Ben
Madiza-or Ivy, I guess, but to me, she was still Madiza- collapsed to her knees, shrieking, "MAKE IT STOP!!!" Her hands flew to her ears, and she began rocking back and forth uncontrollably and screaming. Instantly I went to her side; catching her by the shoulders, I got her to look me in the eyes. She stopped screaming, and began sobbing instead. I gently took her hands from her ears, and wrapped my arms around her, holding her head against my shoulder. I could guess what had happened: seeing her old 'friend' again had brought back all the memories she had tried to suppress for so long. That was why she allowed her brain to be so bombarded with trivia and facts; it kept the pain away. It tore me apart to see her so upset, because-well, because I loved her.
I'm sorry if you are feeling disgusted by the sappiness of that statement, but it's the truth. I needed her to be her usual, happy self. I wished fervently that I could talk, say something, anything that could help her.
"We need to go!" I heard Ox say. I wondered when he had gotten here. I looked up, and saw that the whole team had arrived. They had freed all the prisoners, who were now standing in a huddle, looking as if they expected this to be another trap. I couldn't really blame them. Slowly, I stood up, lifting Madiza with me. She clung to me like a limpet, trembling, with her eyes squeezed shut. With one hand, I began checking my pockets. I knew what she needed. Luckily, I was able to procure a pencil, and some paper. Gently, I pushed them into her hands. After a second, her eyes slowly opened. Her spidery fingers closed around the pencil, and she began writing.
Cara and Matt walked with us, carrying their helmets under their arms. Everyone had them off by now; there seemed to be no more point in trying to pretend. Suddenly, I noticed that Paris was following us, staring anxiously at Madiza. I gave her a cold stare, and motioned her away. She had done enough.
"Please," she said in a small, pathetic voice, "I didn't mean for this to happen to her. They promised they wouldn't do anything to harm her-really, they did. I never thought-"
"Well, you should have!" snapped Cara. "Don't you see? You can't trust the government to keep promises, or tell you the truth! They would have told you anything to get what they want!"
"Cara," Matt said softly, "I think she understands now." He gave her a look, and she turned away from Paris, teeth clenched.
As the crowd of people went down a corridor, they came across a Drone, slumped against a wall. They started back in fright, but Deep Thought came forward fearlessly. He casually opened a panel, rearranged some wires, and then closed it again.
"What did you do?" asked Lucy, who was standing next to him.
"The same thing I did to the last one who got too close to my cell: reprogramming it. Just in case." Deep Thought smirked.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Friday, February 17, 2012
Freegans part 55
Madiza
Ivy. IvyivyivyivyivyivyivyivyivyivyI.V.I.V.I.V.I.V.I.V.I.V.I.V.IVYIVYIVYIVYIVYIVY-
My name.
Hearing it again, for the first time in years, drove the shadows and voices from my mind. I stared at the girl: Paris. I remembered her. She had been a spy, sent to get information from me, pretending to be my friend. Now she was staring at me, and her expression was a combination of horror, pity, and remorse. I couldn't bear it, and turned from her. I looked at my new friends, and saw that they were all staring at me.
"That's your name?" Cara asked. "Ivy?"
I nodded, and whispered, "Yes." Memories flooded my mind, of my childhood, my mother calling me, and catching me in her arms. A memory of looking at myself in the mirror. My hair had once been reddish-brown, before the shocks and tortures had turned it white, and very nice. It was like my mother's, and like my uncle. He was a great speaker, and always willing to spend time with his little niece.
More images and words came crowding in, horrible, nightmarish ones: being captured, and the tortures. Screaming, screaming, and the nights spent in the cell, silently weeping, wanting it all to end. And then-the Project, being hooked up to the machine, all the knowledge being poured in, too much, too much, all voices at once, facts, thoughts, stories, all too loud, can't hear, no no no no NO NO STOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOP!!!!
Ivy. IvyivyivyivyivyivyivyivyivyivyI.V.I.V.I.V.I.V.I.V.I.V.I.V.IVYIVYIVYIVYIVYIVY-
My name.
Hearing it again, for the first time in years, drove the shadows and voices from my mind. I stared at the girl: Paris. I remembered her. She had been a spy, sent to get information from me, pretending to be my friend. Now she was staring at me, and her expression was a combination of horror, pity, and remorse. I couldn't bear it, and turned from her. I looked at my new friends, and saw that they were all staring at me.
"That's your name?" Cara asked. "Ivy?"
