through me even though I’m burning up inside. He feels it, same as I do--the thunderheads gathering, the deadly current thrumming in my veins. Sweat breaks out on my forehead, my throat closes up--

“What?” Kalen glances up at the sky. “But it’s not even overcast.”

The stranger disappears, there one minute and gone the next.

My heart speeds up and a familiar gray haze comes over everything. I’m mad enough to kill but I don’t know why. The memory of how I got here, where “here” even is--they’re just… gone. I don’t recognize the person in front of me, facing the fence, but I know I want to beat the shit out of him.

The wind howls, loud enough to hear over the thudding in my ears. Sand swirls around me, blotting out what’s left of my vision. There’s an ache at the back of my throat, a dull sense that something’s not right. The storm’s supposed to be in me, not out there. I should do some deep breathing, maybe pray or try to calm down. Figure out what’s going on.

I don’t care. I close my eyes and let the storm roll in.

“Brendan.”

I blink, startled by Kalen’s voice. My fingers lose their grip on the glass of milk I’m holding. It shatters on the kitchen floor. I look down at the white puddle spreading over the smooth stone tile, the broken shards sparkling in the morning sun.

“Shit,” I mumble, bending to clean up the mess. My head’s fuzzy and my body doesn’t want to do what I tell it to do.

A gentle hand touches my arm. “Let me do it,” Kalen says.

Numbly, I nod. As I watch him pick up the pieces, moving with his usual grace, the weirdest feeling washes over me. My skin prickles with chill-bumps and my mouth goes dry. Something’s not right, but I can’t place what it is.

Kalen stops suddenly, looking up at me with blameless blue eyes. “You okay, bro?”

“Yeah, I guess so.” I scratch the back of my neck, trying to put my finger on what’s bothering me.

His forehead scrunches up. “You spaced out big-time, right before you dropped your glass.”

“Huh.” I rub my eyes. They’re swollen and heavy. “I just… you ever feel like you’re forgetting something really important?”


n3m3sis43: ((FMAB) Huuuughes and Winryyyy)
“Pa?” The voice breaks into Dr. Jansen’s thoughts, squeaky and a touch breathless. “You got visitors.”

Jansen pushes his chair back from the solid stone table and stands, running a hand through his close-cropped brown hair. Something hurtles into him and he stumbles back a step; his son Weston’s skinny arms encircle him with impressive strength. The boy, eleven years old and already near as tall as his father, buries his face in Jansen’s labcoat. The scientist pats his shivering son’s dark, curly head in an absent way, knowing without looking who's at the door.

The boy’s never liked the Manips; Jansen can’t say he blames him.

“Come on in,” he says, his own voice even.

The Manip glides inside, its feet noiseless on the stainless alloy floor. It waits, silent, as Jansen makes his clumsy way over to the data-safe, his son still clinging to him. His back to the Manip, he opens the safe and retrieves the chip with last quarter’s reports.

A chill comes over him, and he turns to find the Manip inches away; skin crawling, Jansen suppresses a nervous laugh.

The Manips don’t appear to have any sense of humor, but he’d swear they enjoy startling him. He offers this one a wan smile and drops the chip into its skeletal hand. It nods as its white, fleshless fingers close around the chip, its face obscured by the hood of its billowing black cloak. The creature retreats to the hall, its movements so quick it appears to flicker. It doesn’t speak; the Manips never do.

Weston slowly releases his his death-grip on Jansen; moments later, a young, paunchy man steps into the doorway. The breast pocket of his ill-fitted brown suit is adorned with a Government employee's identification badge.

Tugging at the collar of his lint-flecked black button-down, he clears his throat. “I apologize for the interruption, Sir, but the Program Director requests your presence.” He clears his throat again. “There’s a hoverpod waiting outside.”

Jansen sighs, eyeing the slides he’s just finished preparing, the jars of phosphorescent serum composites. He shoots a wistful glance at the half-assembled prototype for his largest public client’s latest Productivity Assistance Management system. His work will have to wait; Jansen Technologies hasn’t earned its reputation by keeping Government officials waiting, even middle-grade ones with delusions of grandeur.

“Weston?” He turns to his son. “Keep an eye on the place for me?”

The boy stands, taut as a bow string and wide black eyes fastened on the shadowy figure lurking in the hall. On any other occasion, he’d be squealing in delight over the chance at even an hour alone in his father’s lab. Now, however, he only nods and offers a weak, “Sure, Pa.”

Jansen unlocks a tall, metal cabinet; its double doors open with a loud screech. He removes a garment bag and a pair of well-oiled dress shoes from inside and locks it back with nimble fingers. “Go on home if it gets too close to dinnertime. Tell your Ma I might be late, too--okay, kiddo?” Pulling Weston into an awkward, one-armed embrace, he whispers in the boy’s ear. “It’ll be okay. I promise.”

He follows the public servant out. The halls are empty; most employees lack the clearance to enter this sector of the building. Two pairs of footfalls echo in the hall--the squeak of Jansen’s sneakers and the clippity-clop of the other man’s hard-soled shoes. Beneath the sound of their steps, Jansen hears his own breathing, the slight whistle of the younger man’s nose. The Manip trails behind them; its respirations--if it breathes at all--are inaudible. No one speaks on the way outside; the conversation at the meeting isn’t likely to be much better.

By the time he arrives at Program Headquarters, Jansen’s folded his labcoat and tucked it away in his garment bag, along with the jeans and Attack of the Killer Sprinkmelons T-shirt he was wearing underneath. He’s changed into a charcoal gray suit, expensive and tailored to fit his slight figure with precision. His shoes and socks are business black. The pressed, pristine white of his collared shirt offsets his smooth, dark skin--a complexion some spend good money to fake. Born and raised High-Ender, Jansen knows how to dress; it’s with perfect intention that he ruins the look with a smiley-face tie.

In the lobby, the Government lackey does the usual check-in routine--retinal scan, DNA sample, time in and expected time out of 23:59, Government-speak for “you’ll leave when we let you.” He takes his leave with a slight bow of his head. The Manip hovers at the back of the lobby; when Jansen approaches, it begins to drift down a dim corridor with a polished faux-marble floor. Jansen follows it onto an elevator that whisks them up seventy-odd floors and opens onto a hallway identical to the first. Exiting the elevator, the Manip leads him to a conference room with its imitation-wood door closed. It waits.

Jansen pushes the door open. The entire back wall of the room is a single sheet of shatterproof glass with a slight tint; the light filtering through this window-wall is the only illumination. At the center of the room is a long, simulated-stone table. The others are already seated at one end, stiff and unsmiling. Not one of them wears an interesting tie, unless Director Willard’s grease-spotted one counts. Willard occupies the head of the table, flanked by Stillwell and Adams, both of whom Jansen’s met before at various social events. The remaining man is young, mid-twenties at most and pulling off business casual far too well to be a Government employee. He glances toward the door and nods; the Manip floats out into the hallway and pulls it closed.

