crossing_lostrp | [Ami] Half-Light

Current Mood: discontent
Current Location: medical facility

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captivity

[Ami] Half-Light

Five, maybe six days into her captivity, she'd lost count at the beginning and couldn't be certain, Ami's life fell into a routine: breakfast, shower, "interview" with Ethan, lunch and then an indeterminate stretch where she might be left to her devices, subjected to more blood tests and injections, or drilled and questioned by a clinically cold Asian woman. While Ethan psychoanalyzed her, always under the pretense of making her life "here more comfortable" – and Ami never for one moment doubted that it was pretense – the woman bombarded her with questions regarding her abilities and how far she could stretch them. Unlike Ethan, Dr. Sakai – Ami tricked the dinner nurse, Steph, into revealing the name of the woman on the fourth evening – did not hold the captivity of Ami's friends over her head as a threat, though she did reveal and hint at far deeper and greater knowledge than she should have had regarding Ami and Megabyte, the Tomorrow People in general, Scott, Walt, River and Mara than the woman should have been privy to.

Sakai's questions were concise and direct without subterfuge. When they were not, they were simply confusing and frustrating and often embarrassing.

"Did either of your parents have paranormal abilities?"

"No," Ami repeated the same answer that she'd given the day before and the day before that. "I've told you this before. No, my parents were both perfectly normal."

"Grandparents? Aunts? Uncles? Cousins?"

"No already! Am I even speaking English?"

"No brothers or sisters?"

Ami folded her arms beneath her breasts and glared at the woman from the pseudo-safety of her bed. She'd long grown tired of answering the same questions over and over again.

Dr. Sakai returned her stare for a long moment. Finally, heaving a sigh, she flipped to another page in her clipboard. "Are you fertile? Have you ever monitored or measured your fertility?"

*That* was new. Ami actually felt herself frown before she could stop it. "I don't know. No. Why would I?"

"Is your partner fertile?"

"What's that got to do with anything? You're holding me here to find out what Scott's sperm count is? Rather have that arse over tit, don't you, then?" Ami learned early on that trying not to name names or identify her fellow survivors and castaways served no practical purpose. Sakai knew the people, and pretending only made the questioning sessions drag onward.

"How often would you say that you and Mr. Hayden engaged in sexual intercourse on a daily basis?"

The question angered her, mortified her and saddened her all at once. It was none of this woman's business, this woman – this pseudo-doctor who held her captive against her will and was keeping her *away* from Scott, didn't have the right to ask such things or to expect an answer. The asking itself reminded her of the ache and emptiness she felt, of the hollow just beyond her senses where Scott should have been, but couldn't be felt.

"None of your bloody business."

"Did you have intercourse the morning before you were brought here?"

"I'm not going to answer that!"

She didn't answer, and those questions were never asked again.

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(Gotta stay awake, gotta stay...awake,) Daisy told herself. Her eyelids felt terribly heavy. Every blink seemed to take a little longer. Ami was chattering at her, trying to engage her attention. That was good. Daisy tried to focus on Ami's voice, but it kept fading in and out.

Daisy looked blearily around the room. The console in front of her had numerous drawers. There was a metal cabinet standing in the corner of the room. A first aid kit hung on the wall. Two guards lying on the floor.

And a guard standing in the middle of the room clutching his head and rocking back and forth chanting, "This isn't happening. This isn't happening! Oh God, this isn't happening!" Over and over again.

"Hey," Daisy said. Her voice was softer than she'd intended. No reaction. "Hey!" she shouted as loudly as she could, which wasn't very.

His head whipped around and he stared at Daisy. "You--you can see me?"

(Of course I can see you, you idiot,) Daisy thought. But it was too much effort to say all that, so she just said, "yes."

"Am--am I dead?" he asked. "I'm dead, aren't I?"

Before he could wind himself up again, Daisy shook her head. "No...not dead. I can...save you. But I--" she took a deep breath and tried to shake off the drug's effects a little longer. She plucked out the dart that was still protruding from her stomach and dropped it to the floor.

"Anti...antidote?"