I nodded, and whispered, "Yes." Memories flooded my mind, of my childhood, my mother calling me, and catching me in her arms. A memory of looking at myself in the mirror. My hair had once been reddish-brown, before the shocks and tortures had turned it white, and very nice. It was like my mother's, and like my uncle. He was a great speaker, and always willing to spend time with his little niece.
More images and words came crowding in, horrible, nightmarish ones: being captured, and the tortures. Screaming, screaming, and the nights spent in the cell, silently weeping, wanting it all to end. And then-the Project, being hooked up to the machine, all the knowledge being poured in, too much, too much, all voices at once, facts, thoughts, stories, all too loud, can't hear, no no no no NO NO STOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOP!!!!
Freegans part 54
Lucy
I felt a wave of relief when I saw that Ben was all right. He twisted out of the now inactive Drone's grip, and pulled off his helmet, wiping his sticky hair out of his face. Even out of breath and sweaty, he was still undoubtedly handsome. My oggling of him was ruined by Madiza. Her helmet was off too, and so I knew it was she who darted up to him, and caught him in a tight hug. After a moment of surprise, Ben hugged her back, leaning his head on hers. When she finally pulled away, Madiza scolded, "Don't EVER scare me like that again!" Ben bowed his head humbly, and signed something at her with one hand. She giggled.
"What did he say?" asked Cara.
"Yes, dear," she said, snickering again.
Now that that was settled, I wanted to take off my helmet; I hated feeling constricted inside, and I knew everyone else did too. But Kestrel said, "There are also human guards up here; we can't take any chances." So Ben and Madiza reluctantly replaced their helmets, and we walked off again, only at a less stealthy pace than before. Now we really had to hurry. Thankfully, Kestrel seemed to know where he was going. He led us left, right, forward, left, left, and so on, until I had lost all track of where we were. When we came to a door with a key pad, he quickly punched in a code, and it slid open. We went in, and there it was-a line of cages, with prisoners inside. In a flash of deja vu, I was reminded of our cell back in the basement in Washington D.C, except that instead of locks requiring keys, they had key pads. How long ago had that been, anyway? I didn't know.
My heart felt sick at the sight of those people. When they saw us, they cowered against the walls, looking like frightened animals. They were all drawn and pale, wearing ragged, gray-striped clothes like pajamas. Most of the ones I could see were men, but I caught a glimpse of at least one woman. Their hair was mostly long and stringy, and that added even more to their animal appearance. Unable to stand another moment of their horrified stares, I yanked off my helmet, letting them all see that I was just a young girl.
"We're your friends!" I proclaimed.
"Lucy!" Cara gasped.
Ignoring her, I said, "We're here to help you! Don't be afraid of us!" The prisoner's expressions changed from terrified to confused, and slightly suspicious. Kestrel, after a moment of hesitation, took his helmet off too.
"Where is Deep Thought?" he asked. Nobody answered. They all stared at us out of hooded, shadowed eyes. Suddenly, a voice called, "Present!"
It came from one of the cages in a far corner, separate from the others. It made sense, if this Deep Thought was as smart as I had heard. We walked over to it, and when I saw him, I was temporarily speechless, but for a different reason than when I had first seen Ben. This Deep Thought was just a boy!
Well, more like a teenager. But still, he looked at least 14! I was shocked. This was the great computer genius?! Besides being young, he was kind of small, maybe an inch shorter than me. His shaggy hair was light brown, and fell around his face like a pair of curtains. As for his face, it kind of reminded me of a goblin, but a cute goblin, if that makes sense. He had gray squinty eyes that turned up at the corners, a pointed nose, and a mouth that seemed permanently turned up in a sideways smile. Deep Thought shuffled towards the bars of his cage, and stared intently at us.
"Well, it's about time!" he said in a faux-annoyed tone. "I sent out that distress call two days ago! Where have you been?!"
"Sorry, we had to pick up something." Kestrel smiled. Then he warned, "You might want to step back. I don't know the code for this door." Then he pulled his plasma rifle off his shoulder, and took aim at the key pad.
"No! Don't do that!" He was stopped by Deep Thought's cry.
"Why not?"
"It's been programmed so that you can't tamper with it! If any harm comes to it, the cell will immediately self-destruct!"
Kestrel looked frustrated. "So how can we get you out?"
"Well, you could ask me what the code is, wise guy."
Our leader looked startled, then a combination of annoyed and amused. Finally, he asked, "What's the code?"
"24601." For some reason, Deep Thought snickered when he said it. Even stranger, Madiza did too.
"Jean Valjean!" she proclaimed. The computer genius looked over at her, startled.
"And who is this, then?" he asked.