“Fashionably late as always,” Stillwell cracks as Jansen eases himself into an empty chair.

Rocking back in his seat, Jansen meets Stillwell’s honey-colored eyes with a level gaze and a small smile. He bites back a caustic remark about being fashionable, at least--Stillwell’s jacket sags just a touch in the shoulders, and its sleeve reveals the entire cuff of the man’s shirt. Jansen chides himself for his pettiness; it’s not Stillwell’s wardrobe that bothers him anyway.

“A pleasure to see you again, Dr. Jansen.” Director Willard sounds almost sincere. “I trust that your family’s well?”

“Very well--thank you, Director,” Jansen replies. “Both boys’re growing like weeds and my wife’s research is--”

“Women’s work,” Stillwell interrupts, flashing Jansen a cold smile. “I was under the impression we had real business to discuss.”

“Stillwell,” the Director warns, his graying, bushy brows bunched together.

It’s all Jansen can do to repress a smirk. The unfamiliar young man seated next to Stillwell isn’t as successful, and Adams seems to be suffering from a sudden and unfortunate attack of coughing. Stillwell’s thin lips press together to the point of invisibility. Willard waits, expressionless, while Adams regains his composure.

“I’m sure you’re wondering why I've brought you here, Dr. Jansen.” The Director says when the room is silent again.

Jansen chuckles. “There are a great many things I wonder about. Scientists are inherently curious individuals.”

“Let me introduce you to our team, and we’ll get straight to the point.” Willard inclines his head toward Stillwell. “It seems you’re already acquainted with our Deputy Commissioner of Schools. Seated next to you is Dr. Richard Adams, Associate Vice President of the Bureau of Mental Fortitude. And last but not least,” he says, gesturing to the man beside Stillwell, “our young friend over here is Victor Larkin, Program Liaison. He assists with both recruitment and mentoring of Program members.”

Larkin smiles, warm brown eyes crinkling at the corners.

“And the Manips?” Jansen asks. “You work with them as well?”

The smile freezes on Larkin’s face; it fades from his eyes as they dart toward Adams. Adams, in turn, goes a bit gray in the face and looks over at Willard, who fiddles with his tie clip. “Yes, and them as well,” the Director says after a moment. He clears his throat. “How much do you know about the Program and your involvement with it?”

Jansen stretches, his jacket suddenly feeling restrictive. “My understanding is that the Program trains young men to become special operatives. Potential recruits are found through the school system using standardized tests and other screenings.”

“That’s a vast oversimplification of the--”

“Stillwell,” The Director barks. “Let the man speak.”

“As far as my involvement,” Jansen continues as if he was never interrupted. “I synthesize a chemical known as C-3614X, which is one component of an organic device the Government’s created for the Program. I believe the Manips are somehow able to use this device to observe the potentials, and these observations help determine which ones are a good fit for the Program.”

“Yes,” Willard says. “Very good. Adams, can you take it from here?”

“Absolutely, sir.” Adams clears his throat. “While surveillance is a helpful tool, on its own it provides a success rate of only thirty-five percent. In other words, almost two thirds of the boys we induct into the Program are unable to complete their training and become...” He trails off, running a hand through his thinning hair. “Special operatives. Our hope--”

“Our hope is that with some tweaks to your formula,” Willard interrupts, rubbing the back of his neck. “We can greatly reduce this rate of attrition.”

Rate of attrition. Jansen turns the words over in his mind; he dislikes how businesslike they sound. These boys, these potentials, aren’t much older than his own son. “What kind of tweaks?”

“Based on your research data thus far,” Adams says, “We believe it’s possible to enhance the organic monitors to establish a--” He pauses to examine his fingernails. “--a telepathic link between the Manips and the potentials.”

“A… what?” Jansen’s mind whirls; he wonders if he’s being mocked. “You want to read their thoughts?”

“Of course n--” Adams begins.

“Not at this time,” the Director says, his voice firm. “We intend to establish a simple bond with each potential’s brain. By measuring the strength of the bond, we’ll be better able to determine which candidates have sufficient abilities to excel in the Program.”

A sudden chill creeps over Jansen; he folds his hands in his lap to keep them still. “Isn’t that a bit… invasive?”

The young one, Larkin, leans forward. He opens his mouth as if to speak, then closes it again.

“Being cut from the Program is, ah, it’s very hard on these boys.” Adams rubs at the remains of his hair again. Jansen notices beads of perspiration along the man’s receding hairline. “They often require extensive counseling, and returning to their old living situations is--well, it’s quite difficult to say the least.”

“So you see,” Director Willard cuts in. “The telepathic link would, in fact, be less invasive than our current methods.”

* * * * *

Randall keeps it together until the break room door’s closed behind him. He tosses the grungy backpack onto the table, trying not to think about the way the kid fought to keep it. Tiny little thing, not even five feet tall, and it took five men to take him down. His ankles felt so small, the bones so delicate under Randall’s huge hands--

He bites back a scream and fights off tears, his whole body shaking with the effort. His fist slams into the wall and bounces off, useless. Randall blinks at the undamaged wall and then his reddening knuckles; he wonders what the fuck he’s doing here. The Program was supposed to be a way out of his dead-end life, a way to help smart kids from shitty homes who never had a chance.

It isn’t helping the kid out there any, that’s for sure. He never quit struggling, not even after they got the restraints on him. Like a cornered animal, growling deep in his throat, back arching up off the table and head jerking from side to side. Wrists straining against the cuffs and cords standing out against his stick-figure arms, even after the first injection--

The door opens with a slight creak. “You okay in there, big guy?” Larkin asks.

Randall sinks into one of the too-small chairs, pulling the pack toward him and unzipping it. He’s not okay, can’t stop hearing the kid’s screams. Can’t un-see the bloody tracks down his hairless cheeks where he’d clawed himself before they managed to bring him in.

Not okay at all.

“I’ll get by,” Randall mutters, broad shoulders tensed.

“They’re not always like this, y’know,” Larkin says, taking a seat. “The intakes, I mean.”

“Hope not.” Randall keeps his eyes on the table, trained on the kid’s belongings as he sorts through them. They don't amount to much--cheap phone, ratty old clothes, toothbrush and toothpaste, some polished stones in a fake leather pouch.

“It’s this new observation device.” Larkin sighs. “Things’ve been a lot rougher around here since they started using it."

Randall nods, distracted by something he's pulled from the pile of crumpled clothes. It's one of those souvenir-shop bottles, filled with shells and sand; Randall's willing to bet this kid's never seen the shore. He picks up the pouch he set aside earlier, running a thick finger over its soft, scarred surface. Sniffs at it, his brow furrowing--not fake after all, and hides are a luxury for a kid like this.