The guard reached for the back of his belt, then hesitated. His eyes strayed to the form--his form--lying on the floor. "On his--my--belt. The autoinjector. There."

Daisy turned to look. She leaned toward him and tumbled out of the chair, falling next to the comatose body of the guard. She groped for the object, which resembled nothing so much as a fat Magic Marker.

"What is it?" Ami asked. She sounded suspicious--and who could blame her?

"It--it's a Narcan autoinjector. It--it..." the guard struggled for words for a moment. "Neutralizes! It neutralizes narcotics--like the sedative in the darts."

Daisy looked at it, then at the guard. She closed her eyes, just for a moment. Ami asked the question for her. "How do you use it?"

The guard's voice came to her from a great distance. "J-just take the cap off and press it against your leg for a few seconds. It's spring-loaded."

Daisy thought about doing that. It seemed like a hell of a lot of work. Maybe in a second.... She jerked awake with Ami leaning over her, yelling at the top of her lungs, telling her to stay awake.

Daisy looked at the gadget in her hand. She wasn't eager to try it, but it was now or never. She pried the gray cap off, drew a shaky breath and jabbed it against her thigh. She felt the needle punch into her leg. The drug felt cold. Daisy held the injector in place as long as she could, but the darkness rose up and engulfed her again....

OOC: Narcan takes about two minutes to have an effect, but for the moment Ami is on her own.

I finally got some time to catch up on reading and woohoo! This is fantastic! *bounce*

Ami swore quite colorfully in English, Portuguese, French and Spanish as Daisy collapsed into oblivion. She glared at the guard, "What did you do to her? What did you give her?"

"Narcon! I swear," the guard insisted, shrinking into the wall as much as he could. "It doesn't work instantly. But it will work."

Ami continued to glare for a moment. "It better." She returned her attention to the bank of monitors, her attention divided between Claire and Rose, and the scurrying that was starting in the corridors. She really hoped that Daisy woke up before the reinforcements arrived. She saw two nurses, one each, hurry into Claire's and Rose's rooms. The nurses, Mr. Nice and Steph, were armed with the same tranq guns that the guards had. Ami watched edgily as they drifted around the room, until it became clear that they were only guarding the patients.

In the corridors, she saw Alex and a woman she'd never seen before. The woman and Alex were apparently arguing, with the woman trying to drag Alex towards a door. Alex fought back, jerking away, before finally slumping in defeat. Satisfied, the woman turned to the door, punching in a code, followed by the biometric scans Ami saw previously. The door opened, and though she strained Ami couldn't see what was on the other side.

"Your friend is a crazy bitch!" The guard called out from behind her.

"She's desperate, not mad," Ami corrected him. "I'd say our situations here are pretty desperate."

"It's for science and the greater good!"

Ami whirled on the man, angry. "You're no scientist. You're in it for the greater paycheck!" Instinctively she gave him a mental slap. Evidently it worked on the non-corporeal because he winced and clutched at his head as though he had a headache.

Horrified at herself, Ami backed away, whipping her eyes away from him and back to the monitors. Alex scurried back in the door she'd exited, drawing it closed behind her. (What the--)

"Be useful," Ami ordered the guard. "That door. Where does it go?" She pointed at the monitor.

"Out. Outside," the guard's words were tired and scared.

"Outside," Ami breathed. (Exit.)

The calvary was approaching their position. There wasn't much time left. And they didn't have a plan.

(Wake up, Daisy, come on, wake up!)

On the monitors, Alex ducked into Rose's room and spoke to Mr. Nice. Their body language was indicative of disagreement, but soon he turned and exited the room. As the door closed behind him, Alex gave a cheerful wave to the camera and crossed to Rose's bed. She fiddled with something she removed from her pocket; Ami only realized it was an empty syringe when Alex recapped it and placed it on the hospital tray.

With antoher smile, she flashed something metallic at the camera, too fast for Ami to see what it was. That was until she stepped back and crossed to the other side of Rose's bed.

Alex had uncuffed Rose, who was beginning to tremble on the bed.

Consciousness returned with shattering suddenness. It felt like being awakened by having a firehose turned on you--a firehose full of icy water. Daisy thrashed and gasped, trying to get away from it but there was no escape. She came to quivering alertness kneeling on the floor of the security office. She felt so awake and sober her teeth hurt.

"Jesus, what was that?" she asked the room at large.

"N-Narcan," the security guard said from where he was lurking near the far wall. "It always affects people that way." He edged a little closer. "You said..." he began. "You promised," he pointed at the body on the floor next to Daisy. His body.

"Yeah, yeah," Daisy said. She looked around and then stretched out an arm to pick up the dart pistol he'd used on her. "Come here," she said.

"W-what are you going to do with that?"

Daisy snapped her fingers impatiently, glancing at the monitors. "Are we going to do this or not?" she asked.

The guard edged closer, holding out his hand, clearly unhappy. Daisy grabbed his wrist and yanked him off-balance so he fell. He fell across--or in some strange way, into--his vacant body and the ghostly form vanished. The unconscious guard stirred.

Daisy shot him with the dart pistol and he went still again. Then she dropped the pistol and turned to Ami. "What did I miss?"

I am so loving Daisy here. Loving this thread. Loving the insanity and the proactive escaping goodness.

Thanks, I'm glad you're liking it. It's fun!

Rose watched the kid warily. She was one big muscle ache, and her head was throbbing like a drum. The kid was a new variable. She hadn't seen her in this hell before. But she wielded a needle, which she had jabbed into Rose's thigh.

"Now I'm getting the nursing students?" Rose didn't even bother tugging at the cuffs.

"Nah, you're getting an antiestablishment rebel... sort of." The girl unlocked the cuffs.

Rose rubbed her wrists, noting the red rings. There were no guards. And the kid was flashing the key and the syringe at the camera.

"You're trying to trick me, yeah?" Rose curled into herself a bit. She hated that she was shaking. "See if I try to take the bait so you can hurt Ami or Claire. I've faced mindfucks before, ya know."

"Your friends are making their own luck. They're in the surveillance room right now. Well, one and a half of them."

Rose frowned, trying to work out the riddle. "Ami and Claire? Claire had the baby?"

"Nope. Be ready for it."

Rose sat up straight as she felt the sudden jolt of energy hit her system. It had been a stimulant. She felt like she should be running for her life, or towards danger, or any of the other mad, exhilarating things she usually did with the Doctor.

"Come on, we have to move," Alex prompted Rose, helping the woman off of the bed. She didn't know how long they had before the place went into full lockdown, or what the reprecussions would be if Dr. Carlson got pissed off enough, but then again, Alex didn't intend to let Rose, Claire, Daisy or Ami be around long enough to find out.

(And at least I got Reenie to safety.)

"Once we're in the hall, I'll get you through the main door. It's security locked. Just keep straight down the hall and you'll come to the security room. That's where Daisy is."

"What are you going to do?" Rose demanded.

"I'm going to rescue Claire," Alex grinned giddily.

*This* really was fun.

We seem to be making a habit of cross posting tonight. ::grin::

Actually, I didn't think it was cross-posting. This post flows nicely into your Rose one, I thought.

Relieved to see that Daisy was up and alert again, Ami resisted the urge to run to the woman and give her a hug. Actually, she didn't know if she could give Daisy a hug, and that helped the resistance. It was unsettling to wonder what would happen if she ran thru Daisy or some other weirdness.

To distract herself from the unsettling imagery, Ami indicated the monitor with a slight nod of her head. "Alex is freeing Rose. One of the nurses, Steph, I think, is guarding Claire. And we've trouble headed in this direction."

"Who's Alex?"

"The girl," Ami waved at the screen again. "I don't know her story. I don't think she's a prisoner, but I don't think she's completely free either. And," Ami pointed at a different monitor, "That's the exit. The way out of here."

Worrying her lip nervously, Ami looked away from the monitors to face Daisy. "How long is it safe like this? For me?"

"Would you stop that infernal clattering?"