"This, my friend, is Project 112. She's what we needed to pick up." Kestrel pushed in the number, and the cage door swung open. "How did you know the code, anyway?"
"Oh, I just watched whenever they opened or closed my door, and figured it out that way. It was easy. So, this is Project 112. Wow! Can I see your face? Please? I've been wanting to meet you for forever!"
Looking pleased, Madiza pulled off her helmet, letting her white hair fall down in a long wave. Deep Thought rubbed his hands together delightedly, reminding me even more of a goblin. It didn't help that they had extremely long, skinny fingers, like a pair of pale spiders.
"Wonderful! We have so much to talk about!" They launched into an intellectual discussion that it was impossible for me to follow, as we turned to go let the other prisoners out. Already, he and Madiza were getting along perfectly. It made me wonder if he hadn't had to experience a little of Project 112 himself; his eyes had a similar gleam to hers, and he had the same perpetual sense of humor. It seemed to me that insanity and genius had a lot of parallels.
Suddenly, a voice from one of the cells called out, "Ivy?"
Instantly, Madiza's smile left her face. Her eyes widened, and she turned in the direction of the speaker. It was a girl, about 17, standing by the bars of one cage. I immediately identified her as a consumerist, since she had their perfect looks: long blond hair, that was beautiful even when shaggy and matted, and doe brown eyes with long eyelashes. Her face was heart-shaped, and even through the grime you could see that she had a perfect complexion. She was staring earnestly at Madiza.
"Ivy? Is that you?"
I felt a wave of relief when I saw that Ben was all right. He twisted out of the now inactive Drone's grip, and pulled off his helmet, wiping his sticky hair out of his face. Even out of breath and sweaty, he was still undoubtedly handsome. My oggling of him was ruined by Madiza. Her helmet was off too, and so I knew it was she who darted up to him, and caught him in a tight hug. After a moment of surprise, Ben hugged her back, leaning his head on hers. When she finally pulled away, Madiza scolded, "Don't EVER scare me like that again!" Ben bowed his head humbly, and signed something at her with one hand. She giggled.
"What did he say?" asked Cara.
"Yes, dear," she said, snickering again.
Now that that was settled, I wanted to take off my helmet; I hated feeling constricted inside, and I knew everyone else did too. But Kestrel said, "There are also human guards up here; we can't take any chances." So Ben and Madiza reluctantly replaced their helmets, and we walked off again, only at a less stealthy pace than before. Now we really had to hurry. Thankfully, Kestrel seemed to know where he was going. He led us left, right, forward, left, left, and so on, until I had lost all track of where we were. When we came to a door with a key pad, he quickly punched in a code, and it slid open. We went in, and there it was-a line of cages, with prisoners inside. In a flash of deja vu, I was reminded of our cell back in the basement in Washington D.C, except that instead of locks requiring keys, they had key pads. How long ago had that been, anyway? I didn't know.
My heart felt sick at the sight of those people. When they saw us, they cowered against the walls, looking like frightened animals. They were all drawn and pale, wearing ragged, gray-striped clothes like pajamas. Most of the ones I could see were men, but I caught a glimpse of at least one woman. Their hair was mostly long and stringy, and that added even more to their animal appearance. Unable to stand another moment of their horrified stares, I yanked off my helmet, letting them all see that I was just a young girl.
"We're your friends!" I proclaimed.
"Lucy!" Cara gasped.
Ignoring her, I said, "We're here to help you! Don't be afraid of us!" The prisoner's expressions changed from terrified to confused, and slightly suspicious. Kestrel, after a moment of hesitation, took his helmet off too.
"Where is Deep Thought?" he asked. Nobody answered. They all stared at us out of hooded, shadowed eyes. Suddenly, a voice called, "Present!"
It came from one of the cages in a far corner, separate from the others. It made sense, if this Deep Thought was as smart as I had heard. We walked over to it, and when I saw him, I was temporarily speechless, but for a different reason than when I had first seen Ben. This Deep Thought was just a boy!
Well, more like a teenager. But still, he looked at least 14! I was shocked. This was the great computer genius?! Besides being young, he was kind of small, maybe an inch shorter than me. His shaggy hair was light brown, and fell around his face like a pair of curtains. As for his face, it kind of reminded me of a goblin, but a cute goblin, if that makes sense. He had gray squinty eyes that turned up at the corners, a pointed nose, and a mouth that seemed permanently turned up in a sideways smile. Deep Thought shuffled towards the bars of his cage, and stared intently at us.
"Well, it's about time!" he said in a faux-annoyed tone. "I sent out that distress call two days ago! Where have you been?!"
