The day is an average one; a gentle blanket of snow covers the ground, thicker around the edges of the road from attempts at snow-blowing. The sun, while high in the sky, is fended off by only a few clouds, its rays and light doing little to warm the air. The road travels off of the highway, moving through the countryside for several miles before delving slightly into what appears to be a forest. The edges appear well-kept, with naught a branch littering the street. Trees, shed of their leaves for winter, pass by like silent guardians, standing watch over the empty-looking street. You have with you a small overnight bag; they mentioned the possibility of needing to stay, less any complications occur.
The road eventually gives way to a gated parking lot, several cars already in place. A single security guard asks you for your papers, making sure you have valid identification before buzzing you into the lobby of the large building; the front appeared grand and homey, if a bit over the top, but one could tell, simply by looking at it, that it was much larger than it appeared, underground if not behind. Inside the main sitting room were several hospital staff and scientists, one of whom glances over at you with a smile. He walks forward, offering his hand to shake. "Ah, welcome. I'm Doctor Donahue." He motioned for one of the nurses to come over, giving the woman a small smile in thanks. "The nurse here will see you to where you may put your belongings, and then take you to the trial room with the others." As the nurse leads you off, the doctor thanks you, once again, for offering your aid and time.
Chapter One: Non Sequitur
Magic is merelysciencethat we have yet to understand.
Elizabeth Salen quietly followed the nurse, curiously looking around at her new surroundings. Her right arm was unconsciously holding her left, which held her bag of clothing and random items that she thought she would need for a couple nights if she had to stay here. There wasn't much to look at. The interior was more like a fancy hotel than a hospital or lab, honestly. "Here you go, darling, just place your things here." The nurse said, a large, comfortable-looking woman. She motioned at a cheery forest-green locker set into one of the walls, number 12A. "Thanks, ma'am." Elizabeth said quietly, opening the locker. The locker had no lock, simply a latch that was pulled up to open the door. Before Elizabeth put her things in the locker, she pulled out a couple items and placed them in her pockets. (OOC-Ha, ambiguity! Only I know what she took! Don't worry, I won't get crazy and pull out a pistol or anything. Or will I?) Once she finished, she followed the nurse into a waiting room, currently empty. The room had a large, healthy fern in each corner, and the company logo in a small watermark fashion on each wall. Each wall had several comfortable leather chairs, some black, some brown, some other colors.
Elizabeth chose a chair in a corner, next to a fern, and pulled out a recorder. "First audio recording in Horzine Industries. Right now, I'm in the waiting room, waiting for others, obviously. The place is rather comfortable and large for a drug-testing facility, I suppose they produce and create their drugs on site to justify such a large building. I wonder what the others are going to be like. Perhaps I can interview the kind Doctor later, ask him what this facility contains." She was still recording when the door opened again, revealing the other drug test volunteers, Elizabeth watching them with her eyes as she continued recording her thoughts.
Red Mage Statscoski wrote:That is not how we do things around here, buddy. First we have to argue incessantly over semantics.
Samuel Mckay aproached the guard. After a few words and paper checks, he went inside the building. It apeared to be your average hospital. Lots of activity, the smell of sterile floors and the blinding white of every room. He watched as a young woman was received and then directed by one of the nurse, and suposed she was on the test subjects as well. He just kept walking. Surprisingly, and even with his quite noticable size, nobody seemed to realize he was there. This was something common for him. People tend to ignore those who are bigger than themselves, a weird psycology fact. He kept walking slowly and in deep silence, following the same way the other one took, and only stopping to admire all the world that was passing him by, as tougth he was not a part of it.
At the time he aproached a big space filled with lockers, he watched as a nurse opened them all and threw the contents into a black trash-bag. He stood perfectly still, and somehow the nurse passed by him as if she could not see him. Then he hurried to open his bag and took all the personal items he could. After filling his pockets, and putting some more private items in his socket, he hid his bag behind the locker 7A, the one in the ground on the nearest side to the door from where he came from. And then, he advanced toward the door and joined a little group of people. And once again, no one seemed to notice him as he entered the room.
Nameless they say of he; no place to call his home, no grave to rest his bones. Quicquid enim florui felix et beatus, nunc a summo corrui gloria privatus.
Yo sólo seré un extraño en paz que nunca te dejó de amar.
Dom Morden, after a lengthy walk from the bus stop, finally made it to the main gate of the hospital. He stops and looks the place over from outside before walking up to knock on the guard station's door. After confirming his paperwork and ID, he is let inside and heads for what looked like the main entrance. He stands just inside of the door for a few moments before a nurse grabbed his attention, leading him through a few halls to a locker room. Dom takes off his backpack, pulling out quite a few things and puts the bag into an empty locker. He then rejoins the nurse, who leads him to another room. He thanks the nurse and heads inside, noticing a few other people and takes a seat in a corner where he can see both them and the door.