"Lots more kids like that one the past couple years, out of their minds and seeing shit that ain’t even there.”

Randall looks up; this wasn't covered in orientation. “The device makes them hallucinate?”

“Some of ‘em, yeah.” Larkin grimaces. “It wasn’t supposed to, not really. The point was to let the Manips communicate with the potentials, to ease them into things. To gauge whether they’d be a good fit for the Program. Least that’s how it was presented to me.”

“Let me guess. This one wasn’t a good fit.”

“That’s the worst part--not necessarily." Larkin picks up the beach-bottle from the table; he rolls it between long, slim fingers, passes it from one hand to the other. "The mind-link does something to some of the kids, makes their brains go haywire. But it’s not like it weeds out the ones without enough talent. It's--" He falls silent, eyes down and lip caught between his teeth.

Randall waits, turning back to the objects on the table. He picks up a cloth bundle about the size of a loaf of bread. It's a vidframe, cocooned in layers of wash-worn T-shirts--a girl, thirteen or so, with a mop of black curls and eyes like tumbled jet. Dark skin, shy smile and straight white teeth. Randall shakes his head. Poor kid got himself mixed up with some High-Ender's daughter, some sweet little thing with money for trinkets and trips to the shore. Randall wonders what they’ll tell her when she asks what happened to him.

"Y’know Number Two?” Larkin finally asks, voice low. “That one’s the worst intake I ever did.”

“Really?" Randall almost drops the vidframe. "Two?”

Two was born to be a Manip; none of the other Program kids can keep up with him.

“Yep." Larkin swallows and looks down at the table. "Came in here hollering about ghosts and dead things, clawing himself up like that one did tonight. We had to keep him holed up here on the Processing Unit for ages, but you’d never know it now. The kid’s amazing. Doesn’t remember a thing about all that bad stuff, either.”

“So this new kid," Randall pauses, afraid to ask. Afraid to hope. "He might actually end up okay?”

“Might." Larkin picks up a pair of jeans, shakes it out and folds it.

Randall picks up a paper napkin from the table, shredding it as he waits.

"It’s hard to say this early on," Larkin continues. "The ones that come in hot like this, they’re always a mess. Most of ‘em won’t eat or drink; I think they’re too mixed up to remember. The ones who’ll sleep tend to get nightmares. Treatments help some of them, clear up the hallucinations and the dreams. Those’re the ones with the best chance. We’ll know in a day or two if this one responds to the treatments or not.”

“And if he does?”

“It’ll be critical to keep a close eye on him. Even once they can think clear, they’re scared out of their minds. They tend to hurt themselves, to hide wherever they can. You have to talk to them, try to draw them out. Make sure they know you’ve got their back.”

“That’s what you did with Two?”

“Yep. Like I said, it was touch and go for a long time. But after a while, he adjusted. Some do, if you watch ‘em close enough.”

“What happens to the ones who don’t?” Randall asks.

Larkin opens his mouth to answer, then closes it again. He stands, sweeping the scraps of torn napkin from the table. Patting Randall on the shoulder, he says, "We really ought to go back out there, y'know."

It's all the answer Randall needs.


(next chapter is here)


[A/N: This was originally posted for Open Topic in... some week of LJ Idol Season 9.]

n3m3sis43: ((FMAB) Huuuughes and Winryyyy)
Randall scans the common area, rubbing the back of his broad neck.

It's more crowded this evening than most, what with the storm outside and all thirteen of his charges indoors. Near the front door, the eldest of the group are playing a rather noisy game of mind hockey. Two and Four take on One and Three, with Five playing interference. From the looks of it, they're more concerned with their bank shots than who's winning. The glowing puck caroms off walls and furniture, and Five's spending more time ducking and laughing than catching and redirecting.

Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen huddle in a far corner with a portable vidplayer. Its light dances on their soft faces. These three are young enough their voices are still half-changed, their complexions rebellious. There's a state-of-the-art vidroom on the ward, but Randall knows boys. Whatever they're watching, he's guessing it's got women and it's not quite Government-Sanctioned.

Let them have their fun. A smile, thin and brittle, curves Randall's lips.

In the sparring room, Six and Eight face off while Nine and Ten wait their turn. Even through the shatterproof glass, Randall can hear shouts and cheers, the occasional thud of bodies coming together. The crash of Manipulated chairs and other objects missing an opponent or spectator by only the narrowest margin. Randall shakes his head, wishing he still had their energy. Their determination.

Not that it'll change a thing; they can practice 'til the end of time, but they'll never get the best of Seven.

He's alone as he always is these days, apart from training and his time with Brinkley. Seven doesn't talk to the other boys, but he can beat every last one of them in a fight. You'd never guess it to look at him now, slumped in an oversized chair at the back of the ward. His back rests against one arm, gangly legs thrown over the other. Long black hair hides his face; his head hangs as he sits, silent and still.

Even in the state he's in, Seven can sense Randall's approach--he's that good. The boy doesn't move, doesn't give any sign, but that doesn't mean a thing and Randall knows it. Sure enough, as soon as Randall's in earshot, Seven mutters, "Go 'way, Rand."

Randall doesn't move and neither does the kid. Scarecrow-skinny and limbs loose, he looks like a broken puppet, a cast-off toy; he doesn't know he could kill everyone in this place if he wanted and walk away free. They're not about to let him find out, either. Even with Brinkley, their dark knight riding in to save the day, the kid's barely controlled. Anyone who's watched him Manipulate can see that.

"Y'okay, kid?" Randall asks, even though he knows the answer.

Seven nods, a near-imperceptible twitch. It's a lie; the treatments are meant to be a last resort, same as the shocks.

No one was ever intended to withstand what they're putting him through. A weaker boy would've broken long ago, and this one's beginning to. His arms are bandaged; he'll slice himself to ribbons if he's left alone too long. They'll grind him down, given enough time.

Randall intends to smuggle him out before that happens, but that'll be easier said than done. He'll have to get Seven to trust him first, and the kid's locked down tighter than the ward itself. There's the issue of his abilities as well, but unlike most of the staff, Randall's not afraid.

Seven doesn't want to hurt anyone; Brinkley'd be dead if he did.

Brinkley knows it, too. Seven's allegations were classified, but everyone's heard what happened. The Board took Brinkley at his word; they made noises about cutting the kid from the Program, as if "decommissioning" him would be that easy. Brinkley rushed to Seven's defense, insisting it wouldn't be fair to hold his "delusions" against him. He only needed more time. More treatments.

It makes Randall sick, picturing Brinkley with his martyr's smile. I only want what's best for the boy.

Randall knows better than that; he's had Brinkley pegged since he first swaggered onto Ward Zero. Brinkley wants what's best for Brinkley, and he's used to getting it. Used to telling people what to do, guys who've put in their time, worked for what they've got. Less than a year on the ward and Brinkley's doing procedures Randall can only dream of, work he'll never see outside a Multiversity text.

