Trapped ◊ Accepting!

[blazingdragon123]

Sandy had been filled with horror as she had watched children plucked from their cells and never return. She had terrible nightmares of that happening to her and her friends that night, but woke quickly and sat straight up in alarm as she heard the door open to the room and she saw Marley come in to pass out breakfast. She instinctively lowered her gaze until Marley was gone. Then she glanced at the boy, Edward, a few cells down. "If children keep getting taken at this rapid of a rate we'll need an escape plan, and fast" She whispered to him, but in a way so few could hear even if they strained their ears.

[67596]

Edward rolled onto his back and craned his neck to look at Sandy, curly black hair flattening against the floor. He had so much pent up energy right now. He smiled pleasantly. "Who do you think she's going to take next, on the subject of disappearing children?" He pressed his knees up near his shoulders and held his piece of paper towards the ceiling. A few names were neatly crossed out but quickly turned into messy scribbles and words of various slants and sizes littered the page so that there was absolutely no space on the front. A few sections were boxed in. He stared at Siku's name for a bit and then blacked it out with a series of loops and swirls.

 

He extended his legs upwards and then let them fall to the flood with a subdued thump. He had taken off his coat, shoes, and socks, using the first as bedding and selectively putting on his socks whenever his feet got cold. His mind prodded him to start rolling around on the floor and start thrashing about like a wild child. He didn't think much of it other than to seriously consider doing so, but not with Marley hovering nearby, looking suspiciously at his paper. He grinned at her and she blinked to convey that she was unimpressed and walked off. "You know, I'm actually surprised she hasn't killed me yet." he said, tilting his head back again.

[Zanzibar79]

((Hi! Just a warning, I've changed my charrie's personality a bit, so you can forget all the acting and such from the first few posts. Her name is Zaila now, so Zee is fairly accurate, as it is her nickname. All I'm saying is, she's rather different now. ))

 

"I think we all wonder that, Edward." Zaila murmured dryly, from her cage in between him and Sandy. She was currently leaning against the wall, arms crossed over her chest, eyes closed. At the rap from her, she blinked her eyes open slowly, faking sleepiness. Though by now most of the children, on her side of the hall anyway, knew that often she was the first one awake, but she still pretended as if she wasn't to Marley. In truth, it was extremely difficult to tell whether she was or wasn't, as she seemed to have an endless patience. Stretching her arms and legs, she stood up slowly, watching the food on the trolley. Admittedly, she was quite hungry.

Edited August 24, 2013 by Zanzibar79

[Emeelia]

Day after day had passed, and Harry had seen what Marley had done. No amount of pleading nor threats would deter her, and most of the cells became emptied, one by one... till only six were left. Through conversation, Harry had learned the names of the other children who were left. There was Edward, the strange boy in the black coat who was the most mature out of all of the children. They all looked up to him as leader because of his strange maturity and intelligence; if anyone would come up with a plan, Harry would bet it would be Edward. Then there was Zaila, called Zee, who was nearly as strange as Edward, who often pretended to be asleep when she really wasn't. She had the foresight to pretend to have a flaw that didn't exist to trick Marley into underestimating her in at least that way, and maybe more. There was also a girl named Vita that seemed to scare easy, and another girl named Sandy who also seemed to get scared. Not that their fright was unfounded in this situation; Harry also got scared whenever the woman came near his cell, but he also got more determined to fight, and he wasn't as frightened when she wasn't around.

 

Harris S. was a boy who actually annoyed Harry a whole lot. It was probably because they shared the same name, yet were so different; Harris was a rich boy, older, taller, and more handsome too, Harry thought. He was thoughtful, considerate, gentle, and very brave. The only thing they shared in common seemed to be their curiosity. Harry was jealous that Harris seemed to be a better person, and he tried to hide it. After all, it was unfounded, and stupid of him, but it also made Harry want to try harder to be better and braver and heroic in some way.

 

Harry didn't trust himself to speak at the moment, at least not about anything important, even though the others were talking. He did not want to spill any of his ideas that might have even an infinitesimally small impact on their escape around the woman. Marley was delivering breakfast to each cell, and hovered at Edward's before moving on. She must really hate Edward with a passion, yet she didn't kill him yet.