"Sorry, we had to pick up something." Kestrel smiled. Then he warned, "You might want to step back. I don't know the code for this door." Then he pulled his plasma rifle off his shoulder, and took aim at the key pad.
"No! Don't do that!" He was stopped by Deep Thought's cry.
"Why not?"
"It's been programmed so that you can't tamper with it! If any harm comes to it, the cell will immediately self-destruct!"
Kestrel looked frustrated. "So how can we get you out?"
"Well, you could ask me what the code is, wise guy."
Our leader looked startled, then a combination of annoyed and amused. Finally, he asked, "What's the code?"
"24601." For some reason, Deep Thought snickered when he said it. Even stranger, Madiza did too.
"Jean Valjean!" she proclaimed. The computer genius looked over at her, startled.
"And who is this, then?" he asked.
"This, my friend, is Project 112. She's what we needed to pick up." Kestrel pushed in the number, and the cage door swung open. "How did you know the code, anyway?"
"Oh, I just watched whenever they opened or closed my door, and figured it out that way. It was easy. So, this is Project 112. Wow! Can I see your face? Please? I've been wanting to meet you for forever!"
Looking pleased, Madiza pulled off her helmet, letting her white hair fall down in a long wave. Deep Thought rubbed his hands together delightedly, reminding me even more of a goblin. It didn't help that they had extremely long, skinny fingers, like a pair of pale spiders.
"Wonderful! We have so much to talk about!" They launched into an intellectual discussion that it was impossible for me to follow, as we turned to go let the other prisoners out. Already, he and Madiza were getting along perfectly. It made me wonder if he hadn't had to experience a little of Project 112 himself; his eyes had a similar gleam to hers, and he had the same perpetual sense of humor. It seemed to me that insanity and genius had a lot of parallels.
Suddenly, a voice from one of the cells called out, "Ivy?"
Instantly, Madiza's smile left her face. Her eyes widened, and she turned in the direction of the speaker. It was a girl, about 17, standing by the bars of one cage. I immediately identified her as a consumerist, since she had their perfect looks: long blond hair, that was beautiful even when shaggy and matted, and doe brown eyes with long eyelashes. Her face was heart-shaped, and even through the grime you could see that she had a perfect complexion. She was staring earnestly at Madiza.
"Ivy? Is that you?"
Monday, February 13, 2012
Freegans part 53
Cara
"Is he crazy?!" Matt gasped, when Ben launched himself at the Drone.
"I've probably rubbed off on him," Madiza commented. Kestrel un-slung his plasma rifle, and began blasting at the Drone.
"Hurry! I'll help him!" he cried. Without stopping to argue, we headed to the Computer and ATM. Without pausing, Madiza began typing on the small pad in front, fingers dancing feverishly across the keys. As she worked, doing something too complicated for me to understand on the screen, she was humming feverishly. It was something about a General, and vegetables, as far as I could figure out. We stood around her protectively, in case the Drone should overpower both Ben and Kestrel. The way things were going, it seemed a possibility.
I don't want to insult their prowess in fighting, but the truth is, they were no match for that Drone. Even with one arm, all it had to do was look at them, and make that droning sound, and they fell to the ground, nearly immobilized. Which was why they stood on opposite sides, so it would only get one at a time. Unfortunately, the Drone was apparently not all that dumb, because while it turned on Ben, the rifle thing on its' back unslung itself, and began blasting at Kestrel. He ducked, dodged, and finally went for its' legs. The Drone jumped, and smashed down on his chest. He must have either been very tough, or wearing some kind of protective armor underneath the uniform, because he shoved the Drone off, and got up, without any evidence of being hurt.
Now they were cornered. The Drone, to our surprise, turned its head up into the air, and began making that awful noise upwards.
"It's calling for reinforcements!" Kestrel cried. "We need to stop it NOW!"
"Almost done!" Madiza sung out. Ben leaped onto the Drone's back, and grabbed its' head, trying to wrench it free, as he had with the robots down in the tunnels. But this Drone was made of tougher stuff. It reached up with the free arm, and grabbed him by the neck, pulling him down. And then, just like magic, the light died out of its' eyes, and it slumped down.
"KillCode activated!" Madiza proclaimed happily.
"Is he crazy?!" Matt gasped, when Ben launched himself at the Drone.
"I've probably rubbed off on him," Madiza commented. Kestrel un-slung his plasma rifle, and began blasting at the Drone.