"Rand?" The voice is muffled, paper-thin. "Why're you still here?"

"I worry about you," Randall says without thinking.

The boy snorts. "Heard that one before." He raises his head; the economy of his movements is fascinating. Painful.

Randall puts his hands in his pockets; his instinct's to reach out. To pat Seven's shoulder, brush the hair back from his face. He restrains himself. The kid's like a mutt who's been kicked one time too many--get too close and he'll snap. "You can't go on like this much longer."

"Don't have to." His tone's even, devoid of emotion. "Won't live much longer."

The calm acceptance rattles Randall the most; his words come out in a rush. "What if there's another way out?"

A ghost of a shrug. "Thought of that already. Not gonna kill anyone."

"I know," Randall says. "I can take it all away. Make you normal."

Seven snaps to attention, wincing at the sudden change in position. A hint of hope lights his pallid face before he catches himself. His expression goes blank in an instant, but his amber eyes hold Randall's gaze; they shine like a child's. "You can't."

Randall nods, ignoring the guilt that knifes through his belly. "I can." It's not a lie; he can suppress Seven's abilities, make him forget everything he's gone through here on the ward. Let him live a regular life. And he will, for a while--until the kid's healed.

Until he's recovered his strength enough to help Randall get what he wants, just this once.

n3m3sis43: ((FMAB) Huuuughes and Winryyyy)
The Voice in my Head
(inspired by Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat)



The words would not flow.
It was too hard to write.
So I stared at the screen
all day long and all night.

I messaged Alicia.
We chatted a bit.
And I said, "How I wish
all my writing weren't shit!"

My muse was away
and would not come to call.
So I wasted my day.
I wrote nothing at all.

So all I could do was to
sit!
  sit!
    sit!
      sit!
And I did not like it.
Not one little bit.

Then I said, "What the fuck?
I don't care if it sucks."
I typed,
then deleted and whined to my friend,
"It's tripe!"
And I heard it.
The voice in my head.
And it said to me,
"What kind of 'writer' are you?
Your plot's full of holes
and your humor's not funny.
And nobody
likes your main character, honey."

"I know some good ways I could help,"
said the voice.
"I have some good crit,"
said the voice in my head.
"A lot of good crit.
I will give it to you.
"Your 'readers' will thank me so much if I do."

Then suddenly I
did not know what to say.
My word count was already low
for the day.

But my friend said, "No! No!
Make that voice go away!
Tell that voice in your head
you do NOT want to play.
It should not be there.
It will make you morose.
It should not be there
With your deadline so close!"

"Now! Now! Have no fear.
Have no fear!" the voice pled.
"My crit is not bad,"
said the voice in my head.
"Why, this could be
quite a good piece," the voice said,
"with a technique I call
rip-rip-rip it to shreds!"

"Fucking Christ," said my friend.
"Let's not do this again!"
"Gotta go," said my friend,
and she signed off IM.

"Have no fear!" said the voice.
"I would not steer you wrong.
I will beta for you
I will make your piece strong.
By deleting this poo
and then writing instead--
good words," said the voice, said the voice
in my head.

"Look at this!
Look at your ghastly word choice.
And your info-dumps, oh--
and your character's voice!
He can't talk like this, dude!
He can't say 'fuck' this much!
Oh, the sentence fragments!
And your 'worldbuilding' sucks!
And look!
This is not realistic at all!
But that is not all!
Oh, no.
That is not all..."

"Listen up!
Listen up!
Listen up NOW!
It is good to use words
but you have to know how.
I can teach you to write
things that people will read!
Just as soon as you scrap
this ridiculous screed.
You must shitcan this 'plot'--
your 'protagonist,' too!
And then with my help
you can write something new.
You can write something great
if you do as I say!
But never your way.
Oh, no.
Never your way."

That is what the voice said...
So I sat on my bed.
I sat there like a lump
and I wanted to quit.
Then I said to the voice,
"Fuck you and all your 'crit'!"

So I took a long nap
and I thought and I thought.
I said, "Are you helping?
Oh, no! You are not.
You're not helping me grow
or write something worth shit.
No, you are not helping,
not one little bit!"

"Get out of my head!"
said myself to the voice.
"I have to write now!
Deadline's Monday--no choice!
You tore down my plot
and my characters too.
You wasted my time
and I wrote nothing new.
You SHOULD NOT be here,
mean old voice in my head."
So I banished that voice
and I wrote this instead.

n3m3sis43: ((FMAB) Huuuughes and Winryyyy)
Deep in the bowels of the city, a garden grows.

The city itself is sickly and gray, choked by the smog that swathes it day and night. Buildings stand empty, windows broken and boarded, and no weeds push through the cracks in the crumbling pavement. Pallid people come and go, sad, silent bundles of twigs trundling past dead trees in sidewalk cages. Their eyes are dull, despondent as the grimy glass fronts of the few surviving stores. Only the near-feral children show signs of life, roaming the streets in grungy packs.

But within the garden, the air is always clean and fresh. Sunlight filters in through an impossible canopy of green. Enormous blooms of every color imaginable nod in the gentle breeze, and the ground is carpeted with soft grass and sweet-smelling wildflowers.

And within the garden, she waits, her massive jaws open wide.

Her mouth is a brilliant fuchsia blaze. Near her wicked, glistening teeth, the flesh fades to a delicate pink, translucent as an infant's ear. She yawns, stretching sluggish extremities; the winter has been long and so has her slumber. But now a warm breeze blows and a pungent, earthy aroma rises up all around her. And the wind brings with it another scent, this one weaker but far more tempting: prey.

A deep, aching hunger gnaws at her insides. Her leaves quiver; liquid drips from her fangs. Two-legged beasts, not just one but many. Vines unfurl, slithering through streets and creeping around corners. They zero in, near enough to hear. To touch.

Six of the animals dash through the city, big and brawny juveniles, pursuing their own quarry. Their sweat and shouts fill the dry, dead air. Up close, the smell of fresh meat is maddening; she longs to grab the nearest one and be done with it. But she knows better. She needs more than one, and she can't ensnare them all from this distance. With grim restraint, she turns her attention to their target. It crouches in an alley, panting. This one is scrawny, hardly even enough for an appetizer. No matter--she'll save it for the wildflowers.

With one trembling tendril, she reaches out and taps it on the shoulder.

This way. She speaks directly into its mind, what little it possesses. You'll be safe here.

In the delirium of near-starvation, she senses something impossible. Something beyond the primitive, gabbling thought process of which these creatures are capable. There are words, full sentences, with a cold coherence that can only be a hallucination.

It's probably a trap, it thinks, but what other choice do I have?

She feels a flicker of doubt, but the beasts are not intelligent; everyone knows that. They are food, pure and simple.