Sam Flynn had done many a crazy thing to get a nice bed at night. This wasn't the worst, but it was pretty damn close.
The guard accepted his false papers. Well, there wasn't much missing but point was they didn't contain the whole truth. Not that anyone needed to know that anyway. He fiddled with his bag, which really didn't contain anything but some wadded up old clothes. He wasn't even sure they fit. He looked down at his stained red jacket as he waited for the guard to give the all clear.
It didn't take long. He walked in slowly, zipping up his jacket all the way to hide his lack of a shirt. This place was pretty nice... Rather nice actually. Maybe he'd have to find some way to stay here longer. A life on the move didn't have much in the way of a nice bed. It would be a welcome change. As the nurse lead him to some lockers, he simply didn't give a [censored] and tossed his bag into locker 8A. The only two things he actually cared about sat comfortably in the pockets of his ratty old jeans. One to remind him of what he'd done, and one to keep himself appeased.
He was then lead to a room with other people and some nice chairs. "Great... Please don't talk to me." he muttered under his breath, going over to the farthest corner he could, sitting with one leg over his holey shoe, and the other shoe tucked as far back under the chair as he could.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. She had seen the man walk in the room, and was rather confused as to why the others hadn't. Seriously, how do you miss a 6 foot plus man walking into a small room like this with flatly colored walls? She muttered some more into her recorder and ended the recording. No use in wasting battery, she could always write down anything interesting later. She didn't bother introducing herself to anyone in the group, telling herself that they weren't worth the time. In reality, Elizabeth was shy. Dead-shy of anyone or anything that was strange. Horror held no fear for her, and she had never been frightened once in her life-They smell of alcohol and sweat, and anger. She has to run, but her legs won't move, her arms aren't responding, she can only scream. No, get away from me! No! Someone, help me! Please! Any of you!Shut up, nobody here cares, [censored]! Why are they looking at her like that, what-no, nononononono!, but she was almost incapable of introducing herself to anyone without a proxy or the person introducing themselves first.
Red Mage Statscoski wrote:That is not how we do things around here, buddy. First we have to argue incessantly over semantics.
Sam snorted in the corner. "Invisible my [censored]..." he muttered as he shifted around in his chair trying to get more comfortable.
'Go on, talk to them... If you don't, how will you ever sate your hunger?' a small familiar thought penetrated his head. Sam snarled slightly, reaching into his pocket and running his fingers along a leather wallet in his pocket. His memories...
'Reliving old conquests is like eating your own vomit, devoid of nutrition...' Ugh... Why couldn't Sam leave himself alone...
He shifted uneasily before just giving up and moving across the room, closer to everyone else. Maybe this would appease him. Perhaps this would let his... desires quiet down as he drew closer to people.
'Go on.... Take the first step...' He plunked himself down next to Elizabeth, still fighting the urge to actually engage her. Why couldn't he just... leave well enough alone? Sam's... unique aroma wafted over to Elizabeth. He tried to keep himself clean but his jacket was another story. He'd stopped noticing but it did smell a bit of sweat.
Elizabeth looked at the approaching young man in some minor amusement, and also some apprehension. She had always been sought after in school, and college and her day-to-day life wasn't really any different. She had signed up for this as a way to get some spare cash, always something appreciated, especially with the economy and having to live alone-GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE!But I didn't-GET OUT! as she did. ".........Hi...." He said softly. She fidgeted. "Hi." She almost squeaked, not making eye contact. He smelled sweaty, but that wasn't anything unusual with guys who tried to hit on her. (OOC-I see what you're trying to do there, and it's not that simple )
Red Mage Statscoski wrote:That is not how we do things around here, buddy. First we have to argue incessantly over semantics.
MrFlyingAmoeba wrote:Elizabeth looked at the approaching young man in some minor amusement. She had always been sought after in school, and college and her day-to-day life wasn't really any different. She had signed up for this as a way to get some spare cash, always something appreciated, especially with the economy and having to live alone-GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE!But I didn't-GET OUT! as she did. ".........Hi...." He said softly. She fidgeted. "Hi." She almost squeaked, not making eye contact. He smelled sweaty, but that wasn't anything unusual with guys who tried to hit on her. (OOC-I see what you're trying to do there, and it's not that simple )
Sam eyed this girl a little. He rubbed the wallet in his pocket...
'Hahaha, going for an old classic. She reminds me of a certain someone...'
"Shut up..." Sam muttered, changing from a jean pocket to a hoodie pocket. He felt something... squishy and rubbery.
He pulled it out. It was a rotten moldy banana peel. ".....Aw [censored]." He threw it across the room into a trash receptacle. "Crap... was that from last week? I really need to clean this thing sometime..." He rubbed his fingers on his red hoodie, adding a small, not very noticeable stain. At least next to the really big ones.
Sam suddenly realized that he was talking to himself with someone next to him. "...Dammit. I'm Sam... What drew you to this place?"
(OOC: XD Sam's a vagrant, I didn't just make up the sweaty thing to get to you, I promise. He probably also obviously reeks of rotting fruit now BTW)
Elizabeth fidgeted some more, nervously playing with her hair with her left hand. Curse it all, why couldn't she be more assertive towards strangers? Why are you doing this to me? I never did anything to you-Shut up!The ugly sound of a clenched fist smashing into flesh resounds throughout the room, and several low chuckles are heard as the muffled sobs of the girl echo. Thats right, Dan, give it to the little sl- The man next to her suddenly muttered, "Shut up.", and threw a rotten banana peel across the room into a trash can. That, and the sudden realization that he smelled, not pleasantly either, was enough to give Elizabeth some courage. "I'm Elizabeth. I'm here to get the cash you get from voluntary drug testing. It's quite generous, you know. Didn't they tell you? It's usually required to inform you of how much you're getting." She said calmly.
(Excellent. Stories within stories. Never intended to do that until Jedi mentioned about us being more free than usual. *rubs hands* this is going to be great.)
Red Mage Statscoski wrote:That is not how we do things around here, buddy. First we have to argue incessantly over semantics.
'Heh, she isn't exactly a humanitarian... I like that.'
"Sometimes people have other motives for these things, just curious if you're one of them," Sam said, noticing people watching his little rotten companion flying across the room. Shaking his head a bit, he continued. "This whole thing is a nice gig. I can't complain one little bit about what I'm getting."
He shuffled around nervously, sticking his hand into his other pocket for a bit. It didn't feel right. No, this would take a while... Sam once again moved about in his seat as if uncomfortable. "You always this impersonal? I'm just tryin' to make a bit of small talk to pass the time."
Justin slunk in, a little unsure why he had decided to do this. He was kind of broke, true, but it was only the desperate who volunteered to test otherwise untested drugs. He would rather be at home, doing a raid with his guild.
The man at the door had looked at his papers without really paying attention, only looking at him to verify the man in the photo was him. The nurse had seemed nice, but in a professional way, detached and not truly caring. He wasn't entirely sure why he had been told to put his stuff in a locker, but decided not to argue. The smoother this went, the quicker he could get to raiding.
He sat down in the chair nearest the door, not wanting to draw too much attention to himself. Maybe the others wouldn't notice him.
Gentlementlemen
How do you get to the Rakdos Guild Hall?
You take the psycho path. Weed la Weed Warning: WEIRD
Samantha walked into the building, looking around, before a nurse caught her attention. She was waving her over. Not wanting to screw something up already, Sam walked over, then proceeded to follow the nurse to the lockers. She tossed the bag she had been carrying in locker 10A, not really worrying about anything that was in it. Everything important she already had on her. Afterwards, she began to follow the nurse again, to the waiting room this time. She silently thanked the nurse (Smile and a nod) and walked in, finding a seat that wasn't too far away from others, but not too close to them either.
"I don't like small talk." She said, almost whispered to herself. Elizabeth shook herself mentally. No need to be rude. But.. She began fidgeting again, and playing with her hair again. Come on, you just talked normally. Do it again, stupid. A tense few seconds passed, until she finally exploded. "I'mnotalwaysthisimpersonalbutI don'tliketalkingtostrangersandpeopleingeneralandI'mnotcomfortableatallwhichiswierdbecause *Deep Breath* I'malwaysgettinghitonbyguyssoyou'dthinkI'dbeusedtoitbutI'mnotsosorryaboutthat." She gabbled, then fell silent, turning her head away to examine the nearby fern, blushing furiously, her hair hiding her face from the others. Great. Way to go, me.
(Spaced out) I'm not always this impersonal but I don't like talking to strangers and people in general and I'm not comfortable at all which is wierd because I'm always getting hit on by guys so you'd think I'd be used to it but I'm not so sorry about that.
Red Mage Statscoski wrote:That is not how we do things around here, buddy. First we have to argue incessantly over semantics.
Elizabeth still had her head turned away from the room, when a young man's voice asked her concernedly if she was fine. "I'm fine." She managed to squeak, still hiding her face with her hair. For the love of God, why are these people trying to talk to me? Just leave me alone!--Leave me alone!What was that?!No, wait, I'm sorry, please don't-The sound of a breaking bone resonates throughout the area.--Elizabeth pulled out her notepad and wrote-Sesad mloog abaren ysersa madsed uawerf (gibberish), determinedly ignoring everyone else.
(In case you haven't figured it out yet, the bold italics are not happening in the present. Also, you shouldn't be able to read the gibberish unless you somehow peek over her shoulder, practically breathing in her ear.)
Red Mage Statscoski wrote:That is not how we do things around here, buddy. First we have to argue incessantly over semantics.
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