[Ami] Day 18: A Hot Shower
Jul. 27th, 2006 11:14 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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crossing_lostrpThe lavatory reminded Ami of every public lavatory and locker room that she'd ever shared or visited. There were three toilet stalls, two urinals, three sinks and a large mirror that spread from one end of the wall to the other. In addition there were also three shower stalls and Ami caught a glimpse of what looked to be an actual tub in a small room with a door separating it from the main bathing and toileting areas.
Jacob gave her a small plastic basket containing everything from soap and shampoo and conditioner to toothpaste and deodorant. There was no razor, but she was also given a soft towel, a flannel for her face, and a change of clothes. These were still hospital clothes, but instead of the tie in the back gown, this change resembled doctor's scrubs with pants and a top.
"You have thirty minutes," Jacob told her. "I'll stay out with Fisher, but after twenty minutes, I will come in after you. Thirty minutes is more than enough time."
The fact that she was allowed to have the entire toilet to herself told Ami that there would be no way to escape, but that didn't stop her from making a quick circuit to check. No windows, no doors and rapping on the mirror revealed that it wasn't made of glass. The shower stalls lacked curtains for privacy, although there were rods in place. (They took out the curtains when they put us here.)
A quick jump and pull revealed that the rods were firmly in the wall. The closet containing the bathtub only contained a bathtub. All of the plumbing was securely mounted as were the drain covers. The only possible and likely escape routes were the two vents on opposite sides of the bathroom; they were far too high up the wall to reach by normal means, and even if it were possible to reach them, without her telekinetic abilities at full strength, Ami didn't know of any way to remove the covers.
It was only as she completed her circuit that Ami noticed the logo on the floor. It was the same one that she'd noticed in the corridor after parting ways with Rose. It hadn't clicked then, but it clicked now.
(Dharma,) Ami thought. (Dharma isn't a thing, it's a group. A business? These so-called doctors and nurses are Dharma.)
Had she and Scott told anyone about what they found? Yes, she remembered after a moment. They'd told Daniel and Blaise; she'd revealed her teleporting abilities. Scott hadn't wanted –
Ami leaned against the wall, her heart constricting in her chest. She missed Scott; she missed not sensing him, not feeling his emotions and knowing his thoughts. It took a separation like this to drive home how dependent she was on him, on how much she needed him there. How much they were a part of one another. Her eyes blurred from rising tears and she choked back a sob. Her knees trembled and it was only leaning against the wall that held her steady.
She was empty and alone.
Ami didn't know how long she cried or how much of her allotted thirty minutes she wasted, and she didn't truly care. Left alone to her own thoughts and devices, she realized just how precarious her situation - and Claire's and Rose's - was.
"It'll be okay." The voice at her ear and the hand on her shoulder made her freeze in mid sob. "Really, it will."
Jacob gave her a small plastic basket containing everything from soap and shampoo and conditioner to toothpaste and deodorant. There was no razor, but she was also given a soft towel, a flannel for her face, and a change of clothes. These were still hospital clothes, but instead of the tie in the back gown, this change resembled doctor's scrubs with pants and a top.
"You have thirty minutes," Jacob told her. "I'll stay out with Fisher, but after twenty minutes, I will come in after you. Thirty minutes is more than enough time."
The fact that she was allowed to have the entire toilet to herself told Ami that there would be no way to escape, but that didn't stop her from making a quick circuit to check. No windows, no doors and rapping on the mirror revealed that it wasn't made of glass. The shower stalls lacked curtains for privacy, although there were rods in place. (They took out the curtains when they put us here.)
A quick jump and pull revealed that the rods were firmly in the wall. The closet containing the bathtub only contained a bathtub. All of the plumbing was securely mounted as were the drain covers. The only possible and likely escape routes were the two vents on opposite sides of the bathroom; they were far too high up the wall to reach by normal means, and even if it were possible to reach them, without her telekinetic abilities at full strength, Ami didn't know of any way to remove the covers.
It was only as she completed her circuit that Ami noticed the logo on the floor. It was the same one that she'd noticed in the corridor after parting ways with Rose. It hadn't clicked then, but it clicked now.
(Dharma,) Ami thought. (Dharma isn't a thing, it's a group. A business? These so-called doctors and nurses are Dharma.)