Follow the vines. She curls a slim feeler, beckoning. I will protect you.

Howls of triumph ring out; its hiding place has been discovered. Its compact body explodes into action and its tiny mind falls silent. She hears only the rasp of its quickening respiration, the slap of its shoes against the ancient asphalt. It moves toward her, its would-be predators following. As the beasts approach, her consciousness winks out of existence. The urge to feed eclipses all else.

They burst into the garden. With her last shred of self-discipline, she bats the small one aside. Her serrated jaws snap shut around the others; their tender flesh gives way and hot juices drench her tongue and dribble from her lips. She sighs, relishing the crunch of bones between her teeth. A pleasant lassitude steals over her. Her leaves droop, and for a time the ecstasy of fullness is all she knows.

Why didn't you eat me, too?

She comes back to herself with a start. The small beast stands near the edge of the garden, its fur-tufted head bowed like a blossom too heavy for its slender stem. Outrunning its pursuers has come at a cost; its bony chest heaves with every labored breath. She wonders why its lungs, unlike the others', are not adapted to the city's poisoned air. Why it hasn't tried to flee nonetheless.

I'm not from the city. It lifts its head to look at her, its pupils dilated. I don't have anywhere else to go.

Her insides twist once more, but not with hunger. It won't last a day in this city. Though she's devoured countless of its kind with no compunctions, this one is different. She unrolls her vines, baring her stem in a gesture of welcome. You have somewhere now.

It blinks at her, a silent, strange intelligence in its dark eyes. Cautiously, it crosses the garden to meet her, wrapping its spindly arms around her stem. This is its way of showing gratitude, she surmises. Secure in the knowledge she has done the right thing, she sighs. Gorged on food and fellowship, she enfolds her new companion in slender shoots of greenery, and--

"I'm sorry," it says in a cracked whisper. "With what you'll fetch me on the black market, I can eat for a year."

Something sharp pierces the soft spot beneath her jaws, and the world goes black.

n3m3sis43: ((FMAB) Huuuughes and Winryyyy)
I thought it would be fun to list the books I read this year. You know, because I don't keep track very well. This is based on my Kindle purchase history (which means I'm missing some I already owned or was given by my lovely book-pirating friends) and my memory (which means I'm missing some because my memory sucks. Anyway, here goes.

The scary thing is how many of these (5?) are books I'd read before. I clearly need new material.

(although my list of Kindle purchases says otherwise--I just need to read what I buy)

More or less in reverse chronological order:
1. Misery by Stephen King
2. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
3. The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
4. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
5. Island by Aldous Huxley
6. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
7. Divergent by Veronica Roth
8. Insurgent by Veronica Roth
9. Allegiant by Veronica Roth (don't... just don't)
10. Crank by Ellen Hopkins (why do most of my work friends read YA, arghhhh)
11. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
12. A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
13. A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin
14. A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin
15. A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin
16. The Half-Life of Planets by Emily Franklin
17. A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby
18. Tiger, Tiger: A Memoir by Margaux Fragoso
19. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
20. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
21. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
22. Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King
23. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
24. The Giver by Lois Lowry
25. A Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs
26. The Talisman by Stephen King
27. On Writing by Stephen King

...That list is actually kind of short and sad. Oh well. I've been working 50-hour weeks since April while having a 3 year old and trying to write every day. And reading a million Idol posts. Let's not talk about how much of today's writing time I wasted making this list. Oops.

ETA: I decided I might as well keep updating the list for as long as I remember. And I also found some more books I had read this year and forgotten to note before. Oops.

28. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
29. The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern
30. Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami
31. Middlesex: A Novel by Jeffrey Eugenides
32. The Wizard of Oz and Other Narcissists by Eleanor D. Payson
33. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi (bleh)
34. Scars by Cheryl Rainfield
35. A Child Called It: One Child's Courage to Survive by Dave Pelzer
36. Mean Mothers by Peg Streep
37. Sharp by David Fitzpatrick
38. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner


n3m3sis43: ((FMAB) Huuuughes and Winryyyy)
(trigger warning for sexual abuse--sorry, I always forget to put these in)




"I'm proud of you." Brinkley's voice is full of fake cheer. "You made a lot of progress today."

I don't answer, don't even look away from the vid I'm pretending to watch. Slouch low in my chair and try to disappear. Pretend the simple movement doesn't make my vision blur and the room spin. The treatments mess me up bad, scramble my brains so I can't talk for hours after. But that's not the worst part of my sessions with Brinkley.

They'll never believe you, Number Seven. The treatments tend to make you imagine things.

The truth hurts. No one'd take my word over Brinkley's.

They brought him in special to straighten me out. He's supposed to be good with "troubled boys" like me, and I'm supposed to be grateful. Like they're keeping me in the Program out of the kindness of their fucking hearts. Sure, I've broken every rule I can think of. Tried to escape more times than I can count. I keep my hair long and I bit the last guy who tried to cut it. Got a tendency to isolate and a wicked addiction to razor blades. But I train like crazy and I've picked up Manipulating like nobody's business.

I learn fast, always have. Learned to hate Brinkley right off the bat, with his silky voice and smarmy smile.

You're surviving, not thriving, Number Seven. I'm here to change that.

Funny how it's all so clear, even through the treatment-fog. The chill of the room, the sick-sweet smell of his hair gel. Metal restraints biting into my wrists as I struggled. The sandpaper scrape of his stubble on my skin. His breath hot against the hollow of my neck and mine caught and held as his tongue traced my collarbone, trailed down my chest. My body turned traitor when he took me in his mouth, hips bucking under his hands. Still shivering and straining, but not from fear anymore. His smirk as he shoved my legs apart.

I knew you'd warm up to me sooner or later.

A shudder runs through me and I squirm in my seat. It fucking hurts. Didn't imagine that, did I?

"I've got to do rounds. Keep up the good work." Brinkley gives my shoulder a squeeze and leaves.

I close my eyes and sigh. Try to think of something happy. Friday night double features with my best friend--

Oh, shit. I can't remember his name. It's just... gone.

You're adapting, Number Seven. I knew you had it in you. All you needed was a little extra attention.

Bile creeps up in my throat, burns as I swallow it down. Never gonna get used to what they've done to my voices.

They're part of the recruitment package, sort of a helping hand. Tell you when you're letting your thoughts go places they shouldn't. When I first got my voices, they were like something out of a monster vid. Strange, scraping whispers that froze my blood and made me think I'd lost my mind. Trouble is, their tricks don't work on me anymore--not the voices and not the shocks that come with 'em if you don't listen.

So they keep changing things up. Trying different voices, increasing the strength of the shocks and hoping they'll hit on the right combination. Their latest attempt is shocks that'd take down an elephant and voices that sound like Brinkley. I don't mind the shocks so much. There's something kinda beautiful about a pain so intense it blots out everything out. Something peaceful.

