N.A.P.F.I.T. [IC]

[Mozag]

N.A.P.F.I.T.
(The North American Penitentiary For Introverted Teenagers)

"Is it worth it? To give up your very free will for your freedom?"


(IntChk/OOC/IC)

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The sunrise shone brilliantly over the mountaintops, illuminating the earth. Birds begin to sing their songs, and the animals of the forest come out once more.

You might say that the twelve foot fence sprawling in the forest would alarm the animals, but it had been thirty years, and no one seemed to take real notice of it. In the distance, within the fence, the tall glass mansion reflected the sight before the animals; surreal, and beautiful.

Its glass walls and dark wood finishes on what lacked glass stood four stories in height. Pools, arcades, and other things of the like lay inside and outside the facilities. A calm field of tall grass surrounded the place, and much of the woods lay inside the fence as well.

At 11:52 AM, exactly on time. The black transport van entered the area, opening the gates and closing them behind. They clicked shut, the deadbolt locking together.

Inside the mansion, dark silhouettes rushed to fix the remainder of the mansion. Figures cleaned pools, made beds, and vacuumed. Once the black van was in sight, they dispersed, into their separate, and hidden, quarters. The black van with no windows pulled forward, on its predestined path, and lurched to a halt in front of the mansion, the doors clicking open by radio.

The people inside knew little about this place. They were told it would be evil, diabolical, but nothing like this. It was so....nice.

The first to step out of the darkness of the car was a skinny, dark haired teenager, about 16, who wanted little more than to exit the car filled with people. Needless to say, however, it was quite quiet on the ride there.

Michael’s prison clothes shined brightly in the sunlight, even inside the mansion. A small table sat in the middle of the huge entry room, holding many names and envelopes. Michael silently picked up the one stating “Michael Moore”. Inside was a card, and a note, explaining that the card would allow them into their room and floor.

“Well, might as well start socializing now...” Michael mumbled under his breath. But first he wanted to check his room out. Stepping into the elevator, Michael pressed the button, labeled boy’s dorms, but nothing happened. Suddenly, a loudspeaker came over the entire mansion.

“HELLO!” A male voice shouted, far too loud for comfort. “WELCOME TO THE N.A.P.F.I.T! I AM CARL, THE PRE-RECORDED ANNOUNCER! I WILL TELL YOU THINGS YOU MAY NEED TO KNOW. AND THE FIRST THING YOU NEED TO KNOW IS THAT ALL ELEVATORS AND DOORS OUT OF THIS ROOM WILL BE LOCKED UNTIL ACCURATE AMOUNTS OF SOCIALIZATION OCCUR! IF NONE OCCUR, GOD HELP YOU.”

The voice cut back off as as quickly as it had come. Sighing, Michael saw, in the courner of the room, a large circular couch, complete with drinks already on the table. He walked over to the table and picked up a glass, then sat down. This was going to be a long year.

[Jason Welsh]

Aiden was sure to sit near the front right side of the crowded school auditorium. They were about to announce which of the thousands of students were about to be forcibly removed from everything they knew and sent to NAPFIT. There was a good chance of his being selected, he knew that much, but he had no intention of actually going.

The principal tore open the envelope from behind the podium up onstage. Aiden examined his surroundings, ready to dart backstage at any moment, planning out exactly what he would do, everything from jumping over the seat in front of him to pushing open the nearest door to the school parking lot.

The seconds creeped by slowly. The principal pulled the piece of paper from the envelope. Once he was outside then what? His car was on the other side of the lot. He shrunk down in his seat, wishing he could have just hid out in a bathroom. Why didn’t he think of it earlier?

He unfolded the letter carefully. Aiden had a map of every hall in the school lined out in his head, trying to plan out the perfect escape route but knowing that it would probably be useless. He thought it out in his head, but then suddenly remembered the back door to the materials room. If he could make it to that door, it would be a shorter run to his car.

The principal cleared his throat, obviously regretful about making the announcement and condemning a student. Aiden got ready with a pencil in his right hand and his car keys in his left, both hands concealed inside pockets. He knew what he was going to do. One of the government agents slowly paced towards the door he was planning to run out of.

The principal looked around, as if trying to see who would get chosen. He looked down and then grabbed the microphone, sadly saying the name “William Smith”

Aiden jumped forward and ran towards the door. The agent grabbed him by the shoulder, and Aiden twisted his arm so he could stab him in the forearm with the pencil. He didn’t miss a beat after that. He ran, pushed through the door, up the ramp, through another door, into the hallway... The hall was empty. He was lucky. He ran to the materials room, and...

The door was locked! He looked behind him, 2 agents were bursting through the door that he just came out of. The stairs! He ran the other direction as fast as he could, knowing it would probably be too late. He was almost at the door, he turned to push it open... arms wrapped around his torso. He thrashed, but he couldn’t escape.

