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Post by Neri on Jun 22, 2012 7:17:52 GMT -6
Neri dampened the cloth then pressed it against her face. The long night had tired her. She peered past her reflection to Mera laying upon the cot. Finally, it seemed, Mera was at her ease, in a deep sleep that had taken most of the night to arrive.
As she pressed the cloth against her face again, she let her fingers massage the ache at her temples. It had been a long time since she'd been so tired and she knew unless she rested completely, she would be felled by a major headache.
The other woman, Nhali, was clearer in her mind now. But the connect between Mera and her, still puzzled her. What had happened? It was not normal.
Only close kin, and those to be joined could mindspeak so clearly to another. Some, never developed that ability, she frowned as the thoughts raced through her mind. She wet the cloth again, barely squeezing the water from it as she moved to her quarters. The cot beckoned and she eased down upon it with a sigh.
Nhali was not the only thing that troubled her. Yuris. How had he dared. And Mera.
What would Mother and Father say when they found out?
For a certainty, they could do nothing about it. What was done was done. The fallout, however, worried her more. It was enough Yuris had wanted to ......
A moment later the cloth fell from her hand as sleep overtook her and drew her deep into it's soft cocoon.
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Post by Neri on Jun 28, 2012 10:34:06 GMT -6
Several hours later a soft chime awoke her. She stretched as she rose, glancing at Mera. Appearing to be well asleep, Mera stay curled tightly against herself.
Neri headed to the front, tapping out a sequence of keys before she settled back against the seat. The stream of data moved across the vidscreen. The words, bringing a smile to her face.
They were going to come. Good.
She settled back against the seat, resting her head against the headrest. So, if they were coming, what needed to be done.
They could just wait.
Or.......
She laughed softly, rising to her feet to head to the lower exit port.
It was time for a swim.
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moadeep
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Post by moadeep on Jun 29, 2012 1:34:31 GMT -6
Jason had discovered very quickly that being an orderly meant doing all the menial jobs that the more educated were too good for. The shift before last had been spent in the "assisted feeding" area, which hadn't been so bad until one of the crazy ones had decided he was really her husband. That...had been awkward. When the female orderly had attempted to rescue him, the woman had gone nuts and called the other orderly "harlot" and "stealer of husbands". It would have been funny if it hadn't been so difficult to contain. So he was off of "assisted feeding" for the foreseeable. He rolled the laundry cart down the hall, quietly going into rooms and doing his duty. He just hoped he didn't get called in to restrain another patient. The last one had been...he shied away from that thought and tried to focus on other things. Like the stench coming from the laundry cart. Phew. Well, it may have smelled like slung dung, but at least he wasn't covered in it like the pureed dinners from his last shift in the dining hall...
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Nhali
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Post by Nhali on Jun 29, 2012 1:59:33 GMT -6
She sat quietly, staring out the window. The sheet of glass broken into panes by the lines of metal that framed and filled it. The light that spilled through the window set a broken pattern upon the floor.
She stared out at the nothingness until the creaky wheel of one of the laundry carts drew nearer down the hall.
Giving a glance at the door, she tucked under the sheet, curling up in a ball. The sound drew closer still until she heard the rattle of keys in the door.
The cart slowly bumped against the edge of the door as a man eased around it's side.
She whimpered and curled up tighter, recognizing him from another time.
Frightened, she watched as he moved closer, wincing as he pulled the sheet from atop her. As she felt the cool cloth move down her legs and over her feet, she jumped to her bare feet, whispering. "Please don't hurt me."
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moadeep
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Live! Live! Live! Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!
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Post by moadeep on Jun 29, 2012 14:29:46 GMT -6
Jason started. Had he really been so out of it that he'd started to strip a bed that had someone still in it? "I'm so sorry, I-" "Please don't hurt me." He stopped, hands in the air in a calming gesture, the sheet forgotten where it had dropped by his feet. "I...I'm not going to hurt you, I just, " He stooped and picked up the edge of the sheet in one hand, "Laundry. I'm just gathering dirty linens. Changing the bed. That's all." He tried to keep his voice calm, recognizing the patient in front of him, "Just...sheets. See?" He pointed at his laundry cart. He tried to move slowly and calmly as he stuffed the sheet in the cart and edged toward the bed to get the other. He eyed her warily as he loosened the corners closest to him.
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Nhali
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Post by Nhali on Jun 29, 2012 14:55:35 GMT -6
She kept huddled tight to the wall, watching him as carefully as he appeared to watch her. As he tugged the sheet from the bed, a faint hint of memory came to her fogged mind.
Sheets blowng in a breeze.
Wind.
The wind.
She closed her eyes, reaching out with her hand, as if trying to find something that was lost. What did it feel like? Wind. Was it warm? Hot? Hot....hot...
She whimpered and cringed closer to the wall. Heat. They hurt her. She felt on fire. She didn't like heat. She ..didn't.
Her eyes opened, panic in them as she whispered.
"help me......help"
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moadeep
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Live! Live! Live! Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!
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Post by moadeep on Jun 29, 2012 15:09:34 GMT -6
He stood there with the sheet in his hands, half stripped from the bed. He backed up a little as her hand reached out, then paused as she cringed back. "Help me...help." He looked back into the hall behind him, desperately hoping for a passing nurse, doctor, anyone with authority who could tell him what to do. He dithered as he glanced between her and the door. It was hard enough dealing with a senile old woman who thought he was her husband. A woman who could take as many volts as this one had? He looked at her desperate, panicked face and had no clue what to do. Tentatively he held out an open hand, "It...It'll be okay. I'll...find a nurse?" His voice trailed off as he heard how helpless he sounded.
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Nhali
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Post by Nhali on Jun 29, 2012 15:24:58 GMT -6
Immediately tears sprung to her eyes. "No, no...." she clutched at his hand for a moment, releasing it as she hugged her arms around herself. "I'm not....I'm not.....crazy." the words as broken as her expression.
She rubbed her wrist against her head, seeming distracted and lost. The grey fog that would surround her each time they took her to that room seemed to grow. Lucid moments of memory and thought seemed to get farther and farther apart.
"Don't let them take me ....I don't want to forget again." She knew inside that each time more of her would be lost. She was afraid she'd never return from that shadowed fog.
'I want a door, I want..." she hesitated again, her pleading look taking him in. "help me, you're ..you...not like ..." she gave a half gesture to the open door. The very openness began to set more of an unease in her. What if they came? What if they came now?
"please, help me" she pleaded again.
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moadeep
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Live! Live! Live! Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!
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Post by moadeep on Jun 29, 2012 15:52:13 GMT -6
He froze at the momentary touch of her hand, then listened to her broken phrases. He was silent, maybe a little stunned. She seemed...fragile, broken, but maybe sane? He hadn't been working here long enough to know what to do, but he was pretty sure helping a mental patient escape was not part of his job description. He scrubbed his hand over his head and eyed her and the door again. His eye caught. He'd left the door open. He snorted again and shook his head. Now that, he knew, was more than likely enough to get him fired. He glanced back at the girl and scratched behind his ear. This dithering was getting him nowhere, and if he didn't make a decision, it would more than likely be made for him. He huffed out a breath. "Cart. Get in the cart."
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Nhali
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Post by Nhali on Jun 29, 2012 16:22:40 GMT -6
She looked at him blankly for a moment, until she began to realize what he meant. For a brief second a look of relief crossed her eyes and she smiled at him. The moment passed quickly and she placed her hand on the cart, trying to think. Trying to see how to get in.
Unconsciously she mimiced his gestures, rubbing her hand over her head in confusion. She pushed the cart away from the bed, still trying to think out to get in the cart without it flipping over. As her knee brushed the side of the bed she gave a soft huff as she put it together.
Tugging the cart next to the bed, she stood on the bed then stepped cautiously onto the pile of laundry that half filled the cart. Her eyes flitted up to his, as if asking if she was right.
A moment later she curled up upon the soiled laundry, never noticing the smell that wafted up and lingered now around her.
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moadeep
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Live! Live! Live! Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!
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Post by moadeep on Jun 29, 2012 18:43:14 GMT -6
He covered her with the second sheet from her bed, then arranged some of the other soiled linens on top of it. He hoped she'd be able to breathe, but that wasn't his primary concern right now. He quickly made the bed with fresh sheets and left the room, closing the door carefully behind him. He tried to keep a calm expression on his face, pretending he was spacing out while doing a monotonous task. He kept along his assigned path and nodded when he saw other workers. The back of his collar was getting sticky from anxiety sweat as he neared the end of his rounds and shift. Why hadn't there been an alert yet? How the hell was he going to get this girl out of here? Why was he even doing this? He didn't realize it, but his face remained calm and pleasant, not letting a hint of his frantic thoughts through.
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Nhali
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Post by Nhali on Jun 29, 2012 19:06:21 GMT -6
She'd tunnelled her arm down the pile of sheets, feeling the canvassed material. The position of her arm, lent her space around her face and thought warm and stuffy, she found breathing not too difficult. Then again, after being shocked, strapped and enclosed in a straight jacket, the relative freedom of hiding in a bin of dirty sheets seemed rather expansive.
The warmth with the press of fabric upon her and the knowledge she was not locked in the room relaxed her until she felt into a doze. As Jason continued his rounds, the doze became deeper until she settled into a relaxed sleep. The first unmedicated sleep she'd had for a very long time.
Meals were taken to the residents at seven. Unless there were treatment sessions, no one would realize she was out of the room until then. After all, how could she get out of a locked room?
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moadeep
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Live! Live! Live! Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!
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Post by moadeep on Jun 29, 2012 21:24:42 GMT -6
He rolled the cart into one of the laundry rooms and breathed a huge sigh of relief when it proved empty. There was no reason to think anyone else would be here, he was the only one gathering linens on this floor and the launderers wouldn't be coming 'til evening. He locked the door, just to be safe, and gingerly started poking the heap in his cart. "Psst," He couldn't speak above a whisper, the nerves had him so bad, "Uh...girl...person. I don't know your name. You need to come out now." He poked at the heap, then sighed and started digging into the stinky cloth with a grimace.
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Nhali
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Post by Nhali on Jun 29, 2012 21:50:30 GMT -6
;D
She didn't feel the first poke. Barely felt the second. Woke and tensed as she fet somene burrowing through the laundry. His hand brushed her arm, her breath coming out in a soft sigh as she realized it was him.
She rubbed her eyes and tried to focus on his words. Out. He said out.
Quickly she thrust the sheets from her, hesitating as she saw the laundry romm.
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moadeep
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Live! Live! Live! Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!
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Post by moadeep on Jun 29, 2012 22:24:11 GMT -6
He jumped back a bit as she emerged, wrinkling his nose. He looked around the room, his brain scrambling for a plan. His eyes lit on a cupboard and he smiled. He turned to the girl, "There's a sink over there, could you,"he pantomimed,"clean yourself up a bit?" He opened up the cupboard and glance through the spare scrubs, guessing at the girl's size.
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