Had she and Scott told anyone about what they found? Yes, she remembered after a moment. They'd told Daniel and Blaise; she'd revealed her teleporting abilities. Scott hadn't wanted –
Ami leaned against the wall, her heart constricting in her chest. She missed Scott; she missed not sensing him, not feeling his emotions and knowing his thoughts. It took a separation like this to drive home how dependent she was on him, on how much she needed him there. How much they were a part of one another. Her eyes blurred from rising tears and she choked back a sob. Her knees trembled and it was only leaning against the wall that held her steady.
She was empty and alone.
Ami didn't know how long she cried or how much of her allotted thirty minutes she wasted, and she didn't truly care. Left alone to her own thoughts and devices, she realized just how precarious her situation - and Claire's and Rose's - was.
"It'll be okay." The voice at her ear and the hand on her shoulder made her freeze in mid sob. "Really, it will."
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[Rose] Another round
Date: 2006-07-30 10:04 pm (UTC)The shower was fast, the water tepid and the towel available was so used it was threadbare. At least she got a new, clean gown. They could have either made her wear the old one or parade her about naked. They did that on Calduajaxoria when she’d been mistaken for a revolutionary. Course, when Jack and the Doctor arrived Jack gave each unconscious guard a kick in the balls for good measure. Had the occasional mean streak in him, he did. She’d left there wearing one of those unconscious guard’s pants and the Doctor’s leather jacket.
The hand cuffs were back, and she was marched to the same room as before with her hands cuffed in front of her. She was feeling better today, throbbing face aside. Ami was alive and well. She didn’t even look too roughly manhandled. Besides seeing her she now knew what room she was being kept in.
Rose finger combed her wet hair as Frau Blücher marched in with her clip board.
“You recover very quickly. You passed out from shock yesterday. Today there is evidence of an elevated temperature, but little else.” The woman commented as she took the seat opposite at the table.
“Yeah, well, getting kidnapped, beat up and having to watch a cold blooded murder can take it out of ya. How’s your head there?” Rose looked over to Goon One for the first time since the shower.
He didn’t say a word but he did ball his fists.
“What is your ships energy source?” Frau Blücher asked blandly.
“Don’t know. Don’t know how it’s stored, either. I do know you can’t just pop in at the local BP to fill ‘er up.” Rose started to pick at her nails.
“You mentioned yesterday that it was out of fuel…”
“That’s what the Doctor said. And next you’ll ask how it’s refuellin. It can convert different energies, I think. Like from a space-time rift, or even solar energy to a degree. Any active energy source, I think. Some are slower than others.” Not that the information would do them much good.
“How did Mr. Harkness come to the island?”
Rose looked up. At least they were asking things a bit different now.
“Followed the Tardis. Got a lift from an old acquaintance. Got dropped off, because he didn’t know anything was wrong.” Rose settled her hands in her lap.
“Where is he from?” The woman really needed to put some sort of infliction in her voice.
“America. Iowa. Met him in London.” Rose tried to match the bored tone.
“He’s from the future. We know this, Ms. Tyler. We know a lot of things.” The woman relied.
“Then why bother askin’ me questions? You already know lots of things.” She wished she could cross her arms. Damn handcuffs.
“We don’t know everything. But we will know if you are lying. You have a foreign substance in your system on a subcellular level. What is it?”
Huh? Rose frowned. She already told them about the immunizations. But that shouldn’t be subcellular? Oh… the Dalek from Utah… “Might be something to do with traveling through time. I ran across an alien who needed DNA from a time traveler to revive, I guess you’d call it. So something bout traveling through time has to be different.”
“Do you know the extent of Ms. Jackson’s abilities?” The woman offered a slight smirk.
Okay, so she was letting Rose know they knew Ami could do stuff. Rose didn’t answer right away.
“We are aware that you share a close friendship with Ms. Jackson. You are confidants. We know she has been taken aside by your friend along with her paramour, Scott Hayden-slash-Anderson, Tara Mclay, Thomas Whitehorse and Molly Green. This group of people have certain abilities. What can each of them do?”
Rose clamped her mouth shut.
Oh fuck.
[Ami] A New Face
Date: 2006-07-30 10:51 pm (UTC)"Who are you?" Ami demanded instantly. "Are you a prisoner here?"
"They let me come and check on you," the girl replied. Her answer wasn't really an answer at all. She turned and walked to one of the showers as she talked; she leaned in and the sound of a shower beating down filled the bathroom. "You've used up fifteen minutes and they're very serious about time constraints. The water is warm, and it smells a little like sulfur, but it's a shower, right?"