There were men yelling behind him. A hand clenched his jaw and forced it open. He kicked and screamed. Something was dropped inside and it slid down his throat before he could react. That was the last thing that he remembered.

Aiden woke up. At least he thought he did. His eyes were open but he couldn’t see anything. The room bounced, and he realized it wasn’t a room. He was in the back of a moving vehicle. He moaned and tried to look around. He saw faint outlines of people that he assumed were government agents.

He exhaled and looked down. “You can’t do this you know” he said. He didn’t know what to do. He was strapped to his seat and handcuffed, there was nothing that he even could do. It was hopeless, all he could do was wait. He slowly drifted back to sleep with the knowledge that he would soon be ending up in a hellish place called NAPFIT.

He was standing somewhere. It was bright, the middle of the day and he was outside. He was in a grassy field and there was a pond and a stream nearby. He knelt down in front of the stream and watched the water peacefully flow over the rocks. It was just like home. He was home. He never got abducted at school, he was at home, alone in the woods where he could think about life for as long as he wanted.

Something rustled the leaves behind him. He turned around. It was a dog. A huge dog, a boxer. He had never seen the dog before, but somehow he knew that its name was Brutus. He smiled when he saw it, and he bent down, calling it over to him. The dog ran up to him and he hugged it as they tackled each other to the ground. He laughed as they wrestled on the ground. The dog was licking his face. He smiled.

The back doors to the van slid open. Aiden squinted as his eyes adjusted to the light. The agents all around him unstrapped the bonds that held him in his seat. They forced him up and out the back of the van. Here he was, NAPFIT.

He noticed that he was no longer in his normal clothes, just an orange jumpsuit. With that and the handcuffs, he knew that he wouldn’t like it here. That, however, he intended to change as soon as he knew how he could do it.

The wall looked like it was almost 20 feet tall. It was made of stone and there were vines creeping up the sides of it all over and barbed wire lining the top. There was a large iron gate that he was standing in front of with a computerized control panel next to it. One of the agents walked up, flashed a card in front of a scanner, and the door slowly but surely creaked open.

The guards pushed him inside and led him across the courtyard. They flashed their cards at the front door to the mansion and it beeped as a green light on the control panel lit up. They opened the door, and... one of the guards undid his handcuffs. "see ya" said a man in a mask and a black uniform. He pushed him through the door and it closed behind him.

He was in a dimly lit room surrounded by other kids. He rolled his eyes as he listened to the announcement of the radio. He turned around and tried to turn the door handle. It was locked. It was worth a try at least. He looked around and took note of all the windows and doors in the room as he sat down on the couch.

this is the end he thought. nothing else but this building... or so they think he let a smile creep across his face as he planned out how he would get out of here.

[Eru Ilúvatar]

Purple heather and wings of fog across lush Highlands – undulating hills, regal mountains, a crisp air that prevented most tourism from staining their country; her eyes were glazed as she drifted across the distance separating her from her homeland, imagining the day she turned 18. She’d swim in the deep, secluded lochs that would ice away whatever color remained in her skin, and climb rocky crags until her fingers pleasantly ached and she stood above the world. She’d feel clean again, she thought wistfully. Her skin prickled with a chill as she remembered her first year of high school, trying so hard to fit in – and baring herself to the blades of a vicious society.

“…and Gillian Sinclair.” She looked up from her book concerning John Adams, written by one of her preferred authors, David G. McCullough – he had been a great help in comprehending American history while broadening her vocabulary. Within the space of a heartbeat, her freckles stood out like ink spots and the book toppled free of her grasp, the spine smashing onto the tile with a dull, sorrowful thud. Heads swiveled in her direction, nodding as if they’d known all along that it’d be her. A few offered her looks of pity, but most didn’t seem to care an ounce that she was going to be imprisoned.

It was her last year, she argued internally. She hadn’t been called out yet, and she’d even tried talking to a few girls this time around – why now? Trembling fingers pressed into the desk until they shown marble white, dark eyes flickering to the door. The teacher was talking to her, but what did it matter? Rage bubbled up at her mother, who had thought she’d somehow blossom from a solitary child of the Highlands to some infernal social butterfly. She leapt up, not bothering to fetch her book, and sprinted for the door. A hand curled around her arm, but she jerked free and flew out of the room, feet barely touching tiles as she sprinted for the doors.

She shoved the glass door wide, only to be yanked back by an arm around the waist. She was slammed into the wall while the other student was brought to the front of the school. From there it was a blur – rough hands pushing her forward into a car, yanking her free. Taking her things, shoving her on a private plane – they invaded her space constantly, deflecting her wearying blows when she got fed up. A rough hand bruised the small of her back, propelling her from the plane. She whirled, eyes flashing as she snapped, “Doona touch me again.” Spine bristling and hands aching for a bat, she curled long fingers into fists, wishing a myriad of vile things on everyone in the country.

