Institution Log 1  -  log book part the first

---

---

The patient wing of the ward was hallways, lined with rooms. The doors are unlocked but the wing isn't... It takes three forms of identification to get in and out, not to mention going through several locked doors.

The rooms are kept well-kept. Those living in them are allowed as much personalization as is safe, to keep them happy but not in danger to themselves or others. The patients are allowed to roam the halls, visit the other patients, and hang out in the few activity rooms as long as they agree to the terms: they must remain medicated if needed, and they must understand that any abnormal and violent activities will result in solitary confinement, either locked in their rooms or in more secure holding cells in another area. The staff is informed to roam the halls and make sure the cameras are in working order to try and quell any such behavior.

The staff rooms are much nicer, that goes without saying, and they are not confined to the area, but they are fed the same food and live in the same building. There are numerous doctors and psychologists and cleaning help but only a few interact with the patients on a regular basis.

eThere is another wing that nobody mentions to the patients. Some patients have a faint memory of steel tables and long needles... But no concrete memories that reside in anything but occasional nightmares.

Overall, it is a carefully monitored environment. But in the dark of the night, patients can disappear, not to return for weeks with but that hazy memory. Rumors about the owner of the facility, whose name is unknown but is merely referred to as "Marcell," circulate among the patients, rumors that speak of illegal research and secrets from the government. And underneath, there is a restlessness, one that will ultimately define the actions of everybody present... a yearning for freedom.

---

Megan murmured to herself, inaudible, as she lay on her bed, reading the previous entry in her journal. She gripped the page she was on as if to tear it out, then hesitated for a full ten minutes before letting it go and moving on. Megan shifted, getting out of the way of the sun beams that had been working their way across her room for the last four hours now, and vaguely wondered when lunch would be served today. It was a clear day out, and for whatever reason, that always made her stomach upset.

Madison scurried around the common room, her high heeled shoes clacking on the tiled areas. She was tidying up the room, putting things back in their place and swiping the dust away with a duster. Finally, she made her way over to the window and paused a moment, her hands on her hips. The woman threw the curtains open, letting the sunshine fill the room. Satisfied, Madison nodded her head, then continued on about her business.

Amber sniffed the air-- tunafish? The asylum had served worse for lunch. She tossed an old Vogue to the end of the sofa and got to her feet, stretching lazily. She played with the plastic beads around her wrist as she glanced toward the cafeteria. "I wonder who's gonna be around for lunch today?" she wondered to herself. The testing schedules at Donver were unpredictable, and patients who acted up seemed to get "tested" more often than others.

One of the male nurses comes into the common room, escorting a girl. He has a scowl on his face, and glares at the girl as though she isn't worth his time. He unhooks the ties at her wrists.

The girl, Lily, smiles at him. "Thanks Jared," she says as though he'd given her a ride somewhere.

Jared grunts something and leaves, giving dirty looks to Madison, Amber, and any other patients in the room.

Lily says hi to Madison before joining Amber on the couch. "Hey girl. So how much time have I lost this time?"

Alex skateboarded into the room, nearly falling over as he tried to stop. It was obvious he hadn't been on the thing for very long. "Newfie?" he asked, looking at Lily, still a little weirded out by the look Jared had given him as he passed him in the hallway.

"Hey, you're back! Wow... I guess almost three weeks. How're you feeling? Good enough for tuna?" Amber was relieved to see her friend again. Three weeks was a long time to be gone. Much longer than that and patients usually didn't come back. "Alex, this is Lily. She went in for testing right after you showed up..."

"Oh, I'm the newfie," Alex said, picking up his skateboard and tucking it under one arm, waving at Lily. "Whassup! Nice'ta meet you. Hey, Amber," he said, changing topics. "I'm frickin' hungry. The cafeteria open at this hour?"

Amber leaned over to check the clock. "Yeah, should be. And I'm hungry too. Just help me watch for needles in the salad, okay?" She winked at Alex. "I think they're still pissed about the mirror I broke."

Lily licks her lower lip as she looks Alex up and down. "Hello Alex. How long have you been here for?"

A loud "clunk" was heard down the hallway, the sound of the sliding steel bars that locked Sarah's bedroom sliding open after she had woken up from her thirty-three hour sleep cycle. A minute later, she came floating lazily into the room, her little toes only a few inches from the floor. She reached up and fidgeted with a button on her simple, thigh-length dress. "Slee slee seelpeley pleeps sleeps" she muttered away happily.

"D... depends," Alex replied, slightly distracted by the creepy girl that had appeared. "I've been here for five months, conscious for four, and released into the wild-so to speak-for a few weeks now." He had seen Sarah before, but it was always sort of a shock when he noticed her floating. "I... alright, I'm ready to eat now. Any needles appear in your gullet and they'll have to answer to me."

"Mph, food?" Megan asked, shuffling into the room. She also looked as weirded out as Alex with the arrival of Sarah. "I think I shall... Oh, hey Lily. Back already?"

Lily glances briefly at Sarah when she enters, but doesn't greet the girl. She's no fun. "Hi Megan. I think I'll go with you guys to get some food then." She stands and goes to touch Alex on his arm, but pauses before touching him. "Um, what did you say your ability was?"

Lucas walked into the common room, flipping a poker chip through his fingers. He swung his coat jacket over his shoulder while looking around the room. "You guys are going to the cafeteria? Mind if I join?" 

"Acidic blood," Alex said, responding to Lily. He was actually a little relieved that she wasn't pausing for... other reasons. Such as the fresh scars striping his body. "Not a problem unless I get cut." He rolls a shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. "Then there's a problem."

"Oh," Lily says, slipping her arm through his. "Well then nothing to worry about. I would never cut you." She smiles sweetly.

"Well, that's a good thing to know," Alex said, trying to shift back into his old self, confident around girls who were obviously flirting with him. However, he had seen himself in a mirror lately, so now he just kept wondering... What's wrong with her?