 

That was part of what scared Harry about her; Marley was unpredictable.

 

As she approached his cell, his heart shrank a bit, and his mind was less clearheaded. His body was falsely strong right now. "Why even feed me?" he asked the question that came to mind impulsively. Harry crossed his arms and leaned against the bars on the side of his cell, face dark. He huffed. "In fact, don't. I don't want food that comes from your hands, you murderer." The screams of her last victim that was over a week ago floated across his mind.

[67596]

((Posts are gonna get a bit shorter. Sorry))

 

Marley tutted at the boy as she set his food down on the cell floor. "You will eat or starvation will make you." and that was a fact. She hardly thought a child would have the will to starve himself. Besides, it didn't matter to her if he died. After all, there were plenty of other children in the world that she could steal. She closed the door on him and locked it, effectively muffling any further protests.

 

"Which one do you wonder?" Edward asked after Marley closed Harry's door. He considered Marley's increase in communication to be a good thing. Mostly because he was getting more food but it also helped calm his insatiable boredom. Now if only he could get out of this little cramped prison to walk around a bit.

[Zanzibar79]

"Truthfully, I have no idea. There seems to be no pattern in her experiments. They really are completely random." Zaila told him in reply, then added, "Though I do suspect you will be one pf the last, as I suspect she's saving the worst for you. You seem to tick her off to no end. I myself am hoping that she won't pick me next, as I think the ones at the end, last; second-to-last, maybe even third-to-last will have a higher chance of survival, if there's any at all." Pausing, she scratched her cheek a bit. "I wish we could have proper food. Hmph, there's a lot of things I wish."

[blazingdragon123]

"yes, Zaila, there are many things I wish too..." Sandy mumbled. Standing up, she stretched and practiced some breathing exercises and martial arts forms. "but I do have advanced martial arts training and know many ways to knock an opponent unconscious if we should ever need it" she added with the most cheerful voice she'd heard herself use in weeks. "I just hope no more of us will be killed for Marley's unpredictable, dumb, torturous, experiments. But I'd really enjoy causing Marley some trouble."she ended with a slight smirk.

[67596]

"Hmm." he closed his eyes after a quick loss of most of his interest in the conversation. 'You know, I just realized how incredibly bored I am' he commented to himself. Not having much mental stimulation for over a week had worn on him and he was about ready to explode. He had been for several days. Someone wanted to strike up a conversation? God yes. Someone start giving him riddles and problems to solve! 'Ugh' He wiggled a little bit in place. The drive to make good escape plans had been evading him for a while. He hadn't even begun to think past security codes, not to mention the nice secure wall between them and the doors. The elevator probably didn't even lead all the way to the top. There were probably a bunch of other hallways. Meanwhile, Marley was about to do something about the impending death by boredom baring itself against those she had captive. Just some much needed free time and perhaps a teensey bit of tweaking and testing. "What do you think of the sky?" he asked to nobody in particular.

[blazingdragon123]

 

"We can't see the sky" Sandy responded with a boredom filled tone, her enthusiasm had worn out over the past few hours. She wished that if she couldn't get out she could have her novel she was reading before being kidnapped, or at least her sketchbook and a pencil. "I was never very good at jokes, but I have one if it will lighten the mood" Sandy voiced in monotone to Edward. "So... Why didn't the drink producer like his job?" Sandy ventured "Because it was soda-pressing" she answered her own joke, without even a hint of a smile on her face. "Okay, it's official, my jokes stink. Anyone got a good riddle?" Sandy said in a brighter voice then added "If we can't escape may as well make use of our time here so it goes quicker" ((Sandy doesn't actually want to die at all and doesn't really mean that, she just wants reassure the others, even if its a terrible attempt))

Edited August 29, 2013 by blazingdragon123

[67596]

"Hah!" he said as enthusiastically as he could manage. He doubted that giggling could save him now, not that he would even try it at a time like this. That was for when he was stressed or wanted to look insane. Right now he had no particular desire to look insane. He racked his brain for something good. He knew the answers to quite a few riddles or could figure them out with ease so he wasn't quite sure what exactly what kind of bone he should be throwing at Sandy. Alright, time to make something up. "What is the thing all creatures crave, only get when they die, but regret receiving when they're living?" The answer could probably be a few things but he had a particular word in mind. But kudos to everyone else for creativity if it existed.

[Emeelia]

Harry scowled at Marley's response and slid the tray to a corner with his foot so he wouldn't have to look at it. Next time she opened the door he would charge - he hadn't thought to do it this time, since he wasn't even sure how the door opened before. Now he knew a little bit more... and he tested the hinges with his hands. Nope, not budging. He punched it despondently and turned his back to the glass, leaning against it with his arms crossed and counting in his head. This place was driving him crazy... now he felt he had to count to ten quite frequently, as he was not planning to hurt himself and ruin his chances for escape.

 

After counting, he paused to listen to Zee and Edward a bit. They didn't seem very cheerful... just like everybody else. Sandy had joined Zee's and Edward's voices, commenting on her martial prowess. Well, wouldn't that be useful... outside of the cells. Listening to conversation was a little bit satisfying, but the effect would have been a lot better if he could hear more than silence in the pauses, more than the perpetual headache he had (probably because he refused to eat Marley's food... he had no appetite) accompanying frustration by lack of activities. Harry wanted to hear the birds, missed the traffic that was always in the background at the city, and his family... gently he steered his mind back to grass. Grass was better than concrete, but concrete... if he closed his eyes, he might pretend it was sidewalk concrete, but he didn't particularly want to do that. Or rather, Sandy just made a bad joke. Maybe he'd do that sidewalk-pretending thing after all. Unless somebody-

 

Edward came up with a riddle. Well, Harry couldn't figure this out. But he'd sure try... as soon as his mind was presented with the riddle, to escape boredom, it had started trying to comprehend it. Immediately he spotted something wrong- "If the creatures only get that thing when they die, how can they recieve it to regret it while living?" Harry asked, confused, all the while his mind trying to cycle through options it produced. Food? Air? Sleep? Pillows? No, that was stupid... Relief? After thinking that one through, he decided it still didn't fit...

[67596]

Edwards stomach moaned as the smell of the tray in his cell wafted over to him. It made him feel sick and dizzy. Marley had seemingly 'run short' on dinner yesterday so he didn't get any food. He grabbed the edge of the plate and slid it closer. "!!!" 'T-there's sausage in here'! Sitting in front of him were two of those disgusting pre-packaged sausage patties under some bread. But it was meat all the same! "There's sausage here!" he smiled broadly to himself. Never once had Marley put any sort of meat in their meals so, well, he was a bit excited not to mention very hungry. Despite his better judgement, Edward scarfed down his food.

[Zanzibar79]

Frowning slightly in thought, Zee put a small amount of the sausage in her mouth, savouring the taste. "Well, with my brain seriously dead from lack of use, the only things I can come up with is death, or freedom. Though, there are problems with both of them. I certainly don't long for death, and I doubt most other creatures do either. For freedom, it works for the first two, but I'm not sure how it would work for the last one. Other than that, all I can think of is that love and life don't seem to work either."

[Emeelia]

Harry's hand shook as he did it, but nontheless he knocked today's tray of food to join the other, continuing his proclaimed fast. Although his stomach had made him clench in pain and he had to smash his food to resist eating it the night before, the hunger was more constant and easier to bear, although his body felt fatigued from lack of energy. Today he wondered if it was really worth it, not eating, but resolved to leave it until tonight... or tomorrow. Or never. Maybe it really wasn't worth living t- Harry punched the glass in alarm, shaking his head to clear the stupid thoughts. Well, that was strange. Maybe from lack of food...? But he could last a bit longer. It was only a day or two, one more wouldn't hurt. Except how many had it been? He sat against the glass wall trying to think. Would he have to eat Marley's food to live? The thought of Marley brought a foul taste to his mouth, and then he nearly retched from the foul taste.

 

Finishing gagging, Harry thought again, did he need food period to survive? The answer to that was yes. He edged closer to the knocked over tray and picked it up, placing the food onto it with a defeated sigh, his appetite suddenly returning at the proximity of food. The sausage was fine, the bread slightly dirty, which he brushed off then ate sullenly. Then ravenously. He really had been hungry.

[67596]

He nodded at Zee, the first one to guess. He tried to recount what exactly his third statement had been. Usually this would come naturally in under a second, but he had found it harder and harder to recall things as quickly as he did only a week ago. What was it? Something like "What do all living things crave, regret receiving when living, and only truly receive when passed?" No no no. He must have them in the wrong order. He licked his index finger clean as he thought. "Or was the second one supposed to be last? I think it was. Anyway, you had it with freedom. I was just being cynical about society and all that..."

 

Edward jumped at the clattering of the tray next door. He looked over to watch Harry as he contemplated his food and then finally decided to eat it. shame about the bit that was still on the floor. Had he thrown it there? The boy was talking about refusing food earlier or something like that. Hmm, seemed like he was glad enough for it now and Edward agreed with him. His hands still had grease residue on them. It wasn't anything that he couldn't handle. After all, it was sausage. Meat as he had said.

Edited September 4, 2013 by ArchiosLukos

[Flamma]

Vita quietly sat in the corner of her cell. She didn't know how long she had been sitting there, only moving to eat. Suddenly her daydreaming was interrupted. She had sneezed. Suddenly she realized how sick she felt. Vita then curled up and tried to fall asleep occasionally coughing.

[Zanzibar79]

"Freedom... Ironic, isn't it? We value freedom so much, in society today. But do we really have it? after all, we're still trapped, by the weight of social expectance, friendships, work, school, really, just life in general. This is just a different type of imprisonment." Zee spoke softly, but her voice was clear and carried in the silent glass-walled prison they were in. Chuckling dryly to herself, she added, "Maybe death would be nice, after all this. But no, I don't think so. I've still got a life left to live, be it good or bad, and I want to experience it. And so do we all, so we can't give up. Not yet." After a few seconds of silence, she laughed. "Well, what d'you know, a motivational, or not so motivational, speech. Well, that was unintended. Though, it doesn't really matter, does it? For now, we are all stuck in this place whether we like it or not. Really its just a matter of waiting it out."

[67596]

((I'm going to be gone from Thursday until next Tuesday. I will try to get in posts if I can but I'll have a lot of homework and events that need to be taken care of. If this RP gets too far then I'll probably ask for a recap, though you can generally trust that I'll just read up on what I missed. I'll try to get my character into a place where they don't interact much but if they're with a group that moves around a lot then just assume that they're tagging along looking stoic or whatever.

See you all on Wednesday at the latest after I leave.))

 

And there was trusty Zee, getting his meaning perfectly. She and Sandy were rather good and he liked them both. Nobody else seemed to like talking terribly much. Really he was finding that he wished they would speak up every once in a while. Even with his original views on the whole situation. Perhaps it was just that they weren't nagging him with questions constantly. "Very insightful." he commented. Besides his smiles and smirks, which were sometimes genuine and sometimes not, he very rarely gave praise for anything. "I should ask: Is everyone feeling alright?" he knew very well how depressing it could get in here, especially with nothing to do.

 

Marley entered the room and he turned, eyes widened slightly before he blinked them back to normal. He had grown accustomed to her for the most part, but there was something off about here right now. It sent unpleasant tingles down his spine. She had a syringe in her hand full of god knows what, possibly more anesthesia. The boy's lip curled up slightly. She had better keep that thing to herself.

 

Marley scanned over the cells, trying to decide who exactly she was going to take first. She could take that little pest in the black coat. Even with the limited time she was actually watching the children directly she could tell that he was their center, followed by the older girl of the group, and the one named Sandy. The other ones were silent for the most part. Well, they wouldn't have much to cling on to if the boy was gone and with the way he was staring at her, he was just asking for it. She approached his enclosure.