"Hurry! I'll help him!" he cried. Without stopping to argue, we headed to the Computer and ATM. Without pausing, Madiza began typing on the small pad in front, fingers dancing feverishly across the keys. As she worked, doing something too complicated for me to understand on the screen, she was humming feverishly. It was something about a General, and vegetables, as far as I could figure out. We stood around her protectively, in case the Drone should overpower both Ben and Kestrel. The way things were going, it seemed a possibility.
I don't want to insult their prowess in fighting, but the truth is, they were no match for that Drone. Even with one arm, all it had to do was look at them, and make that droning sound, and they fell to the ground, nearly immobilized. Which was why they stood on opposite sides, so it would only get one at a time. Unfortunately, the Drone was apparently not all that dumb, because while it turned on Ben, the rifle thing on its' back unslung itself, and began blasting at Kestrel. He ducked, dodged, and finally went for its' legs. The Drone jumped, and smashed down on his chest. He must have either been very tough, or wearing some kind of protective armor underneath the uniform, because he shoved the Drone off, and got up, without any evidence of being hurt.
Now they were cornered. The Drone, to our surprise, turned its head up into the air, and began making that awful noise upwards.
"It's calling for reinforcements!" Kestrel cried. "We need to stop it NOW!"
"Almost done!" Madiza sung out. Ben leaped onto the Drone's back, and grabbed its' head, trying to wrench it free, as he had with the robots down in the tunnels. But this Drone was made of tougher stuff. It reached up with the free arm, and grabbed him by the neck, pulling him down. And then, just like magic, the light died out of its' eyes, and it slumped down.
"KillCode activated!" Madiza proclaimed happily.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Freegans part 52
Ben
"...So, what now?" Matt whispered.
The Kestrel scrutinized the Drone for a few moments. Then he pointed to a small symbol on its' chest.
"It's a Cone Drone," he said. Both Matt and Cara snickered. If I'd had my voice, I probably would have too, since the name was so silly.
"It means," said Kestrel, turning to us (he was probably glaring, but we couldn't see with the helmet on)"that it can only affect whatever people are within the scope of the cone. So if one of us creates a diversion, leading the Drone away, it will give Project 112 an opportunity to type in the KillCode."
"Okay, that's good, but who is going to create the diversion? It can't be Madiza, and probably not you either, leaving Cara, Lucy, Ben, and..." Matt stopped talking when he realized that everyone was looking at him.
"What are you- oh, no. No, nononononono. No way."
"You said it yourself, it's narrowed down a lot," Kestrel commented.
"I didn't mean me!" he squawked.
We were wasting time; the future of the world was basically at stake, as well as our lives. Without stopping to think about the consequences, I stepped forward, and ran towards the Drone. Without really thinking, I did a martial arts kick at its' arm, slamming into it. To my surprise, it made a loud, sickening CRUNCH, and bent inwards! Landing on my feet, I prepared to fight. But suddenly, this loud, awful noise began emanating from the Drone. It reverberated through me, knocking me to the ground. The room swam before my eyes, and my stomach churned. Despite the nausea, I began trying determinedly to crawl away. As long as the Drone was distracted by me, the others would have time.
Hurry, I thought. Please.
"...So, what now?" Matt whispered.
The Kestrel scrutinized the Drone for a few moments. Then he pointed to a small symbol on its' chest.
"It's a Cone Drone," he said. Both Matt and Cara snickered. If I'd had my voice, I probably would have too, since the name was so silly.
"It means," said Kestrel, turning to us (he was probably glaring, but we couldn't see with the helmet on)"that it can only affect whatever people are within the scope of the cone. So if one of us creates a diversion, leading the Drone away, it will give Project 112 an opportunity to type in the KillCode."
"Okay, that's good, but who is going to create the diversion? It can't be Madiza, and probably not you either, leaving Cara, Lucy, Ben, and..." Matt stopped talking when he realized that everyone was looking at him.
"What are you- oh, no. No, nononononono. No way."
"You said it yourself, it's narrowed down a lot," Kestrel commented.
"I didn't mean me!" he squawked.
We were wasting time; the future of the world was basically at stake, as well as our lives. Without stopping to think about the consequences, I stepped forward, and ran towards the Drone. Without really thinking, I did a martial arts kick at its' arm, slamming into it. To my surprise, it made a loud, sickening CRUNCH, and bent inwards! Landing on my feet, I prepared to fight. But suddenly, this loud, awful noise began emanating from the Drone. It reverberated through me, knocking me to the ground. The room swam before my eyes, and my stomach churned. Despite the nausea, I began trying determinedly to crawl away. As long as the Drone was distracted by me, the others would have time.
Hurry, I thought. Please.
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