Megan glanced over at the two and bit her lip worriedly for a moment. Oh well, she thought. Everybody has to learn the hard way. Out loud she said nothing, just headed to the cafeteria, wrinkling her nose at the smell of the food. She wasn't very hungry, anyway.

Acidic blood? Lucas thought, what a weird gift to have. And why are the girls hitting on him, oh well. "How are ya doing Amber? Break anymore mirrors?" Lucas let out an innocent laugh to let her know that he was just messing around. "So they tell me that I failed another test. I'm starting to think that they are just telling me that to keep me here. Does that sound crazy or is it just me?" Throughout this whole time Lucas is still flipping the poker chip through his fingers.

Once they finally drifted into the cafeteria, they would find Hassan, over a plate that was soon emptied by a scoop of his bare hand.

Across the cafeteria, Lainey was basically staring at Hassan eat while carefully forking tiny bits of tuna salad into her mouth at the same time. His appearance had always intrigued her. A part of her was frightened of him, knowing what he was capable of...eating. As the rather large group of patients wandered in, Lainey spotted Sarah floating near and jumped up. "You're awake!" Even though she was rather weird and difficult to communicate with, Sarah was one of the few patients that was around her age.

Lily gets a tray and takes some tunafish and a cupcake. Meanwhile, she continues talking to Alex. "So, the testing for you must've been pretty rough," she says, noting the scars.

Oh crap, Lucas thought. He had been hoping Hassan was in a test; Lucas never did get along with the monsterous patient. Lucas made eye contact with Hassan, even though dangerous, using his mind reading Lucas wanted to be sure Hassan was under control. Once satisfied that it was safe, Lucas grabbed a tray and sat the farthest away from Hassan.

Indeed, eye contact with Hassan was almost borderline stupid. With animals, eye contact often means a challenge of dominance, and Hassan had to quell his urge to snarl at him. Instead he just curled his lip at the weak little chicken wing, and, not enjoying the new company, he slid up, deposited his plate and walked off with out a word to anyone.

"Not so much," Alex was saying to Lily before Hassan walked past, causing Alex to flinch and draw back... Ironic, because out of all of them, he'd be the least likely to be attacked. "Most of this happened before coming here... And it's the reason I ended up here. But hell, I probably owe this place my life." He looked at the closest window, regarding the iron bars wryly. "Not that it makes this any less lame. They don't even allow alcohol in here. And I'm finally legal."

Lily's tongue flits through her teeth as she eyes Alex. "So then you have a high tolerance for pain?" she says. "I love tough guys." She touches Alex's arm and gives him a tiny static shock.

"Lily..." Madison said in a maternal tone, setting down her tray on the other side of Alex. "We don't use our talents on others."

Amber joined the group at the long lunch table after grabbing her personal set of plastic utensils. Not that metal ones would have been dangerous, but eating lunch could be a chore if she couldn't set her spoon down. "Seriously, if we ever get out of here, you and I should celebrate our twenty-firsts together, Alex."

As she said this, Amber reached across the table to the stack of napkins. She got a little too close to Madison's place setting, however, and a fork flew out of her hand to stick Amber in the arm.

"Yeeowch!" Amber flinched and knocked her own water cup into Lily's lap. "Frick, I'm sorry, Lily... I'm gonna go get this bandaged."

Alex flinched at the shock, gritting his teeth at the sudden pain. "Sure you do, honey," he mumbled, his teeth still locked together. Suddenly, her attention was much less flattering. Besides, Amber just stabbed herself with a fork, which was more than a little distracting. "Shit, girl, you sure you alright?"

Lucas was relaxing in his chair, his hands folded around the back of his head, just enjoying the whole spectacle. It wasn't that he liked when people got hurt, but seeing how it was a simple accident and that it didn't seem too serious Lucas had to laugh inside. This place had become so dull that any form of entertainment was welcomed. When the commotion had calmed he asked them, "Want me to call someone for medical help?"

"Amber, sweetie!" Madison exclaimed, getting up from her seat. "Here, let me take care of that." Madison gripped the fork and ripped it out, immediately wrapping the wound with a napkin. Her delicate hand covered the wound, a warmth emanated and took the edge off.

"Fucking-!" Lily gets up from her seat. She grabs her napkin and frantically begins wiping the wetness off of her. "Damnit! I need to go change." She runs out of the cafeteria and toward her room.

Lucas gets up and grabs the fork that Madison ripped out and throws it a safe distance away from Amber. "Wow, Amber, are you okay?" 

"Yeah... I will be. Thanks, Madison." Amber felt a lot better now that the pain had subsided, but she was still bleeding. "Do you think this'll need stitches?"

Alex looked at it. "Nah," he said. "Just some bandages. Trust me," he added with a grin, tapping a finger against a scar running along the outside of his arm. "I'd know." Actually, he wouldn't, since stitches (and the needle) melted upon contact with his blood. But he heard stitches hurt like a bitch, so he figured he might as well give her some peace of mind.

"I think he's right," Megan confirmed. "I'll go with you to the nurse's office."

Kelly walked in. "No need, Megan," she said. "I'll take her." She didn't even have to look at Amber to know what was going on. "Come along, Amber. The longer we wait to get that looked at, the worse it's going to be."

Amber followed Kelly out, still holding the napkin to her forearm.

Lucas slapped Alex on the shoulder. "All in a day's work, huh dude?" Seeing how everyone else has left, Lucas was starting to get a little bored. He reached his hand into his pocket, feeling for his deck of cards. Lucas' mind went back in the past to the good 'ol days where he played high stakes poker for a living. He turned to Alex and sarcastically said, "want to play some poker, pass some time before another accident happens here?"

"Sure, dude," Alex replied. He failed to mention that he had forgotten nearly every rule of poker ever. "Deal them cards out." He tried to scarf the rest of his lunch. Megan just rolled her eyes and continued picking at hers.