The girl flashed her a half-smile. When Ami made no move to follow or step forward, the girl returned to her side, this time taking the shower caddy from Ami's hands and carrying it to the shower stall. "I can help with your hair if you like and maximize the time remaining."
"Who are you? Not a nurse?"
"I'm no one," the girl averted her eyes for a moment. She wrung her hands nervously. "Come on, really, you have to take a shower. They're being nice, really they are."
As much as she wanted to argue, Ami didn't. The mysterious girl wasn't going to explain her presence, and Ami did want that shower. She quickly stripped out of her clothes, not particularly caring for modesty, and stepped into the warm spray. As she slipped past Mystery Girl, the girl's voice drifted to her ears in a low whisper in Portuguese, barely registered over the sound of water pounding against the tiles. Ami had to strain to hear her, "I'm going to help you as best I can. It's hard. They're always watching. And he doesn't like me. Or trust me. But I'll try."
"My friends?" Ami asked.
"Yes, as I can." Mystery Girl handed her a bottle of shampoo, branded with the Dharma symbol. "It really is good shampoo."
It was among the shortest, quickest showers and hair washing of Ami's life. Mystery Girl said no more, only doing as she said – helping Ami with her hair and collecting the old clothes and wet towel and shower supplies once Ami was done with them.
Mystery Girl said nothing as she left and by the time Ami exited the lavatory, the girl was no where in site. Ami said nothing to Jacob or Fisher as she was led to her next destination, although she wondered if the girl's words had been real or just another form of psychological torture her captors threw her way.
For the sake of hope and sanity, Ami prayed it was the former.
[Ami] A Old Face, Part I
Date: 2006-08-02 01:13 am (UTC)"Ethan!" She finally hissed. "We knew you couldn't be trusted. You're behind all of it, then?"
Ethan chuckled and the sound sent chills down her spine. "You do give me too much credit, Miss Jackson. I am merely one of many who have been given this unique opportunity." With a measured calm and air of confidence that was nothing like the stuttering, shy loser whom he'd previously presented himself as, Ethan crossed his legs, a tight smile turning up the corners of his mouth. "An opportunity that you have also been given, a chance for learning and exploration. The opportunity to rediscover yourself."
"And that's why I was dragged here against my will? Given drugs and poked in the back with needles?" Ami demanded. She twisted uselessly against Fisher's tight grip on her upper arms – longing to get closer to Ethan and slap him, scratch him, do anything to the one familiar and cold face that she could put on her past two days of torment. "Is this a learning opportunity for Rose as well then?"
"Again, you give me far more credit than I'm due. I am merely an objective observer and interviewer. I convinced my colleagues --"
"You're a lying rat bastard and we should have let Ripley have you when we had the chance!" Ami coughed and spat with all the force that she could, a large glob that landed on Ethan's cheek. "I know what you did! You did something to Lucy and you killed Daisy, you and your bloody colleagues can rot in hell after what you've done –"
She didn't see the blow coming until it was too late. Her head whipped violently to the side, teeth rattling as she bit her tongue and tears sprang to her eyes. Only the restraining grip of Fisher kept her upright, and even then he'd stumbled a bit under the force of the blow. Ami tasted the copper tang of her own blood, and felt the sting that told her that her lip was likely split.
"That was not for spitting in my face, by the way. That was what was owed to you for your part in my ostrasization at the camp. The other," Ethan stepped into her personal space and pulled up the bottom hem of her shirt. Ami twisted and tried to yank it away, to no avail as the man lifted the shirt high enough to reveal her breasts as he wiped his cheek clean. "I can forgive you for considering the great amounts of duress you must find yourself under." He carefully smoothed her top back down, the brush of his fingers against her bare flesh making her want to hurl.
"The drugs were necessary for your own protection. This place is well guarded and shielded. We couldn't have you trying to pull one of your disappearing stunts and splinching yourself, now could we?"
"And Daisy?" Ami challenged. She tried hard to ignore the ache in her jaw or how much it actually hurt to talk. "And Lucy?"
"Lucy was weak and is not a matter of importance. Daisy was a useless bit of baggage and served her purpose well as an object lesson."
"She was a person! She was my friend and Rose's and –"
"Really? From what I saw you spent far too much time screwing Scott to really make any friends. And speaking of Scott, that was a rather quick courtship wasn't it? Do you think that he'll move on and forget you as quickly as he did his other lover? You do know that he has someone else back in that little backwater place that tries to call itself a town?"