Brinkley's voice in my head, though? It's almost enough to make me do what I'm told. Almost, but not quite.

"Not fucking adapting," I mutter to no one.

Oh, but you are. You've turned a corner. You're finally starting to let go of your past.

I'm not gonna let go of him. I can't.

He's holding you back. Keeping you ordinary, when you're meant to be so much more.

Meant to be what? A Manipulator? Big fucking deal. Sure, they look all scary, the way they move all boneless and graceful. They can change your surroundings, everything you see and hear and feel. I'm supposed to want to be one of 'em, to crave that kind of power. Guess I'm broken or something, because I don't much care about any of that. All I want is my best friend back.

Now, now, Seven. Let's not go down this road again. You know where it leads.

White-hot light explodes behind my eyes, courses through my veins. My whole body jerks with the force of it. Brain rattles inside my skull, muscles tense and nerves scream. My heart stutters in my chest and my vision goes dark. The pain's excruciating, almost ecstatic. It's all there is, all there ever will be... and it's not enough. The shock passes too fast and I'm shaky, hollowed out and heavy.

And I want more.

They can use my body however they please, make me forget my best friend's name and maybe his face next. They can snuff out the last spark inside me, destroy my will to survive. But they can't make me stay in the Program, not when I can use their own weapons against 'em. Make 'em shock me 'til I'm free once and for all. I picture him in my mind, clear as I can. Warm brown eyes, wide-set and long-lashed. A mop of dark corkscrew curls that'd never behave. The way his smile lit up his whole face and his laughter filled a room.

The next shock's so powerful it snaps my head back hard, fills my brain with static.

Eric. His name was Eric.

My head lolls forward and I smile as the world goes black.

n3m3sis43: ((FMAB) Huuuughes and Winryyyy)
"We have to talk," Katie's eyes are hard and her brow's all creased up.

I nod and I try to look agreeable, but I don't say a word and I keep on brushing Daniel's hair. And I focus on the sweet floral scent of his shampoo and how soft his hair feels and the way it slides like black silk through my fingers. Katie wanted to cut it last year when all of this started, but I wouldn't let her. It's his pride and joy, or at least it was.

He won't be able to keep it up, Katie said, and you'll have your hands full anyway.

But my hands don't feel full, not with all I've lost.

"It's about Daniel," she continues, and her voice's so cold.

He doesn't react to the sound of his name, but I do. Because I don't want to talk about Daniel--not now with him here and not later, either. I know what Katie's gonna say, and I don't want to hear it. My hands won't stay steady and I almost drop the brush and it snags in Daniel's hair. And he turns to me with a small, hurt noise, and he's too pale and his eyes are big and shadowed and scared. But he's every bit as beautiful to me as he's always been, and for a second I swear he's there, really there--

And he blinks and the moment passes, and my heart breaks all over again.

"Sorry I scared you, dude," I whisper, and I lay a hand on his back. I can feel his ribs through his T-shirt and the too-fast beating of his heart. His whole body tenses under my touch, and I've gotta stay still 'til he relaxes. But then he leans in and rests his head on my shoulder, and I hold him close and breathe him in and remember how he used to be. How we used to be. And I remember those first awful weeks last year--how lost he looked and his endless questions.

What happened? Was I dead? Am I alive now?

One year and who knows how many tests and treatments later, and we still know so little.

Every thirty seconds and sometimes sooner, his memory resets and for him there's nothing in between. And he's quieter now with all the meds they've got him on, but those questions are still there and I can see them in his eyes whenever he looks at me.

Where'd I go? How long was I asleep?

But there's never any answers to give him, because even the doctors're stumped. It's a brain injury, they say, but they're not clear on the cause and I can't help because I wasn't around when it happened. They tell us it's a rare case and they look at Daniel like he's a puzzle for them to put together. But they can't find all the pieces, and they can't say for sure if he'll get better or how long it'll take if he does. It could happen tomorrow or in a year or not at all. And that's the worst part, that nobody really knows anything.

All I know is Daniel's gone, maybe forever, and I wasn't there when he needed me most.

"Jess?" Katie's voice is softer now, but she's not gonna let me ignore her.

"What is it?" I ask, and I'm so tired, all worn out from fighting so hard to hold onto what's left.

And I feel selfish saying that when Daniel's the one who's lost everything. It's not so much work taking care of him, really. Because it turns out he can take care of his hair and his showers and all those things just fine on his own as long as you remind him every day. The doctors call that procedural memory, and it means his body remembers how to do things even though his brain doesn't. So he can still tinker with his circuits and wires and stuff, and it makes him so happy and it's the only time he's almost him.

But you've gotta watch him so he doesn't get distracted and burn the house down... like he almost did the other day.

Katie twists a lock of her own black hair around one finger. "I think we need to consider... other options for his care."

My eyes well up and my stomach's in my shoes and I think I might choke on this lump in my throat. But I knew this was coming and I've gotta stay calm, so I wait to speak 'til my voice won't shake. "There are no other options."

"Jess." All the steel's gone from her now, and her voice's flat and kinda robotic. "He's not getting any better."

My arm tightens around him of its own volition and he lets out a soft little sigh. And there's no way I'm gonna abandon him again, not now and not ever. "He's--" My words come out all squeaky and I swallow and start over. "He's calmer, isn't he?"

Katie snorts. "More like catatonic." She shakes her head, and her dark eyes flash. "How long do you think you can keep this up? You're only nineteen, Jess. You're supposed to be going out to parties and... doing whatever normal people our age do."

"You don't understand--" I start, but Katie cuts me off.

"Understand what?" she demands, and her face might as well be made of metal except for the flush rising on her brown skin. "That you blame yourself for a breakup that wasn't your fault? Or that you're wasting your life playing nursemaid to make up for it?"

Her face's too close to mine and her breath's hot on my cheeks. Daniel squirms away and he huddles in the corner and makes himself small and I want to tell him it's all gonna be okay. But it isn't okay, and I don't know if it ever will be. And I want to tell Katie it is my fault, because I knew he didn't mean all those things he said to me, the last time I saw him before. I knew it was just a fight and I walked out on him anyway, and he never takes care of himself when I'm not around, and--

"Snap out of it, Jess," she growls, and she lunges toward me and I think she's gonna slap me. But she grasps me by the tops of my arms instead and lifts me onto my feet. She shakes me like a ragdoll and her long nails dig into my skin.

"H- he belongs with me, K--"

"Yeah, right," she snaps. "That's why you were on that six-week 'vacation' at your parents' house when all this started."

And she might as well have slapped me right across the face, the way that stings.