Lucas deals out the cards. "Want to play as well Megan?" After Lucas deals the cards, excitement runs up through his fingers. Even though it is not high stakes poker, it's poker just the same. Lucas looks at his cards, then looks into Alex's eyes, ready to probe his mind for the first thought of his cards.

"Well, shit. I think I need an ace," Alex said, looking at his pair and vaguely remembering that more than one of the cards was a good thing.

"Oh, I've got one," Megan said, pulling it out and handing it to him. "Here."

Of course, Sarah hadn't replied to Lainey's hello. She only came into the cafeteria because everyone else did. She would be administered her daily sugar water later. She floated over to where the other patients were playing poker, and watched for a minute. When Megan held out the ace, it was promptly plucked from her hand by Sarah's mental grasp, and floated over to Sarah, where it hovered in front of her face. "Tick tock, I burnt all my pikmin." she said with a sort of giggle. With that said, the card turned purple and teal, caught on fire but didn't burn, and fell to the ground... and when it landed softly on the ground, it made a sound like glass cracking.

"Well, fuck," Alex said bluntly. "Girl stole my card." He showed his hand to Megan. "Got anything else?"

"Nah, but I'll take your jack," Megan replied, reaching over and grabbing it from his hand with only minimal protest from him.

"Hey, crazy girl, we're trying to play a game here. Do you mind burning your own cards, these cards hold sentimental value to its owner." Lucas lost his concentration but recalled that Alex had just a pair, so he bet big.

The air felt just a bit heavier as Sarah frowned at Lucas' comment. So the card reversed, picked itself off the ground with a backwards-glass cracking noise, stopped flaming, and changed back to it's normal color. Then it zoomed over and stuck to Lucas' forehead.

"What the hell!" Lucas jumped from his chair and pulled off the card and readied it in his right hand. Having learned a few card tricks in the past Lucas could throw cards and make them stick even among things such as sofas and through apples.  Crazy girl, this one. Isn't worth it though, not within the Institution where there are too many watchful eyes. Another time though, calm down Lucas. Lucas put the card back in the deck, but didn't stop giving her a dirty look.

Lucas's expression made Sarah feel threatened.

Even without his mind reading abilities, Lucas could sense her feelings. He relaxed a bit and turned his back to Sarah, running his fingers through his hair. "Just don't do that again, will ya?" Lucas felt sorry because she was just a little girl, but couldn't find himself to admit that he was sorry just yet. I'll have to apologize some other time, don't want to lose face in front of anyone if I can help it. Lucas turned around and gave a shrug, probably the best he could give seeing how his cards were lit on fire and used against him.

Lainey was used to Sarah's lack of response, and remembered that it usually ends up with her talking to herself. After watching the rather pathetic poker game unfold and Sarah's display, she edged closer and tugged Lucas' sleeve around the shoulders. "Hi, how do you play this game?" Lucas and Lainey were committed to the Asylum at around the same time, but she had never really tried to talk to him before. No. 7 had always liked how he looked. She smiled at the others around the table, more familiar with some individuals than others.

Alex reached over and snagged his ace back from Lucas. "Sweet," he said. "Uh... just what are we betting with?" He looked at Megan, who shrugged.

"Napkins?" Megan said, guessing wildly by looking at her surroundings.

Sarah stayed and watched for only a few more moments. Then she floated away and over to the window. Staring at the glass, it began to form cracks that made pictures...then when she was done with one picture, the glass would shatter and fall to peices, then come back together, good as new. Sarah would then repeat the process. She made a bunch of swirlies first, followed by a picture of a group of people with swirlies over their heads, then she drew one person, that resembled Lucas, with a swirly over his torso, and lastly she cracked the glass into a picture of the same Lucas-figure cut into quarters, with the swirly at the center. The last image she did not repair, but left it.

Lucas was about to respond to Lainey's question but Sarah drawing a figure like himself and then cutting it apart naturally drew his attention away from Lainey.  Man, when are they going to put this kid in solitary confinement? She's crazy. Lucas thought to himself. He turned back to Lainey and tried to explain poker to the little girl. He wasn't particularly fond of any girl under the age of 18, but for some reason even though he hadn't talked with Lainey much, Lucas felt like an uncle to her since they arrived at roughly the same time.

Lainey listened intently to Lucas for a while, but the things about straights and flushes were a bit confusing. That's alright. She could feel No. 7 getting restless. Maybe she likes poker... "How about marbles?" She said to Megan and Alex. Lainey like collecting things, and she like how the surfaces of the little spheres gleamed. Conveniently pulling out a lacy pouch of marbles, she offered it to Megan while glancing at Sarah. I wish she'd play with me sometime.

"Aiight, I bet three marbles," Alex said as Megan divvied them up. "Hey, gimme that green one."

Megan mumbled something about the color green and handed Alex a large, deep emerald green marble. Alex spun it around on his hand, expertly rolling it across the back and then flipping his hand over to roll it along the front, grinning at Lainey and trying to avoid eye contact with Sarah. The window was just a... bit much, Alex said, right as Kelly entered the room.

She stopped in front of the window and sighed, then turned around. "You guys are going to have to take your game to another room," Kelly said. "The window is structurally unsound. Sarah? Please stay." A nurse came in and knelt next to Sarah, smiling and talking to her softly.

Alex jumped up with his cards and marbles, heading back into the common room and taking his tray of half-finished lunch with him.

At the sound of her name, Sarah turned to stare blankly at Kelly. She cocked her head to the side, then looked at the window again, which still bore the image of a quartered Lucas and the swirly shape. "Maybe if we replaced the air-end of this thing....The air wouldn't choke on the sun." she said in a thoughtful sort of way.

"Sarah, please go sit down. We need to have a talk," Kelly said as a few nurses came in and ushered everyone to another room. The nurses were also bringing in technicians, who had a replacement window ready. "Now, Sarah," the group heard just before the doors were closed. "You know you aren't supposed to harm the Institution's property."

Alex flipped himself into a chair, almost losing a couple of marbles as he lounged. "So where were we?" he insisted as Megan said near the coffee table, on the floor, cross-legged.

"Hello, lovelies!" Zander said as he walked through the room, hair stiff with moisture having just come from the shower. In his usual skin tight suit (or as he calls it, his body condom) and tight jeans he headed for the now off limits for Kelly/Sarah time Caf. 

Rather than going to a chair to sit down, Sarah just ceased her levitating and ended up sitting on the floor in a rather doll-like fashion. She looked up at Kelly with her large, blank eyes. "You know you aren't supposed to harm the Institution's property." she repeated...in Kelly's voice. She made a sudden movement as though cracking her neck, and the window repaired itself.

The repair men stopped in confusion, looking at Kelly for what to do. "Thank you for coming," she said pointedly, in a tone of voice that made them leave. Kelly then turned to Sarah. "Can you promise me you won't break things again?" she said. "You know what happens when you break things."

"Woah, I wouldn't go in there, dude," Alex warned. "Sarah's acting weird. ...again. So there are a bunch of nurses in there with her." A few repairmen left with a window and Alex raised an eyebrow. "Um... never mind?"

Zander stood, squinting his eyes, pointing in the direction of the caf, not sure if it was okay to go in or not. His eyes slid from the door to Alex. "Who's Sarah?"

"You've been here longer than I have, and you haven't met the creepiness that is Sarah?" Alex said. "Short kid, white hair, freaky eyes... usually floating... Y'know, shit that you probably wouldn't forget."

"Oh! Oh, floaty kid! Her name's Sarah? That's surprisingly normal..." said Zander, looking back at the caf, deciding his tummy could wait.

"Now, now." Madison warned, "she's really a nice girl, if just a little...unavailable at times." Though Madison liked to stay impartial to the patients, she always had a little soft spot for Sarah. Perhaps it was the fact that Sarah seemed fragile at times and Madison felt the need to nurture. "Anyway, she has a severe case of telekinesis that is a bit unpredictable. We have to keep her sedated to control some of it." She peeked in the room where Sarah and Kelly were, interested in what was going on.

"Well, if you say so, Madison," Zander said with one of his lopsided oh so devilish smiles. Red headed chick was hot. 

"Uh-huh, Maddy," Alex said. "If by 'nice' you mean 'emotionally unstable, then--" He saw Kelly walk out, rubbing her temple, and shut up.

"Is everything alright?" Megan asked.

Kelly snapped to attention, a cold mask settling on her face. "Yes," she said. "Feel free to return to the cafeteria."

"I'm serious, boys." Madison replied, with a very matter-of-fact smile on her face. She was the first to re enter the cafeteria. "Hey honey, how are you?" she approached Sarah.

Sarah, who had been sitting on the floor, lifted off the ground and started floating again as the others entered. In a rare display of consiousness, Sarah pointed to the window. "I can't crack it anymore." she said, then sighed. Then she turned to Madison, and held out her hand. In her palm was cradled a little plastic-wrapped candy. Bright blue with green stripes this time.

"That's right, sweetie. You can't crack it anymore." Madison delicately plucked the treat from Sarah's hand. "Thank you." It was a very secretive and tender smile. She looked at the candy for a moment, liking its vibrant colors. Madison tugged at the ends of the wrapper, untwisting and freeing the candy. She popped it in her mouth. "See? She's really very nice once you get to know her." Her gaze was directed towards Alex and Zander.

"Once she gets to know you," Megan corrected quietly, only briefly glancing at Madison. "Do you really know her?"

Looking from Sarah to Megan to Madison, Lainey thought to herself that at the Institute, it's probably rare you actually really get to know someone. The past year must've been the loneliest year of her entire thirteen years of life. "Hey, Megan, if you want to, you can keep the marbles for now," she suddenly wanted to go back to her room; she already ate anyway. Turning around to leave, Lainey suddenly froze in her tracks. Her pupils glazed over and her body relaxed for a moment. Turning around, a rather mature grin replaced that of a bored child's disengaged smile. "Actually, how about that card game?"

"I think I know her more than you think I do." Madison smiled knowingly, tapping a finger to her head. And I know a lot more about all of you, too, than you would ever imagine... she added silently.

"The birds of the air!" Sarah suddenly burst out.

Madison nodded. "Yes, birds." She toyed with the candy in her mouth a bit, then said, "If it's a card game you're after, I think the best place to go is the common room. They need to clean the cafeteria."

Zander jumped at Sarah's outburst and then just kind of slunk away to get food.

As Zander passed, Madison smiled. "I'm glad to see that you've...suited up for the occasion." It wasn't malicious. She always teased with the inmates, and the easiest thing to pick on Zander with would be his body suit.

Zander lifted his finger and opened his mouth for a venomous comeback but instead his shoulders fell and he said, "You're lucky you're cute," and continued on his way a little grumpier.

Megan tried to look engrossed in the cards as Alex looked up at Zander walking by. She didn't really want to get involved. "Hey, Alex," she whispered. "What was it called again when you have a bunch of cards in a row?"

Sarah then floated back over to the window she had been cracking earlier. "Coloring. I can fix it." she said...then started cracking pictures into the glass again...this time making flowers and birds in intricate detail.

Kelly stuck her head in the cafeteria. She looked less than pleased. "Sarah?" she asked. "Fix it or it's time to go."

"I think I'm all carded out," Lucas stated. He put the rest of the card deck on the table as he headed towards Zander. "Hey Zander, how have you been? What was your power again? Having your tongue being tied while talking with cute girls." When Lucas mentioned cute girls he turned his gaze to Madison and gave a wink to her. He turned back to Zander and slapped his back in a very macho guy way used in locker rooms. "I'm just messing with ya. Hows the Institution treating ya?"

Sarah looked back at Kelly, then back at the window. Her finished picture was of six birds breaking through a window to the sun and flowers. A rare, little smile crept across her face as the glass started to crack in a non-artistic way...more as though it would actually break. "...time to go," she echoed Kelly's words.

Zander was jerked forwards a little by the slap, making his drink rattle on his tray. "Hah hah, brilliant as always, Lucas," Zander said sarcastically with a tight face. Lucas was indeed on his Hot list but he really annoyed him sometimes. "It's treating me, uh... interestingly." He then scanned the room for the best person to sit beside. 

Madison replied to Lucas' wink with a cocked eyebrow. She leaned against the door frame of the Cafeteria so as to keep an eye on the patients in the room, as well as the ones roaming the halls.

Lucas merely laughed at Madison's cocked eyebrow. He didn't really mind if Madison shrugged off his wink, a little flirtation didn't harm nobody. Lucas just couldn't wait until he got out of the Institution, where his newly acquired wealth, that grew daily from playing poker, actually meant something. Lucas walked over to the couch, laid down and daydreamed about his past high stakes poker wins. Eventually his eyes closed and he went off to sleep.

Kelly narrowed her eyes. "Sarah, I'm not kidding," she said, still just poking her head around the door, although it seemed like she was moving her hand. Her back was stiff as she scanned the cafeteria room with a glance. The kitchen staff looked around and went into the kitchen, out of sight. Kelly stepped all the way into the cafeteria, one hand closing the door behind her and the other hidden behind her body.

Lily enters the common room wearing new pants. She sees Alex and begins to make her way towards him, but then she spies Lucas sleeping, she decides Alex will wait. Kelly is no longer in the room, but Madison still is. She thinks for a moment, and finally decides what to do. She runs up to Lucas from the couch and pounces on him, yelling "Wake up Lucas! Sleeping is for losers!" As she touches him, she gives him two small static shocks, one from each hand.

Zander gave up and sat next to the former poker group. He hadn't noticed Lily until she jumped on Lucas, and he was shocked to see she was back.

Lucas jumped up from the shocks, sees Lily on top of him. He examines the situation and ends up saying in a very Quagmire from Family Guy way, "Alright!" In response to the shock Lucas starts to tickle Lily and replies, "You're totally going to get it now!"

Zander sighed and leaned on his hand as he ate. He missed tickle fights...

"It's like a milder form of sadism," Lainey said, shaking her head. Her posture, expression, and tone were completely different from what they were moments ago. No. 7's ego reflected that of a mature woman. The inconsistency would be unsettling for others. She was a bit disappointed that the poker game ended before she joined. "Hi, Zander, have we met before?" she said, looking him in the eye.  

Zander's eyes slid over towards the kid. "Yeah, I think I have." He had never really paid attention to her though. He tended to avoid kids, being absolutely clueless about them.

"You're relatively new, aren't you?" Lainey contemplated him, letting her deep brown eyes roll down his body. Leaning in, she gazed at his face intently, and frowned just a little. "Pity," she said under her breath. What a waste of a man who can't be touched.

Zander leaned back as she leaned in, his lip pulled up and his eyes twitching with... creeped out-ness. He looked over at Lucas and Lily, then back at the intently staring 13 year old, and practically whimpered, "This isn't fair..." before turning to the side to block out Lainey with his shoulder.

"Whoa!" Lily is surprised at the positive reaction to her shock. She takes it as an invitation for another one. She licks her lips and touches Lucas on the shoulder, this time sending a stronger shock through his body.

Madison sidled up to Zander, perching herself on the arm of the couch. "Do you want to help me move some things?" She looked him in the eye, sensing his desire to get away from Lainey. "I need someone strong."

Zander perked up at once. He'd eat later. His mischievous smile returning, he abandoned his tray and said, "Lead the way, miss." 

Lucas winced at the next shock, but being in a playful mood he sarcastically said, "Is that all you got?" He laughed as he started to sit up on the couch, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"You can have him anyway, Maddy, he's untouchable," Lainey smirked as she sat back down in her chair, sinking into her poofy dress.

Zander's face fell into venomous snarl as he looked in Lainey's direction. It was bad enough that he was poisonous without people bringing it up every five seconds.

"Yes, thank you Lainey." Madison smiled courteously, then brought Zander into the hallway. "There really isn't anything to do. If you want, you could move a couple of the chairs here."

Lily raises an eyebrow at the new challenge. She saw the wince from the previous shock, and that sent a chill up her spine. "You wanna play with me, big boy?" she says seductively, running a finger along Lucas' chest. When the finger reaches his belly button, she sends a much stronger shock through his body. This one actually burns some of his skin. 

Zander was going to think of some subtle witty way to suggest moving things to her room but then he remembered his ailment and bit his lip with a wince. "Sure," he said with a tight smile and looked around for some chairs to snag.

Lucas doubled over, hitting the ground with his fist. He took a quick look at his shirt, with a newly burned hole where his belly button would have been. He laid on his back for a long time, his stomach wincing when his fingers barely touched raw and burned skin. "Touche," Lucas finally said after what seemed like eternity though it was only ten seconds later. His jet black hair seemed to be standing up all around his head, and all the muscles surrounding his stomach were twitching not of his will.  Well there is fire to this one, no doubt about that. Then Lucas' cockiness came back to him as soon as the shock wore off. "You better fall asleep with one eye, I'm going to get you back for that." Lucas was mostly joking around by saying that, but a part of him wanted some satisfaction of playful revenge.

Alex raised an eyebrow. Not for the first time, he found himself thinking... Freaks. He looked at Megan. She seemed totally unaffected. He scratched one of his scars, wondering if all evenings would be this... weird. "Hey, they got TV here?" he asked aloud.

Madison stood surveying Zander, her arms crossed over her chest. After he moved a chair or two, she seemed satisfied. "Thanks, Zander. Or...is it me who should be thanked?" She smiled knowingly then shrugged. "Or maybe I'm just talking crazy stuff. Ready to go back?"

Back in the cafeteria, Sarah looked back at Kelly, and there was almost a hint of self-awareness in her eyes. They were clearer, brighter. "Too long, too long, it's time to go." she said softly, with a mournful tone. She rose up suddenly to the level of the window, and the thick glass shattered into long, dagger-like shards. The pieces didn't fall, but came and orbited around Sarah in three rapidly spinning rings. Then she turned and faced Kelly. Her medications had definitely worn off, because she swooshed both hands towards Kelly, and one ring of glass shards went rocketing towards her, but did not made contact. They stopped just short, and Sarah was shaking violently. "Can't hurt, I can't, Kelly, but I... but..." she said, her voice strained.

"Yeah, uh, thanks," said Zander, a little disappointed how short and uneventful his one on one time had been with Madison. But alas, he was hungry. He went back into the caf and moved his tray away from Lainey.

"Out," Kelly hissed at the people still in the cafeteria, making eye contact with Sarah and trying to appear non-threatening. Behind her back, she was pressing a small button on her walkie-talkie frantically. Nurses came, along with security guards, big burly guys that had no problem manhandling the remaining few still in the cafeteria and shoving them outside. They turned to look at Kelly, who nodded for them to leave, too, leaving Kelly and Sarah alone.

Kelly was staring at the shards of glass hovering just inches in front of her, when a door from behind Sarah opened. A calm descended upon the room, and suddenly the laws of physics began to apply. The shards of glass, and Sarah, began to stop working.

"Hello, Sarah," a deep voice from behind the girl said. "It's been too long."

---

Megan glanced towards the cafeteria nervously as she saw those still in it ushered into the common room. "Is Sarah acting up again?" Megan asked.

Lainey's eyes glazed over again, and when she spoke her voice was hers, but somehow with a lower undertone. "That Sarah," she said with wary. "is just asking for the worse kind of attention."

Lily smirks, satisfied with her effect on Lucas. She moves to sit near Megan. "Sarah is creepy," she says bluntly, joining the conversation. "At least when she acts up, it means we get a break from her lurking around all creeper-like all the time."

"Yeah, but..." Megan hesitated. "What if she doesn't come back this time?"

"I for one wouldn't mind." Lucas was pushed into the common room by a burly security guard because Lucas was caught glancing into the cafeteria. He had hoped to use his mind reading abilities by catching eye contact with anyone to figure out what was going on. "That girl just isn't right in the head and believe I would know." He turned around one last time to give a dirty look to the security guard, wishing he could further his abilities into something more useful.

The guard glared back at the kid, knowing only the minimal of what was going on. Not even staff was allowed in there at this point. "That's not... that's not really want I meant," Megan said, her voice catching just slightly as she stared at her hands. If she doesn't come back, Megan thought, it's just... One more person lost to Nowhere.

Lily puts a hand on Megan's shoulder. "You always think the people who leave won't come back. I came back after last time, remember?" She squeezes the shoulder reassuringly, although there is an undertone of doubt in her voice. She had come back this time, and the time before that, and the time before that... but each year that went by meant less and less familiar faces were around. Megan was the only person left from when Lily first arrived at the Institution. It was a little disheartening.

Megan understands what Lily means, but her train of thought is going in the same direction as Lily's. She muttered something noncommittal, glanced once back at the cafeteria, and stood up, excusing herself so she could go to her room. Megan didn't know what would walk out of those doors. She didn't want to know.

Alex leaned back, watching Megan leave. "Girl doesn't socialize much, huh?" he asked once she was out of sight, recalling that today was the first day she had been out of her room this long. Alex shrugged it off, then turned to Lily. "You said you were tested? What's that like?"

Lucas walked over to Alex and Lily, slightly interested in their conversation. He was wondering what other people's tests were like, seeing how he could barely remember his own, except for dull questions and looking into the eyes of a very old man who looked like he would probably die in the next few months, trying to read his blank mind. While trying to remember what his tests where about, doubts started to rise up in his mind.  How much longer will they keep me here, it feels like I have everything under control. After thinking those thoughts Lucas finally said out loud the questions he had been trying to keep quiet even to himself. "What are we doing here guys? Doesn't it feel more like a prison with each passing day? I don't know about you two, but I want to find a way to escape, who knows what happens to those who don't come back. Wherever it is, I don't intend to find out." 

Madison took a seat on a chair in the common room, propping an elbow on her knee and sighing her chin into her hand. She really hoped that they wouldn't do anything to Sarah. To keep her mind off of it, she stared out the window.

Kelly walked into the common room. Her face was paler than usual, and she stared at the floor apprehensively. This woman with a steel core was shaken up by... something. She looked at the group around them, having missed Lucas' comment. "Everything is fine," she said, trying to straighten up. "Feel free to resume activities." Kelly then left the room to finish her patrol of the hallways.

Sarah was nowhere to be seen.

Alex looked at where she had gone, then glanced over to where Sarah should have entered. "This place has been around for a pretty long time, right?" he mused. "And why do you think we never heard of it?" He reached over and whacked Lucas upside the head. "Because in all that time, nobody's managed to escape, dumbass. You think you're the first? Tell me why I should have confidence in you when obviously smarter people have probably tried and obvious failed."

"That's one way to put it..." Madison said, her eyes still faraway.

"You think..." said Zander from whatever sitting place he perched himself on after uhm... moving or not. He finished chewing his food before continuing, "Maybe, they don't come back, because they let them out? The way you guys are talking, it sounds like they grind people into dog food."

"All I'm saying is...we've all got these memories..." Madison lifted her chin from her hand, "of these...experiments. Some of us never come back." She laughed morbidly, "I'm not at all suggesting that we're eating other patients....if anything they could be curing the patients, then sending them back out to the world."

Amber entered the common room from a hallway. "Hey, I didn't need sti.... whoa. Guys? What's wrong?" She could tell things were tense. "Somebody leave for testing?" That always left people uneasy, but the mood was dark even for that. "Also, what smells like campfire?"

"That would be Lucas," Lily replies with a grin. "And Sarah was taken away. Again."

Alex turned to Lily once more. "So for serious, what happens when you're tested?"

When Madison spoke Zander pointed at her to show she agreed with him.

Madison rolled her eyes at Zander. "That's the optimistic version, Zander. The other, less cheery version..." Her gaze fell to the floor, "is that they died."

"Ok, for one thanks for that." Lucas returned the favor to Alex and slapped him upside the head. "And two, whose to say people haven't escaped before? The ones who were the smartest to escape are definitely smart enough not to attract attention from the Institution, for example talking about it. "To answer your question Alex, I don't care if you have confidence in me. I'm going my own way, not leading the whole group out of here. If any wants to come along with me be my guest, I'll be glad to have you and your powers to help. If you want to stay here and jump through their hoops like a good pet, fine, but I'm going to find a way out of here." Lucas looked around the room, realizing the kind of speech he made. He didn't care if no one else wanted to try and escape with him, but he sure as hell was going to breathe fresh air again, even if it took months of planning. Though with all of his cockiness and lone rogue personality, Lucas knew that he needed more than just his mind reading abilities to escape this prison.

Lainey looked at Lucas, intrigued. For a while the Institution wasn't bad at all. "Those experiments. Maybe they're harnessing our abilities. But anyways, you're always watched here. They have every possible precaution up against every single one of us. Where are you even going to start?"

"She has a point," Alex said, rubbing his head. He pointed at a small box in the corner. "I mean, they're watching us right now." He pulled a face at it. "And anyway, what good are our powers here? Aside from creepy-kid, they're not that powerful."

Thats the solution. Get the one kid that hates me to help me get out of here. She's basically the one they have trouble restraining. Lucas thought for a while, deciding they needed Sarah if they even wanted to think about escaping. The thing was since they were always monitered, they couldn't talk about any plans freely. In order not to raise suspicion, he acted frusterated with everyone else and went for Alex to knock shoulders against. While doing so he quickly and quietly whispered, "We need Sarah," as he passed Alex. Lucas trotted over to the couch where he was eletrified by Lily. The burn hurt him more than he wanted to admit and was now having troubling bending his torso while sitting due to where Lily had eletrified him. With his head in his hands, he began to think of everyone's powers and how they could help.  Lily can fry objects, Amber can attract metal, maybe using that to dodge bullets. No no, that would definitely kill her. But maybe Amber with the girl that deadens the pain, hoping that we could somehow save her... 

Amber felt a growing dislike for Lucas. She might have felt sorry for him because of how badly Lily had electrocuted him, judging by his hair and charred stomach area, but she also knew he must've been encouraging her. Lily knew better than to just attack people... even if she did enjoy causing pain. That plotting look Lucas had on his face didn't ease Amber's worries any, either. "Well, I don't know about you guys... but I remember testing," she started. "It's pretty boring, like just seeing how much I can do and how much control I have over it. And--"

Suddenly Amber stopped speaking, as images of needles and blades flashed through her mind. These were fears and memories she'd never spoken of and tried rarely to think about, like a disturbing dream that takes days to shake off. She wanted to push it all under again. Ignorance was bliss, right? Or at least boredom, interrupted by occasional episodes of terror and weirdness. But definitely not bliss.

"Hey hey hey," Zander broke into the plotting. "I understand we have no idea what they're really doing to us, but if there's a chance they are curing and releasing people, my dear friends, I'm staying put." What he refrained to mention was he truly believed that curing was this place's intent, and if they others were going to do something that would get him in trouble, or screw the place up to the point he had no chance of becoming nonpoison again, he wouldn't hesitate to plant a kiss on their lips, if you know what I mean.

During this whole escape debate, Hassan had crawled out of his cave of a room and was listening, out of sight in the hall. His lip curled in disgust at all the ignorant crap being hurled around.

Lucas shrugged off the bad ideas and tried to actually think of a good way to escape where no one would die. In most situations Lucas usually tries to see very possible angle, even if it is a good or a very bad angle, like with Amber being a metal shield from bullets. Lucas pushed those bad ideas far away, knowing that it would be a hard time living with himself if anyone, especially a woman over the age of 18 who died because of him. He looked into Amber's eyes, trying to see if he could find forgiveness even though she didn't know what he was even thinking about, and that is when he saw the needles and blades whirling around in her mind. "What the hell are you thinking about Amber? Is that what they do to you in your testing?" Lucas wasn't cocky or pointing fingers this time, but was generally concerned, seeing how he can barely remember any of his testing as well.

Alex looked at Amber, the one person who might actually answer his question about testing. "What the fuck happens during testing?" he asked, his voice growing frustrated. "What, do you people not remember or something?"

Lucas looked deeper into Amber's eyes, the images coming in less hazy to him. "I see needles and blades whirling around," Lucas told everyone who would listen. He stepped back from Amber, giving her space. "What do you know of this?" Lucas also picked up some thoughts of dislike directed to Lucas, but he kept that information to himself for now.

"Dude, are you reading her mind?" Alex snapped. He couldn't help but feel a bit indignant... Whatever Lucas did seemed like an invasion of privacy. Not that we don't have enough of those already, he thought, thinking back to the camera in his room that he was just learning to ignore.

"Hey Alex, why do you think many of us can't remember what goes on during testing? It can't be for anything good if they are brainwashing us, or at least burying our memories. The only reason why people do that sort of stuff is to cover their bad deeds." Lucas turned back to Amber and apologized. "Amber, I'm sorry I read your mind without asking you. I didn't start it intentionally, it was just a passing glance at eye contact. When you stopped speaking about testing and those images came up, I assumed that was your testing. Don't you want to get out of here too though?"

"I have no idea nobody knows why they can't remember their testing," Alex growled, getting antsy. "But nobody had told me of that particular detail. You-"

At that moment a nurse walked in and pointedly sat in the corner. She was reading a book, but her message was almost painfully obvious: Break it up, guys.