Her fellow student was in shock, ignoring her existence with respectable determination. Fear and exhaustion drove her into a numb, glassy-eyed haze that persisted until they were being loaded into a black van with quite a few other individuals who, like her, looked unhappy. She curled into her seat, face buried against her arm. When the van shuddered to a halt and began letting the first couple rows of kids out, she moved tentatively, attempting to avoid brushing against anyone else. Shoving a thick swathe of hair out of her face, Gillian observed her prison. It was lovely, but she was more soothed by the towering mountains – it wasn’t home, but it was reminiscent. She glared at the fences, stomach twisting as she watched her schoolmate heading inside.

She shifted her weight back and forth nervously before following the others inside with an even, light-footed gait.

[Azure Sky]

A boy, with orange hair and medium stature, got out of the van and received the same things as the ones that were before him. He was almost surprised by the sudden voice that yelled out in response to the guy who wanted to use the elevator. It wasn't like they had much to do in their rooms anyway. They had been stripped from every single thing they had and given clothes, like they were being arrested for some crime. He knew what was his sin and he knew what he was doing there. Even so, Allen was one cool costumer on the outside. But, on the inside, he was shouting his lungs out. ARGH! Damn it! They took my yo-yo! How the hell am I supposed to think straight like this?! And my wrists feel as cold as if hell had frozen over! Get me out from this place! These people are just dimwits who don't even reach my heels! was what was going on inside this guy's head. Without his yo-yo spinning, he could blabber on and on about incoherent things which didn't really match up with his usual personality. Even making the slightest move as taking a glass of Coke was hard. Though he knew how to fake it pretty well. He just kept imagining that, in his left hand, a red yo-yo was constantly spinning. Up and down, up and down, up and down... He sat down on the couch, stared at the emptiness in front of his eyes. He knew he wouldn't get out of this place without socializing, but he didn't care. He would sleep on that couch in the worst of situations. He was mentally ready for that. But, he also needed to think of a way to escape. Even though he was here to stop all commotion and tension in his family, he knew that his mother was still out there, being mistreated by his family. He didn't want to leave her alone. She was the only good thing in this world. Even his father, that cowardly excuse for a man, didn't help her. If he got out of there, he would continue his studies, alone, and show everyone that no one needs relationships or bonds or whatever that was.

[marmalademoon]

It was the end of the school day, and Ali was about to head out to her next photo shoot when she was called to the principle's office. All of her classmates turned to stare at her, knowing what was going to happen. Hating the sudden attention, Ali rushed out of the room and went strait to where she'd been called. The only reason she could think getting called to the principle's office for was her recent drug addiction, and she had finally gotten over it. As she headed down, she thought life unfair to arrest her now that she was clean. When she arrived she was shocked to hear what was about to happen to her.

"Alice Marie Fletcher, a popular vote has decided that you will now be transferred to NAPFIT." Her principle's voice was monotone and he didn't look up from his paperwork. Shocked, Ali fell to her knees and tears started to form in her eyes. She'd never been close to her classmates, but she didn't expect them to betray her like this. She went limp as the guards forced her away and into prison attire. Throughout the whole car ride she was silent, simply thinking of everything she had just lost; her family, her job that she loved, and her clothes that were the only thing that ever made her feel any sort of confidence.

When the car came to a stop she slowly exited and had to catch herself as her knees were still weak. She almost went faint when she saw the campus of NAPFIT, expecting it to be a giant prison. After catching herself again, she went inside the lobby. She knew she had to socialize to be able to ever leave, but she just couldn't bring herself to go talk to anyone. She was beginning to enter a state of shock. Figuring it'd be best to be seated in case she fainted, she went over to a couch and sat down.

[Twisted Fate]

Nikki had sat, arms defiantly crossed, at the back of the auditorium as the government official announced the students who would be taken to NAPFIT. It hadn't really been a surprise when his name was called out, which was why he was prepared. Diving off his seat, he grabbed it and managed to crack one of the guards around the head with it, sending him crashing to the ground. as a few more guards inched towards him, he swung the chair wildly and shouted "Keep your hands off me! You think you're tough? Bring it on!" Then he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head, and crumpled to a heap on the floor.

When he woke up, he was firmly strapped into a seat in a vehicle of some sort. He felt dried blood caked onto the side of his face, and clotted into his hair, making it even more tangled. He looked around to find guards either side of him. When he started screaming abuse at them again, one of them simply injected him with some sort of anaesthetic, and he quickly fell unconcious again.