"You didn't break him, you idiot." Her arms fall to her sides and she stares at the floor, and I've never seen her look so sad. "I heard him yelling at you clear across the house, and I heard the front door slam when he left. He walked out on you first, and you were right to leave him when you did. He was broken from the start--"

"He's. Not. Broken," I hiss through gritted teeth, and that low, icy voice's coming from my mouth but it doesn't sound like mine. My blood's pounding in my ears and there's this crazy strength surging through me. And I'm shaking but it's not because I'm scared, and all of a sudden I don't feel like sweet, harmless little Jess anymore. I march right up to Katie and I stare her down and I swear I could throw her across the room. Daniel shrinks away from me, and he mutters something I can't make out.

But Katie doesn't back down one bit. "Well, he's not coming back, is he? Look at him."

He's cowering against the wall, and his eyes are bright with fear.

"Is this the man you love?" Katie won't let up, not for one minute.

And all my rage drains away in an instant, because that's a question I can actually answer. "Yes."

She hollers something back, but I don't hear what it is because my eyes are on Daniel. And he blinks back at me with this light in his eyes and I want so much to believe it means something. That this time it's him, it's really him and he's back for good. But I've been hoping so hard for way too long, so I swallow and I brace myself for the moment the light flickers out again.

But it doesn't come.

Daniel's perfect brows knit together and he clears his throat. "Don't fight," he croaks. "Please."

His voice's like a thousand rusty hinges but it's the most wonderful sound I've ever heard.

I throw my arms around him and I snuffle into his shirt and he holds me like he's never gonna let go. My hands tangle in his hair and now I'm the one with all the questions but I'm too busy clinging to him for dear life to ask them.

"She's right, y'know." His words're soft puffs against my ear and they make me shiver. "Did this to myself."

I'm drenched in tears and my head's spinning and I don't want to pull away, but I do. "What d'you mean, dude?"

"Might not want anything to do with me once I tell you," Daniel mutters.

He leans forward and he lets his hair fall over his face like he always does when he's ashamed. And it's so him it makes me ache, and there's nothing he can say that'll change the way I feel, and--

"You left, and I--" He pauses and picks at the carpet, and he takes a deep breath. And he leans his head back against the wall and closes his eyes. "Look, I fucked up, okay? Knew this guy..." He trails off, and he looks straight at me with his big wet eyes and shakes his head. "I don't deserve you, Jess. I wanted this."

And I can't think straight, because nothing makes sense. "You wanted this? To lose all your memories?"

"Not all of them." He sighs. "Guy wasn't supposed to take everything. Just--" His voice cracks, and my heart does, too.

Because I already know what he's gonna say, but knowing doesn't make it hurt any less. He cups my chin in one gentle hand and he plants a soft kiss on my forehead. And he whispers the words against my skin.

"Just... you."



Author's Note:
This story and its characters are fictional, but the idea was inspired by a real person. They did not teach me about Clive Wearing when I got my psych degree, and I feel a little cheated (especially since I'm still paying back my student loans).


n3m3sis43: ((FMAB) Huuuughes and Winryyyy)
"There are architects and gardeners. The architects do blueprints before they drive the first nail, they design the entire house, where the pipes are running, and how many rooms there are going to be, how high the roof will be. But the gardeners just dig a hole and plant the seed and see what comes up."

--George R. R. Martin, on the difference between outlining and discovery writing



I'm only writing this because I can't finish my book.

It went so well at first. I banged out a first draft, sat back, relaxed--and then realized it was crap. Which I was okay with, because I hear this is a common problem with first drafts. I figured I was home free, since all I had to do was fix it in the second draft. How naive I was. One does not simply write a second draft--not if one is a discovery writer.

In the fabulous world of discovery writing, the process goes something like this.

1. Write your first draft.
This part is pretty easy, because the characters kind of just do things. You'll probably spend a lot of time asking yourself, "Why would he [or she] do that?" Other than that, things are good, your creative juices are flowing, you're thinking, "Wheeeeeee, I can do this! I can really write a book." If you're writing 1000 words a day or so, you're done in a few months.

2. Review what you've written.
Here's where you start to run into trouble, because this is when you realize 90% of your "novel" is character development. Say you've got a 100,000-word first draft. The typical novel has 250-300 words per page, so you've written a 400-page book with, at most, 40 pages of plot. Whatever plot you do have bears little resemblance to the story you thought you were writing.

3. Write an outline for your second draft.
To a discovery writer, outlining might sound like pure torture. It's not so bad, though--all you have to do is pick up the cues your characters have given you and develop them into a coherent plot. It's satisfying to see it take shape, and you're optimistic for your second draft.

4. Begin the second draft.
Oh, boy. Remember that outline you wrote? Your characters laugh in the face of it. Within a few thousand words, your plot's taken an unexpected turn, thereby invalidating most of your carefully thought-out storyline. You may still have a basic idea of where the book is going, but how you're going to get there? That's a bit of a mystery.

5. Regroup.
Stop expecting your characters to cooperate and resign yourself to the fact that they're going to do what they want, when they're damn well ready. Give up on writing "in order" and write the chapters in the order they reveal themselves to you. Attempt to determine what order everything is really supposed to go in. Practice deep breathing.

6. Panic.
At this point, you may begin to lose your mind. It's not unusual for your characters to feed you lines of story as you're waking up or falling asleep. While you're driving, in the shower, during sex. You have 200,000 words of random notes for your book but only six chapters in your second draft. Your characters lie to you. You argue with your characters. They argue back.

7. Repeat steps 3-7 as needed.
Do them in any order you please. Rewrite the same chapter five times. Whatever. It's not like you're finishing the fucking book anyway.

8. Realize that your "main character" is not, in fact, your main character.
In hindsight, this probably should have been obvious. Oops.

9. I have no idea.
I already told you--I wouldn't be writing this if I could finish my novel.


n3m3sis43: ((FMAB) Huuuughes and Winryyyy)
The winter wind howls, pummels me with invisible fists. It cuts through my hoodie, knocks my own wind right out of me, but I don't mind. Up here on the roof, it's peaceful--or what passes for that these days. I risk my neck every time I come here--the jump from the nearest tree's almost too far. One day I'll probably miss, but I won't mind that, either.

Not like I've got a lot to live for anyway.

I remember the first time I made the leap. How I held my breath and waited for the shock--that skull-splitting, white-hot pain. Almost hoped for it, really. It's fucked up, isn't it, wanting 'em to hurt me so bad I can't breathe? Thing is, you can't think either, when you're hurting like that. But the shock--they call it "Therapeutic Correction"--never came, even though they had to know I was up here that night. They track us through our neuro chips, so they have to know I've been here most every night since, too. That I've been talking to her.

"Is that you, sugar?" Her voice drifts up from below, slow and sweet like the syrup Eric's ma used to--

Dangerous thoughts, Number Seven. Another voice, icier than any wind.