Ea Khold, a young Egyptian woman with shoulder-length black hair and piercing green eyes, walked in after the nurse, holding a leather journal in one hand and a fancy fountain pen in the other. She walked towards the couch and sat down, making sure not to sit too close to anyone. "I heard alarms going off awhile ago. Does anybody know what happened?" she said in a flat tone, looking at each of their faces.

Zander's only response was a smile, though she may not have noticed it.

Madison gave a hard look to Lucas before spinning about on her heel, away from him. This is a facility, there's a reason that they are all here, and she wasn't about to ruin a good reason. "Sarah had an incident." Madison replied, the tone indicating she enjoyed the change of subject.

Lily had disappeared into her room when Lucas began his talk of la revolucion. She's not sure what happens to the patients that disappear, but she does know that one way to make sure you don't disappear is to not talk about escaping in the common room. She now pokes her head back into the common room, and once she is satisfied that no one is being taken away, she rejoins the group. She avoids eye contact with Ea, who is not her favorite person, and chooses a seat near Alex, who currently is her favorite person. "You were asking before about testing?" she says, remembering the conversation from earlier. "It's not as scary as it sounds. Mostly they just ask you to use your ability, like testing it's limits and stuff. And sometimes they give you drugs that keep your abilities from getting out of hand."

Ea looked disappointed. "Again? Seems that's been happening an awful lot lately. I only came out because I knew her sleep cycle would be over." she said, then looked over at Zander. She gave him a wicked smile, almost flirtatious, like the way a poisonous snake looks at a small bird.

Zander's response was a simple bounce of his eyebrows then a melting devious look. He liked Ea. She was fun to play with.

Lucas looked into Ea's eyes, trying to get a sliver of her thoughts. "Do you know where Sarah went? We didn't see her come back." Throughout this whole time Lucas didn't really have a scowl but certainly not a smile.

Alex just frowned at Lily's answer. That didn't sound so bad. So what was the talk of blades and...? Alex looked at the coffee table in front of him, putting his feet up, his face blank. They had been talking like it was one big blur and Lily's answer didn't console him any. Although... With her current running history of liking the pain of others, he somehow doubts that was the point. He glanced up and spied the nurse. Of course, he thought, his gaze traveling to Lily. There might be extenuating circumstances.

Ea scowled at Lucas, then closed her eyes as if deep in thought. "I do not know where she went." she said quietly, then stood up again. "Well, now that I'm up-to-date, I'll be headed back to my room. I've got some recharging to do." she said casually, and started walking towards the hallway. She passed so close in front of Zander that her arm brushed his chest, and she trailed her hand after it, and raked her sharpened nails across his chest. Then she stopped, her fingertips resting on the skin-tight fabric, and leaned in close to him so that her mouth was near his ear, and whispered, "Watch yourself, newcomer." she hissed, before pushing him hard and headed off to her room.

Alex honestly couldn't do anything but raise an eyebrow at the plainly visible level of hostility Ea had shown Zander. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, glancing around at the others. "I... got to go, uh... Yeah." He jumped up as if to head off to his own room, only to be cut off accidentally by another nurse. She exchanged a significant glance with the nurse already in the room and then clapped her hands.

"Curfew begins in a half-hour," the new nurse declared. She stepped aside to let Alex go, who went only reluctantly. "You have that long to get into your rooms for lockdown." The time to get back to the rooms occurred two hours early today.

Zander was pushed back into whatever chair/sofa he was sitting on, a grin on his face as he stared at her back side as Ea walked off. He then folded his arms and leaned back in a cocky manner.

At hearing Ea approach, Hassan pushed off of the wall he was leaning on and also made his way back to his room.

Lainey walked out after Alex, glaring up at the nurse. She was unsettled, and a bit scared. Actually glad to be going back to the comforts of solitude, she trotted down the hallway, and closed her door lightly behind her. The light in her room was dim. Edging over to the full length mirror lined by a lacy metal design, she contemplated her image. Sitting down, knees folded in in front of her, she stared into her own eyes for a while. The shadows dancing around her pupil came and go. "What do you think? What happened during testing?" She didn't remember, but one of them must know.

Curfew already? Amber was actually glad for the excuse to leave. She felt very exposed after Lucas had broadcast all that to the whole group... and was beginning to feel shaky and sick to her stomach. "I'm going to sleep," was all she said, and then walked down the hall toward her room. She didn't look at anyone as she left.

Alex went into his room, once again feeling odd in what was considered 'his space.' He had only been there two weeks, so he hadn't had time to personalize it... It was blank, and white, and a place to sleep. Not his, not really. No wonder he hated it. Alex flung himself on his bed, feeling an odd satisfaction at the bed slamming into the wall at his impact.

Megan frowned at the sound of doors closing and stuck her head out to see a lot of the patients going into their rooms. The only explanation was curfew, but that didn't start until another couple of hours. Of course, after all that had happened today, they probably wanted to let the patients relax... And keep them apart.

While everyone else was heading off to their separate quarters, Lucas went into the hall but headed towards the cafeteria. He was still pretty hungry, seeing how Sarah interrupted his meal and the poker game by shooting a card at his head. He checked to see if the coast was clear. Not noticing anyone, Lucas slipped into the cafeteria. Even though Lucas was hungry, a small part of him did want to see if there was any sign of a struggle from Sarah or any indication of what happened.

A janitor looked up, almost bored, as he swept a few shards of glass up. Other than that, there was nothing to be seen of a struggle, like Sarah had just... vanished into thin air. The janitor dumped the last of the glass into his trash can and wheeled it out of the cafeteria, past unbroken windows, whistling a small tune as he went.

Lily frowns. Of course there would be an early curfew after Sarah's little incident, but did Sarah have to act up on the same day that she got back? She makes her way to her room as slowly as possible.

A beep echoed through the hall, warning people of the five-minute mark. Alex heard it and rolled over, looking at his ceiling, and threw a tennis ball against it. One per second. Counting down...

---

---

_{back to Biohazard
Institution: Inhabitants}