[Ami] A Old Face, Part II
Date: 2006-08-02 01:14 am (UTC)"Ah, I see. You think that he's going to come charging in with the cavalry, your white knight to rescue from the evil dragon's lair?" Ethan laughed with genuine amusement. "Oh, my dear girl, please, let me inform you of the truth of the matter: he won't. None of them will, not even your childhood mate, Marmaduke. Why? Because they can't find you, any of you."
"Scott won't give up until he finds me. And … and the Doctor will tear this island apart to find Rose and Locke to find Daisy … and then he'll kill you for what you did to her and –"
"Save your breath, Miss Jackson. Let me make it perfectly clear to you that you're holding onto false hope and it's really not worth it. You're not on the island anymore."
Ami shook her head, "That's not possible. We couldn't get off, we're trapped –"
"And do you honestly think that my benefactors, the people who could provide such lovely calming medications for you, people who could put you in the care of this facility do not have the ability to leave the island? To come and go at will? " Ethan tucked the medical chart under his arm and walked to the door.
"I do think that Mr. Hayden will have a lovely life without you. I'm certain that there are more than a few women left who'd be happy to comfort him in his time of loss and need." With a smile, Ethan opened the door and stepped into the corridor. He stopped long enough to look back over his shoulder and impart a few last words, "We'll talk more later when you've had sufficient time to reassess the situation. I'm sure you'll come to see that working with me as an advocate will help you far more than working against me as the enemy."
Without another word, Ethan walked away. Fisher smirked and released her, following Ethan out of the room and closing the door behind him.
[NPC Ethan] Making and Breaking
Date: 2006-08-02 01:26 am (UTC)The words that greeted Ethan when he stepped into the console room did not surprise him. He nodded curtly at Sakai, following her gaze to Miss Jackson's monitor. The subject in question sat in the middle of her bed, arms wrapped around her legs. Her face was buried in her knees, but even without sound the rocking and trembling of her body narrated her tears and distress.
"I'm doing my job, Dr. Sakai," Ethan informed the woman coolly. "Just as you are doing yours. You have your *professional skills* and I have mine."
"I've seen your professional skills and the results of them, Dr. Rom. She's useless to me broken."
"The mere fact that you are making such a statement tells me that you are not as familiar with my work as you professor, my dear lady." Ethan drifted closer to the monitor, his fingers warmly tracing the distraught image of Miss Jackson before moving to trace the image of Miss Adair. These two women were to be unique challenges, wonderful personalities to be molded and shaped as he wanted them; and with their abilities . . . the thought of the power that could be wielded was more intoxicating than sex.
"I don't break anything that I cannot fix," Ethan told her, his voice a low, whisper, daring her to challenge him. "And when I fix it, it is better than it was before. Most importantly, it is exactly what I want it to be. In this case, what Dharma wants them to be.
"You concentrate on your psionic inhibitors and enzyme extractions and DNA mapping. Leave the magic of the human mind to me."
Ethan gave a longing look at the monitors projecting the images of Miss Tyler and Miss Littleton. In due time, he could begin working with those canvases as well.
He was looking forward to it.
[Ami] Renewed Hope
Date: 2006-08-02 06:34 pm (UTC)Whether or not Ethan could be believed was the biggest question. There were just as many reasons that his words could be true as there were that he was spinning lies to disillusion and discourage her. That he'd known exactly what to say and where to hit, both literally and figuratively, lent more credence to him lying than telling the truth. But if she was a prisoner, and unable to use her abilities, what did he gain by lying?
She licked her lip and winced at the stinging reminder of Ethan's physical "welcome touch." Knowing that she would have struck him back - and probably suffered more for such a move - if she'd been able did nothing to assauge her humiliation. Gingerly, Ami touched her swelling lip and tender jaw, idly focusing on them and wishing she was so incapacitated that she couldn't even heal her injuries.
The tingle and itch in her lip made her gasp.
(I can still heal.)
It was difficult to not cry out in celebration and triumph. They may have stripped her of her awareness and mobility, but her new talent remained. Perhaps her kidnappers didn't know about it or simply made no provisions for dealing with such a trivial ability. Whatever the reason, it didn't matter; Ami was able to do something. With time, patience, a little perserverance and more time to acclimate to their medications, she might soon be able to do more than tip over a plastic cup.
Hope renewed, Ami completed healing the marks left by Ethan and Fisher on her face and arms, then returned her attention to the plastic cup with renewed determination.