All of us on Ward Zero hear the voices, heard 'em months before we came to the Home. They're part of the Program, meant to guide us. Get our thoughts back on track when they veer off too far. The first time I heard 'em, I thought I'd gone crazy. After a while I knew I had, but by then it didn't matter. It was just one more thing I didn't think about, like the names the other kids called me at school. The store clerks' withering looks when I picked up my ma's bottles. How I knew that's all I was to her--an extra ration, a way to get more booze.

One more thing I've learned to work around, that's all the voices are.

The shocks're supposed to be like that, too. None of the other Ward Zero guys need 'em anymore--not even Number Eight and Number Nine, who got here after I did. They do what they're told, automatic-like. None of 'em seem to wonder why we're here, what the Program's really about. They stick together, eat and sleep and train, don't break the rules. All of 'em avoid the shocks, all except me. I'm the only one who's ever tried to run, and the "correction" I got for that near killed me. Made me miss a week of training, too.

"Sug?" she calls, real soft, from her balcony on Women's Ward. "Help a lady up?"

"Yeah." I stretch out on my belly, dangle one arm over the edge and brace myself with the other. She climbs up quick, but I stay where I am. Lie there looking down into the darkness, think about how far I could fall. How easy it'd be. The voice doesn't do a thing to stop me, but she does. She grasps my arm tight, pulls me back from the brink. Does she know what I was thinking? If so, she shows no sign.

I straighten up and turn to face her, have to look up a little to meet her eyes. She's never told me how old she is, never even told me her name. But I figure her for at least Eleventh Year, maybe even of age. She's got at least an inch on me, even though I'm tall for fourteen. Towered over all the other boys in my class, back when I still went to school. When Eric was still--

Number Seven. Control your mind, before it controls you.

I shake my head, try to clear it.

"Hard day?" She brushes my hair out of my eyes, studies me. "You look done in."

My knees turn to rubber. I grit my teeth against despair, wrap my arms around myself and hold on tight. Strong. I'm strong, always have been, and Eric wouldn't want me dead. He wouldn't. I wait for the voice to tell me otherwise, but it's silent for now.

"I've been--" My words catch in my throat, and I swallow. "I'm okay."

We both know it's a lie. She feels the sadness in me, same as I feel it in her. The ache inside that won't ever go away. I see it in her dark eyes, the way her smiles never quite reach 'em. Hear it in the country lilt of her voice, the heavy note that weighs it down.

She gets it, the way the Program guys never will.

They're nice enough, I guess, but most of 'em are happy to be here. Why wouldn't they be? They come from shitty families like mine, and other than the "corrections," life here's pretty cushy. The kitchen staff makes our favorite foods, and we've got all the games and vids and music we could ever want. The other wards're all locked down, but not Ward Zero. We're free to roam the grounds, to do whatever we feel like when we're not training. Who knows? Maybe I'd be happy here, too, if my best friend hadn't died the day I moved in.

Your best friend betrayed you, the voice reminds me, like I'm ever gonna forget. He turned you over to us.

"Not much for talkin' tonight, are you?" she asks.

Tears prick my eyes at the kindness in her voice, but I'm not gonna cry--not in front of her or anyone else. I shake my head, turn away. There's a stone structure nearby, about a foot taller than me, with an overhang that blocks some of the wind. Set into one side's a door--probably leads to the stairs, but it's always locked. I sit down, my back against it. Rest my cheek against its cool metal surface. Even in this weather, it's a comfort. She sits, too, and I let my hair fall over my face, wait 'til I can trust myself to speak.

"Been thinking a lot, is all." My voice's thick, and I clear my throat. "Y'know, about why I'm here."

"You goin' philosophical on me?" She laughs, and it's like music. "Or you mean how you wound up in the Home?"

Kinda both. Why am I alive when Eric's dead? If he turned me in, why'd he die trying to stop them from--

That's enough, Number Seven.

"How'd you end up in the Home?" I ask, to occupy my mind with something else. On Ward Zero, we're special. They hand-picked us for the Program, even if some of us weren't exactly willing. The other Residents, though... there's a reason they've got 'em all on lockdown. A reason this place's called the Home for the Intractably Insane. "You don't seem like a nutter."

She snorts. "Well, you don't seem like a killer. What're you, a hunnert-twenty pounds sopping wet?"

A what? I blink at her, shocked silent.

Her eyes go wide, and the color drains from her face. "Bless your little heart." She puts a hand to her own heart, and her full lips part like she's gonna say more. But she doesn't, not right away. She leans in close, smooths my hair back from my face. Puts a cool hand on my forehead like a ma'd do--any ma besides mine. "You... you really don't know, do you?"

My stomach lurches, and I gulp in cold air to settle it. "Know what?"

She sighs. Plays with a strand of her long black hair, twists it around one slim finger.

They're the killers, not me--the men in the black cloaks. I want to tell her, but I'm trembling too hard to get the words out. "Men" doesn't feel like the right thing to call 'em, either, those faceless figures in black. The boneless, graceful way they moved, and how their bodies flickered--

The shock comes before I can speak, swift and fucking brutal. Rips through my brain like lightning, rattles my teeth in their sockets. My breath stops, and my heart beats out of time. Crashes around inside my ribcage like a tiny, broken bird. I clap my hands to my head, bite my tongue so I won't cry out. Never let 'em hear me scream. Mouth tastes like metal, world goes gray--

"Hey," I croak. Fight to stay conscious. "You called me a killer. Why?"

"Oh, honey." Her voice's so sad. "What'd you think they were training you for?"


n3m3sis43: ((FMAB) Huuuughes and Winryyyy)
I crushed my first Table of Doom (while I was working the first draft for Cliffton) and my last one was epic fail. I wrote half the prompts in like a month and then never got around to doing anymore because apparently my rewrite involves a lot of outlining and wanking about voice/character development on my blog and, um, reading?

Notice how I didn't say anything about actually writing parts of the book. Although I'm going to stop wanking and go work on my Calla piece now. And in hopes that it will force me to at least rework some scenes from the book, I am signing up to do one again this time. This way, I have to do at least 20 Cliffton pieces by August 28th.

Gah, why is "buttons" one of the prompts? I'm not rewriting that this summer. I'm not.

all the writerverse people have seen the prompts by now, so I'll cut it )

Instead of writing, I'm now looking at the prompts and deciding what scenes I will rewrite out of order.

*sigh*


n3m3sis43: ((FMAB) Huuuughes and Winryyyy)
Concrit much appreciated. This is chapter 8 of Cliffton book 1, now edited and hopefully beta-ready. If you are looking for the older version for comparison purposes, it is here No warnings. At some point in the book, there will be warnings.

If you're reading Cliffton for the first time, here are the previous chapters so you can catch up:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7


cut because your princess is in another castle )

Profile

n3m3sis43: (Default)
n3m3sis43

July 2024

S M T W T F S
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28 293031   

Syndicate

RSS Atom

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jun. 7th, 2025 08:19 am
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios