Roleplayer Guild - Roleplay Forum

Mechanical Possession

Chant and Child studied the dimly lit interior of the lab. The machines were impressive. It was difficult to see, but wiring, computer monitors, and enormous, metal boxes housing mazes of circuit boards and even more wiring stretched for as far into the darkness as their eyes could strain. Machines beeped and ticked, and the small, continuous clicking and whirring of hard drive access could be heard all about them.

They were not supposed to be in Divap's lab. It wouldn't really matter, since they were friends and all, but the fact that they had barged in made things uneasy. This was especially the case since Divap wasn't even home. Chant and Child, however, had never seen the lab, and had even doubted that it existed until now. It was indeed impressive.

These sorts of labs were becoming startlingly common these days amongst children around the age of sixteen or younger. How they managed to gather the parts or the knowledge to construct something of this sort was just as big of a mystery as why they did it.

Divap wasn't a child like most of the other lab owners, though. He was twenty-three years old, one year older than Chant, and two years older than Child. The fact that he constructed and owned such a lab was unusual, and maybe even immature. He had spoken of it only in passing on rare occasion, as though he was ashamed of his creation, and wanted to hide it.

"Look at the monitors," Chant mumbled to Child, pointing to one of two huge screens hanging from the ceiling. "Think of the games we could play."

Child nodded. Gaming would be incredible on this sort of monster system. All he had at home was a PC. Divap's machines weren't designed for gaming, though. And, as far as Chant and Child knew, Divap had never owned a game in his life. Also as far as Chant and Child knew, this was the most impressive system on the face of the planet. This was most certainly not the case, though. Impressive as Divap's machines might be, they didn't even begin to light a candle to most of the inventions of the children.

A metallic clunking sound could be heard from somewhere behind Chant and Child, evidence that Divap was back. They looked at each other and exchanged a few harsh words, then headed for separate dark corners in the structure. There was only a single fluorescent light in the center of the structure, leaving most of the nooks and crannies of the basement shrouded in darkness.

Divap stepped into that light and looked around. It was obvious that someone had been in there, but he wasn't really surprised. It was only a matter of time before someone found the place and poked around. At least they hadn't taken anything.

He snorted, then headed for a strange device on the wall. "Almost done," he grumbled to himself. The device was shaped like a cross, and there were harnesses for the head, feet, and wrists. There were also countless tubes, most with needles or fasteners on the ends, protruding from the peculiar device.

From the presumed entrance, a metallic bang reverberated through the small, dark room. Many voices could be heard, and the sound of boots marching on pavement pounded through Divap's head.

Divap had no idea what to do, so he just stood in the light, staring blankly towards the sounds. A small squad of soldiers clad in clunky black armor and helmets covering their entire heads and faces marched up and surrounded him in a half-circle. Still with no words on his tongue, Divap moved his lips without sound. Then, without hesitation, the soldier in the middle of the group raised his sidearm to Divap's face and unleashed a round into his skull, which exploded like a pumpkin being smashed on the sidewalk. Divap's lifeless body plopped down onto the concrete floor, where the soldier popped two more rounds into his chest.

Chant and Child were horrified at the succinct, ultra violence they had just witnessed. Child held back vomit while Chant did his best to keep conscious. Why had this happened? What had Divap done to deserve this?

The leader began a transmission on his radio. "Beta seven, red squad, target elimination completed and confirmed. Awaiting further instructions."

From inside the helmet, muffled radio talk could be heard. "Acknowledged. Moving to sector three," the lead soldier replied. He motioned to his squad. "Get moving. Sweep team will be here in a few hours. Go! We have at least six sectors to clear tonight!”

The marching of the soldiers trailed off as they exited the lab. Chant and Child wandered out of their hiding places. Child could no longer hold his vomit, and released it onto the floor. Chant turned away, resting his hands on his knees, and clenching his eyes shut, trying to get the image out of his head. With all of his strength, he forced himself into action, and turned to Child.

"Come on," he whispered. Child nodded, spitting, and wiping his mouth and eyes with the back of his arm.

Two hours later, Chant and Child had gathered a small audience at the Citi Cafe downtown. It was more of a nightclub than a cafe, and loud techno pounded through the heads of dancers moving under the strobe lights. A lot of teenagers came here to hang out, most of them high off their asses. It was one of the few places that still had a heartbeat in the nearly abandoned city.

"Divap is dead?" Regard, a nineteen year-old female asked.

"Yeah," Child replied, his brow furrowed. "They shot him in the face."

"They’re looking for more, too,” Chant added. “Most of the kids with the labs are only what? Fourteen?”

And idea was postulating in Chant’s head. It sounded crazy, even to him.

“Maybe we can get to some of them before they do,” he blurted after a moment’s hesitation.

They was a very ambiguous term. Who were those people? Government agents?

The general reaction of Chant's friends was less than satisfying, which did not at all surprise him. A few however, agreed. All that was left now was to go to it.

Rules
1. Only open to the first three posters. After that, no one else may join.
2. Create a character loosely resembling yourself as a young adult.
3. Your first post will be your character agreeing to go with Chant and Child.
4. EDIT: Forgot to mention, some of the material in this thread may disturb more sensitive readers. If you want to know exactly what I mean, send me a PM (specifics may include spoilers).

One more note: For the time being, I will be playing the part of both Chant and Child.

Have fun!