Priorities...

[Mousia]

(I don't know. I guess we could just claim rooms right now. Who wants the one on the left, first of all?)

 

So they'd decided to use Morse code to communicate through the walls. She decided, since her hearing was bad, to feel the walls and decipher the codes that way. It would be easy, she'd decided. Just feel the vibrations in your fingertips. It'll be fine. Just relax and feel the vibrations... Nothing can go wrong. You can't afford to have things go wrong. If things go wrong, people could die... Her thoughts grew more negative as time went on. Kira decided that a nap would be fine. As she woke, she found that only a few minutes had gone by. Crap... Why couldn't she sleep? Why was she so jittery? Why did it seem like she could mess everything up for everyone? She didn't like be part of something... It made her feel incompetent. It made her feel like she wasn't up to par. She didn't like that feeling.

[Aquila]

(Can I claim the room in the middle?)

 

Willow sat in the square of grey light that fell in through her window, eyes closed and head tilted back. Silently, she recited the code Gregory had taught them, trying to burn the pattern of dots and dashes into her head. She was extremely annoyed, as it was raining outside, and though she normally enjoyed the sound of rain on the rooftops, today it was just distracting. Also distracting was the hum of electricity across her window. Even without Maria’s advanced hearing, the quiet buzz of electricity kept calling her attention, but at least she had been able to turn off the overhead light.

 

She muttered a curse word under her breath and stood up, opening her eyes as she did so. She blinked several times to adjust to the natural light from her window. A landscape of grey met her eyes: the stormy sky had infused the marshland with its colors, and it was hard to tell where the clouds ended and the earth began. It was getting darker by the minute, and daylight would be almost completely gone soon. A fork of lightning jabbed out across the grey land, illuminating everything with startling clarity, and Willow jumped back, heart racing. It was almost immediately followed by a clap of thunder that shook the entire building, and Willow wondered what would happen if the power went out. Probably nothing—Knoll most likely had generators for just such an eventuality. She forced herself to calm down and pressed her hands into the wall below her window, feeling for anyone else's signaling.

Edited February 23, 2013 by Aquila

[Katedj]

((I'll take the room on the left. Btw, this will be my last post until tomorrow night.))

 

As he was doing his nightly exercise routine Vincent thought about the Morse code he had been learning. *It's fairly simple* He thought as he did his fiftieth sit-up. He then began push-ups. He always did 100 of them before he got ready for bed. *Though..I don't know if I have all of the letters down...I know T for sure...and all the vowels.* He shook his head. "I'll figure it out when I hear it. I've been over it enough times." He muttered to himself. Having finished his work-out he went over to the sink, turned on the cold water and took a mouthful, swishing it around in his mouth before spitting it out again. The water had an interesting scent, he would have to figure out what it was later.

 

Vincent leaned against the wall that he shared, wondering if any taps would come tonight. The room was dark, despite the whiteness. It lit up for a moment, then a clap of thunder broke overhead. He wished he had seen the lightning. He hoped that the thunder hadn't bothered Maria too much.

[Mousia]

(I'll take the room that the second to the right.)

 

As the thunder began, she grew more and more anxious. Rushing to the wall she shred with Willow, the young woman began tapping and scratching furiously. "How are we going to escape in the mud? Do you think the guards are weak now, trying to get the generators ready? I think I'll make some trouble so I can get out and see. Do you want me to know anything before I go?" She asked a flood of questions. It was classic of her to do something like that in a time of great nervousness or anxiety. But at least they were relevant. There were times she thought of asking completely unrelated questions. Assessing the possible results was the only thing to hold her back. And Kira knew she's be chastised for a good hour if she made trouble at this hour, but that was what she could do to help the group escape. That was what she would do, if it would yield such a great result.

[TwilightMoonDragon]

[i'll take whatever room that's available.]

 

Gregory looked up in alarm when the thunder started to boom and jumped when a specific one roared across the land. It shook the whole building. He shook his head and sighed as he looked at the wall. Time to get to work. "The power is going to go out." Gregory tapped on the wall. "We have to wait. Without power, they won't be able to use the search lights. And we'll be in the dark, and out scent will wash away in the rain." e hoped that this would work. It would be awesome if it did!

[Aquila]

Willow felt both Kira and Gregory's messages through the wall. She translated them with difficulty, and was sure she messed up on a few letters, but she got the general message.

 

Kira. Wait moment befor u attract guards. If the power out, there won't be any electric on the windows, She signaled slowly, skipping letters and words to communicate faster. We cn smash them nd climb out. The thought of dragging herself through a broken window pane made her shudder, but it was better than being dead. She leaned on the wall for a moment, staring out into the pouring rain.

 

If we cn get out of rooms, Vincnt shld be able to show us how 2 get through the tunnels. Greg might be able to see which keys have been prssed most on password keyboards, and I might be able to feel it. Do you want to risk tunnels or try windows? She counted her breaths for a moment, breathing quietly. She didn't how they were supposed to get out of their dorms if the others wanted to try the tunnels. If the power goes out, what will happen to the lasers? she thought to herself. Willow really had no idea which way was easier.

 

(Sorry about bad spelling in the morse-code lines. I just feel like if you were actually trying to communicate like this in a timely manner, you wouldn't care about spelling/grammar.)

[Mousia]

(It's fine. I understand that.)

 

Kira felt the message through her fingertips. There were a few letters missing from the codes, but she figured that was because she just messed up on a few. So...she had to wait. That was a good idea. Nodding at the wall, she muttered a single word. "Alright..." She looked to the window. She couldn't smash though it with her bare fists or elbows. No... But she could do it with the toilet seat or the shower head or a drawer. That was a good idea. "Don't try w/ bare skin. Use something from room. Toilet seat, shower head, drawer, etc. Easier and less pain-" She was going to tap in the last three letters, but the lights - all of a sudden - flickered out. "Now! Chance!" She stood up, felt her way to the bathroom, and wiggled the shower head for what felt like forever, but was no longer than ten seconds. In her frantic excitement, the black-haired woman dropped the instrument that she chose to break the window with. A small, plastic tube came off with the shower head and she held onto that, even though it was sticky. She threw a pillow at the window to make sure there was no charge. Nothing. She hoped the others were taking the chance with her. Hurrying over to the bureau, she grabbed her one picture of her sister and took a pillow and her blanket and her bedsheet and wrapped it all around in a roundish shape. There was no going back. It was do or die. Literally...

Edited February 24, 2013 by Mousia

[Katedj]

Vincent looked up. The power was out. He heard everything that Willow said, but he knew that he was missing the rest of the conversation. Break the window. He wondered if Knoll would know they were broken right away. "The cameras!" He exclaimed. "Take out cameras first, Knoll won't know where we are" He tapped, using his knuckles so that it would carry through the wall better. He jumped up and ran to the far corner and jumped on his bed, grabbing the first camera and hanging off of it. He pulled himself up so that he was braced against the wall and twisted it as hard as he could. He was greeted with the satisfaction of ripping it out half-way, but loosing his balance as he did. He fell onto the bed with the camera dangling. He got up and ripped it off all the way, stuffing it under his bed. He ran back to the wall to see what was going on.

 

As he leaned against the wall again he looked at the last camera. There was the one guard that was always at the end of the hall. He could take that guy out, and then they would be able to meet in one room and either smash the window or make their escape. "Let's meet one room" He tapped as quickly as he could

[Aquila]

(Lol, I doubt the cameras would be on when the power was out)

 

Willow got Kira's message and hurried to her bathroom. Removing the already-loose showerhead was no problem, and she ran back to her room, hesitiating only a second to glance around. She had no special posessions here, and she thought that taking anything would only slow her down. She threw the showerhead out the window, and it shattered with a satisfying crash that she hoped couldn't be heard by anyone else over the rain. Cautiously, Willow pulled herself onto the windowsill and looked out. The cloud covering had gotten thicker, and she had no idea what time it was.

 

She tensed her muscles, preparing to jump out the window, when she felt Vincent's message through the walls. Letting out a growl of annoyance, she leapt back into her room, scraping her hand painfully on some broken shards of glass, and tapped Outside hastily. She had just gotten back to the window when a guard burst into her room. She jumped out of her window, scraped her hand again, and stumbled upon landing. Willow took two steps to recover her balance and ran, trying to stay close to the building. She heard a shot go off somewhere in the dark and saw damp soil spray into the air a few feet to her left.

Edited February 24, 2013 by Aquila

[TwilightMoonDragon]

Suddenly the lights went off and Gregory was left in the dark. His eyes immediately adjusted and he looked toward the window. He had to break it. He found a rock that he had kept with him, and be had promised the guards that he would not do anything with it. He lied. He threw it at the window and slipped out of the room, and started to skirt around the building. Thankfully, he found himeself with Willow. He skidded to a halt and looked at her. "Where is everyone else?" he cried over the road of thunder. His heart was leaping out of his chest.

[Mousia]

Kira looked around and heard the gunshots from Willow's room. Crap. They would be coming for her next. Throwing the bundle over her shoulder, she swung the shower head flail and broke the window. Climbing through, she got a few cuts, but that didn't particularly bother her. Landing in a crouched position, she looked around. As she stood up, Gregory and Willow were recognizable through the rain. "We have no time. The cargo ship should be around here. They can't leave in a storm. If the other two don't come in two minutes, we have to leave them behind. All of us will be dead if we don't." She kept the bundle dry by shielding it from the rain with her body. "In the meantime, I brought a pillow, a blanket, a bedsheet, a picture of my sister, and this makeshift flail. What do you guys have as weapons? I only brought what would be useful on the boat, but I guess you two only brought the things you used to break the window."

[Katedj]

Vincent heard Willow's window break. He grabbed the camera from under his bed and hurled it at the window with all of his strength and it shot through the window. He grabbed his blanket and balled it up around his fist to finish off the edges. He barely fit through since it was so small. He landed outside and could smell the others around the sides of the building. He ran crouched half-way so he couldn't be seen through the windows as he tried to catch up.

[RainDash]

Maria heard the crashes and was startled awake. She ran to the window, looking for a flaw, a weakness of any kind. She winced, knowing what she would have to do. It wouldn't hurt as much for anyone else, but she didn't like having to remember about cuts. She took a breath, and started to punch the glass windows. A guard came in just as she retracted her first punch, and started to shoot. Maria managed to duck the first round of fire, but it managed to hit the window, shattering it. Maria flicked her gaze from the window back to the guard. Without much extra thought, she flung herself out the window. When she landed, she managed to somehow roll. With only a look behind her, she took off, running towards where she heard other footsteps.

[Katedj]

As Vincent passed Maria's window he heard a bullet shatter the window, and a soft thud as she landed behind him. He kept running, not wanting to get in her way. As reached the others he came to a hesitant stop, his white shoes sinking deep into the watery earth. "Come on, we got to see if the boat's here!" He said in a harsh, low, whisper. He had not been expecting it to be so easy to get out of that hated building. Though it was only the first step, they needed to put as much distance between it and them as possible.

[Mousia]

Kira turned as the two others arrived. "Good. Let's go. Vincent, just try to use your smell to not bump into things and we should get there in good time." She started to run as shots were fired in their direction. A deep bullet hole was made in a tree near her head. Close, but no cigar. Sprinting towards the smell of salt water, she let the forest slip by her. The marsh sucked at her shoes and mud stained her white pants, but she kept going anyways. Tripping, she fell onto a tree. She could taste the scents to the guards pursuing them. Crap, crap, crap... Holding tightly onto her bundle, she hoped the others were doing okay. She couldn't see them in the darkness or hear them over her own sounds. She couldn't even smell them because of the strong sense of mud and forest and salt overpowering them. All she could do was hope that her dark hair was concealing her somewhat and keep going. "Ship! Ship! It's still docked!"

[RainDash]

Maria ducked and tried to be very, very small. Bullets wouldn't hurt as much to her, but the damage would be done. "Boat?" Maria asked, wondering when they had seen one. "Boat." She said, as loud as she could stand to speak. There is was, freedom in a wooden form. Then again, was she really ready to head home? She had been gone so long... would they even still be there while she was gone? Would they still be okay? Still, she wanted to go home. Where people weren't sticking her needles and blasting noises in her ear. Home was safe. Home was away from here.

[Katedj]

Vincent could hardly keep from rolling his eyes. He wasn't totally blind. He took off running, glad that he had done his best to keep in shape despite the confinement. He could smell the ocean, it was deliciously fresh smelling. He loved not being a in white world. He widened his strides, the only thing slowing him down was the marshy ground. He kept his head down and his torso forward more than usual as he ran, watching his feet so he wouldn't trip. He made it to the crest of a small hill, and the ocean was spread before him with the little ship floating off of a dock. Vincent looked behind him to make sure that everyone was okay.

[TwilightMoonDragon]

Gregory followed after Vincent and looked at the land before him. There was an ocean... And a boat! They would be safe. He smirked, then, and took his place in front of Vincent. He was the leader, not him. "Everyone, we can't stay here." he said. "We have to keep on moving." and with that he began his descent down the hill.

[Katedj]

Vincent crouched at the top of the hill partially hidden by a stray shrub, letting Gregory take the lead. "Get the boat moving! It's our only shot to get away from here!" He called after Gregory. Vincent still had his white blanket balled up around his fist, and he tried to keep it dry by covering it from the rain with his body. He would wait until everyone had made it here before he went any further. The rain beat down on his back, running down his black hair. He could hear the the gunshots were getting closer, and he looked down the marshlands to see if he could see movement. "Come on you guys! Hurry! We're almost there!" He called out, ready to run.

[Aquila]

Willow could barely understand eveything that was going on around her. The assault of new sensations made her want to scream--glass and tiny bits of dirt in her cuts, squelching earth and rough stalks of grass on her feet, damp clothing pressing against her skin, sharp rain hitting her body everywhere, water dripping through her hair and down her neck, and cold, cold, cold. She shivered and followed the person ahead of her. Dimly, she recognized Vincent's dark hair. When the others stopped running it took her a second to notice, and she barely avoided crashing into Vincent. She stumbled to a stop, glanced at the ocean, and then tried to catch her breath. She was out of shape, which annoyed her. At home, she had gone running every day.

 

"Get the boat moving! It's our only shot to get away from here!" Vincent called, and Willow started. It's a supply ship, and probably guarded, not to mention the people on board, she thought to herself, too tired to speak aloud. Instead, she gave a rather tired glare into a sharp breeze that was tugging her clothes this way and that.

Edited February 26, 2013 by Aquila

[Mousia]

Everyone wanted to keep going. Kira followed along with their ideas, tired. She was weak from her time in Knoll's control. She could withstand pain from the shocks, sure, but she hadn't run in years. "We have to get on the ship, whether we like it or not." She glanced at Willow before jogging after Gregory. As she passed Vincent, she sighed. "We can't wait for them if they won't keep up." She tried to catch up to Gregory, but didn't see that happening. The rain stung her skin with its harsh coldness and sharp lightness. "Wait! Greg! Don't just run into it!" She burst into a full run and caught up to him. "We have to make our way onto it stealthily. If we can get on board undetected, that's half the battle."

[Katedj]

Vincent couldn't help but tense as Willow came close to running into him. Once she had come to a stop he looked up, she was definitely out of breath, and smelled strongly of the marshland that was around her. As he heard Kira speak Vincent sighed. Looked like things were a bit more complicated here than it was in Alaska. In Savoonga all you had to do to catch a ride on a boat was walk up and talk to the owner, who was normally the captain, and catch a ride. Things couldn't be that easy here, not in this crazy place. He wasn't sure how they were going to sneak onto a boat, maybe there was some empty crates that were going to be loaded, but that would be obvious...

 

Now that everyone was within sight of the boat, Vincent began picking his way down the hill. His suggestions always seemed to be a step or two behind or too risky so he decided to keep his mouth shut for a while. Maybe Gregory would come up with a clever plan to get them all on board after all.

[TwilightMoonDragon]

Gregory was all willing to get onto the boat. But then, Kira ran up and said that they had to sneak their way on. Ah, smart young woman. He watched her for a moment before looking at the boat. Not that many people were on it- maybe ten in the whole boat. They would have to sneak on. Some people were loading stuff into the storage area, and one or two boxes were opened. "We can sneak onto the storage by getting into the boxes." Gregory said. It wast that good of a plan but they could try. The boxes were not that small...

[RainDash]

"That's a big if..." Maria mumbled, doubtful. She wondered if Gregory had a plan. He was a leader, now. When did that happen? Was it because he was bossy? Maria wasn't going to let anyone boss her around though, when she was home. She was going to call Grandfather, and maybe stop by to see Grandmother. It would be great to go home. She heard Gregory speak and crept around him, trying to see the boxes. "Okay, but what about food and stuff?" She asked, wondering what they would do about that.

[Katedj]

As he looked at the boat Vincent wondered what they could do. Maybe they could split up, some of them going onto the crate and some of them walking on. He looked down at his white uniform. *Darn these things. So out of place* He thought, then hatched an idea. What if some of them were to pretend to be Knoll's scientists? They were dirty cause they had to catch the boat, and it was of the utmost importance that they left right away. And while some of them were convincing everyone of that, the others could sneak into their crates. "What if we were to be Knoll's scientists? At least some of us. Then we could bring each other food." Vincent asked, glancing around the group. Willow looked like she was going into shock, he didn't think that she would do very well bouncing around inside a crate. Gregory would probably do a good job convincing people he was a scientist. He looked like he could pull something like that off. Maria was small, she could probably fit inside a crate just fine. Kira would probably do fine either way, but he wasn't sure how well she's pull of being one of Knoll's scientists. He just didn't know. "Maybe we could grab some of the empty crates now too, then when we go up explain that they are a part of an experiment or something, and that they can't be opened but need to come with us." He added in a rush. *So much for keeping my mouth shut* He thought