[Emeelia]

As Harry slowed down, disappointment made him frown, although his limbs kept moving automatically trying to gain the most out of the food. He had failed to keep even one promise, although it had been a hasty and foolish one. Harry felt mad at himself, because he had wanted to try to take out his anger at the woman by starving himself. Now he didn’t have that outlet. He would have to come up with something else. But-

 

What Zee was talking about turned Harry’s stomach turned sour, and he slowly set down what was left of his food. “ ‘Motivational’…?” he murmured to himself. He hardly saw what talking about the outside world as if it was as good or bad as this place could bring other than content, but the wrong sort. He did not want to be satisfied just by being here. Freedom out in the world was much better than this prison! Not being the next in line to have their nerves plucked out or brains poked at, literally, was his hope, and his drive for escaping. He faced Zee and Edward, his face showing that he wanted to respond, but then Edward asked if everyone was feeling alright.

 

Well… well, no, he wasn’t. Harry was… he was scared, and sad, and tired, and sick of feeling helpless. He also was mad at the situation, but mostly it was everything else, and anger was the only emotion he wanted to express. It made him feel stronger because everything else made him feel weaker. He bit his own tongue and turned to face the glass with heavy shoulders, effectively discouraged from saying anything he had wanted to before. He actually forgot why he was mad at… someone, except he remembered that he missed his life, and it hurt in his chest. Harry tried pushing the hurt into a manageable ball to watch, out of the corner of his eye, Marley approach Edward’s cell ominously. His eyes widened- no, she couldn’t be… he was their plan maker! Their…

 

"Hey!" he shouted, scrambling up, "You can't do that!" He was addressing Marley, and he knew that he was panicked, felt panicked, couldn't really plan but he could think how dare she she can't...

 

Leader…? Who would be leader when Edward was gone?

 

"You can't..." his mind raced, trying to produce an answer to placate Marley, convince her of the reason that she could not take Edward.

 

How could they do anything if they were all taken one by one?

 

"He's valuable. You can learn a lot more from that guy by what he does. He's weird, he acts like an adult, he-" Harry was babbling, knew he was babbling, but didn't know what else to do. "He's doing a better job of being a psychiatrist than you are, and you need all of us. You need all of us for an experiment, not a brain ripping one in which you destroy us, but a more important one, one to see how we respond to stimuli based on- based on-" his voice died down.

 

For about the first time, Harry really felt that they were doomed to die, and a cold ball of fear settled in the pit of his stomach.

 

"Don't kill him... kill me first, but don't kill him." The last part he said so quietly, and Harry himself could hardly believe it had come out of his mouth. But it did, and he realized he didn't want to take it back. If she really wanted to kill someone, it should be someone... stupid, not Edward, but Harry. Harry didn't really want to die, but was there any other way-? no, no... Harry would not die, he would fight, that was why.

 

He had to buy time.

[Psycho Cat]

((Me bumps. Me also says hi))

[67596]

Edward stood up, trying not to appear alarmed, though he was. This couldn't possibly-it had seemed at first like she had planned to save him for last. "Harry," he barked, still watching Marley. The woman smiled at him, and then the boy in the other cell who was making all the fuss. He thought that she seemed amused by the outburst. "Be quiet, Harry. You're not helping. While I'm gone you all need to decide on a new leader, got it?" He didn't have any time for further discussions about a next in command because that woman came in. The boy in the black coat automatically pressed against the back of his cell when Marley opened the door. A sense of dread knotted in his stomach. Not now! He had to make plans now. Sure he had been slacking off a bit but he'd get to work now. "All of you stay unified! That's an order!" he said as the scientist grabbed him by his arm and took him out of the room. He only struggled until he was outside the viewing range of the others. He didn't want to set a bad example for them even though he was sure that it was futile to resist.

 

His coat still lay in a heap on the floor along with his 'notebook' full of escape plans and notes.

[Psycho Cat]

Everything you see here? Erase it from your mind. We are rebooting once more.

[Psycho Cat]

Bump

[67596]

((If you'd like us to post then I suggest you start us off.))

[Psycho Cat]

((I'm still waiting, actually. If no one comes then I suppose we could start then, but I was hoping maybe some more people would join/come back))