Claire stuck her tongue out at the nurse and carried on knitting. She was making a blanket for the baby, although at this rate is was going to be a scarf for an adult. A big long stripy scarf with lots of colours, because her crafty skills really weren't up to things like sleeves and booties (a bit like the palm weaving), but bog-standard stockinette seemed to be going well and she was too happy to get stressed about doing anything technical when the Dharma people were going to be looking after the baby anyw-

"I. Said. Stop!"

Claire yelped as the needles were ripped from her hands and locked in the medical cabinet. "What did you do that for?"

"Is a bit of piece and quiet too much to ask for?" the evil cow retorted before returning to her post by the door.

Scowling, Claire cast about for something else to do. It was bad enough being holed up in here rather than outside without the bitch over there disrupting the few pleasures she was allowed to enjoy. Apparently anything too strenuous might increase her blood pressure, and that was a bad thing, but where caging her with Nurse Irritable fell on the scale Claire had no idea. Normally she'd be chatting with Ethan at this time of day, which was nice and fun and soooo much better than the silent grouchy one over there, who was supposedly looking after her but spent more time watching the door than anything.. medical. Whatever it was that nurses were meant to do.

Something bright caught Claire's eye: a book of nursery rhymes. She'd been singing them to the baby most days and had gotten fed up with reading the same thing over and over and over again, but this was different.

She leaned over and grabbed the book, smiling sweetly at the nurse when she looked over, then opened it up at random. Excellent choice!

"Ring a ring o'roses
A pocketful of posies
Ah-tishoo! Ah-tishoo!
We all fall d-"

"Shut up!"

"Stop interrupting me!" Claire bit back. "I'm supposed to be cool calm and collected over here, all nice for the baby, and you're so wound up and nasty that I can't!"

The nurse strode over to the bed, brandishing her funny gun thing. "Do you want me to use this on you?"

Claire drew her knees up, wriggling backwards into her pillows as the book fell away. "Ethan said he wouldn't let anyone sedate me any more, that it'd be dangerous. Where is he?"

"'Where's Ethan?'" the evil woman sneered, once she'd gotten over a sudden fit of the giggles. "Don't even bloody tempt me. Now what?"

Looking down at the floor, Claire shook her head. She was terrified of this woman and she didn't even know why - everything had been so nice for the last few days.. Then she remembered. This woman had taunted her when she'd first arrived, back when they'd been asking all those questions. Sooooo many questions. But she'd been nasty, the nurse that was. And Claire too? Really? No... surely not. This place was happy, jolly, good, sweet, cheerful, all that nice stuff, just for the baby.

She looked up, biting her lip. "I need the loo."

"Oh no you don't."

"I do!" Claire re-iterated, wide-eyed at the thought of lying. Teasing maybe, but not about this. "Really, I have to go all the time these days."

"Well you'll just have to hold on, won't you?" the nurse ground out, scrunching her face up like she was about to pop as she flushed red from the neck upwards.

Someone else went red like that, but Claire couldn't remember who. Probably herself. A kick to the bladder brought her back to the present.

"I can't! Hold on I mean! C'mon, what's the problem - it won't take long?" she pleaded, wriggling for emphasis. "It'll stink in here otherwise, you know it will!"

"God, too many happy meds really is a bad thing.." the nurse muttered angrily, looking out the window frantically while clicking her radio. It was silent. "Ok, but we're going to have to run."

Claire smiled her thanks brightly, but she did have to correct the woman on one point. "I don't run, I waddle. You could always push me in the wheelchair?"

"Argh!" Nurse Volcano vented, tucking the gun-thing into her belt as she unfolded the contraption. "Ok, get over here sharpish. They really don't pay me enough for this!"

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[Ami] Half-Light

[Daisy] Hey, If It Works.... (tag Ami)

OOC

[Ami] Hey, If It Works.... (tag Rose, Daisy)

[Daisy] Rude Awakening (tag Ami)

OOC:

Re: OOC:

[Rose] Huh… is this a revolution?

[Alex] Getting a Move on (tag Rose)

OOC:

Re: OOC:

[Ami] Up to Speed (tag Daisy)

[Claire] Loo break? (tag open)