When he awoke for the final time, the vehicle had stopped. He was roughly pushed out of the car, and the guards held each of his shoulders, practically dragging him inside the beautiful prison. When they let him go, he was left in front of a table, with a collection of envelopes on it. Opening the one adressed to Nikki Feranna, he found his room key-card. He found that none of the doors opened, and that he was stuck in this room. Walking towards a sofa far away from the others, he kicked over a table and smashed the lamp on it. He was pretty angry, after all.

[Jason Welsh]

There were 3 ways that he could think of for getting out of here. The most likely one was that he would simply pretend to fall in love with someone, with or without the other person even knowing. It would be a lot easier if they knew, but he was confident that he could pull it off without too. There was a risk of them giving away the secret after all.

The second one was that he would actually fall in love. He secretly wanted it, but he knew himself. He was too guarded, too secretive, too... himself. He wanted to fall in love... but he just didn't no matter how much he tried to. He never let anyone in, and part of him was just fine with that while the other part was longing in desperation. He pushed the thought from his mind.

The third, of course, was that he would find some weakness in this place's security and break out. He knew that he could find a weakness well enough, he could probably think of dozens of different ways that he could do it with a full year in this building, but he secretly didn't think that he had the nerve to cross the Rubicon.

He could plan all day and get every tiny detail of a flawless scenario put together along with how he would live once he got out, but when it came to breaking the window or jumping the wall or opening up the pipe or however he would do it, he couldn't see himself taking action. He would just stand there like an idiot and stare at it.

He was brought out of his trance-like state by some guy across the room kicking over a table. He was faintly amused by it. He didn't know why some people chose to just let their emotions take complete control, cold logic was better in this case.

He looked at the people around him, wishing he had a knife just in case, and pitying himself on the inside for being so scared. He gave up examining other people and looked at the table for some kind of weapon that he could use if he needed to. The cups were made of glass, bad for them, good for Aiden. There wasn't any way to grip them effectively though if he had to swing it at someone, so they would have to be throwing weapons.

Why was he even here? Not the obvious reason, but the whole idea. Why was this place even here? This whole idea was a setup for failure, piling the most anti-social teens in the country into one room and telling them that they had to strike up a conversation. He noticed a security camera hanging in a corner on the ceiling. It was staring straight at him. he smiled at it. Time to humor them.

He turned and looked at the girl that was sitting next to him (Ali). "how was the ride in?" he asked. It took an enormous amount of courage to do it and his stomach was doing flips, but he didn't let it show on the outside. He raised his hand to gesticulate and he noticed that there was a patch of dried blood on it.

He quickly buried his hand in his pocket, hoping that nobody had seen. He then realized that the prison jumpsuit he was wearing didn't have a pocket. He awkwardly tucked his hand underneath his leg and sat on it, hoping that nobody else had seen.

Apart from the blood, something else unnerved him: the silence. He had tried to speak quietly, it was almost a whisper as it came out, but he was sure that everyone in the room had heard it clearly. There were about 30 people in the room but nobody else was even speaking. It was trying on his nerves.

He looked the girl in the eyes to try and dispel the awkwardness of... well... everything. The agents wanted them to talk, they should've at least made it easier.

[marmalademoon]

Ali looked around the room as other 'students' trickled in. Her heart sank as she realized she would probably never make it out of here. She couldn't imagine actually falling in love with someone. The thought was nice, but she hated herself too much. She couldn't see herself opening up to anyone, and if she did she would probably scare them away.

Ali was pulled out of her trance as a boy began to talk to her. She stared at him for a moment as he squirmed awkwardly, and then shook her head as what he said to her registered. She tried to speak to him, and when nothing came out she coughed to clear her throat. "It wasn't horrid, I guess." Her cheeks flushed as she replied; she was embarrassed to have lost her voice for that moment.

[FullM00n]

"Mr Mortensen."

The teacher's usually boring voice echoed in the usually silent class.At once all students turned at stared at him.Some were laughing, others were looking at him with remorse.Blue didnt look at the teacher but kept staring at the almost full, page of his notebook.His haiku had filled its pages since he firstly learnt of writing his own poems.His work was that of an amateur and he knew that but these few words were the perfect ending of every day.

"Blue Mortensen." the teacher repeated, louder this time.

Blue was doing his best to find something to write about.The sky?The students?The teacher?If he looked at his teacher, he would show his anxiety about what was going to happen.He knew of course of the vote.Every single soul attending his school voted him at the most anti-social person.And they had made clear that his fate was far worse than death.Death isnt half as bad as people make it out to be.Afterall, people are just afraid of endings. he said to himself wanting to calm down his racing heart.He could feel their eyes focused on him.

"Blue Mortensen, you have been voted by the students as one who isnt of the same standards as the rest.Therefore you are sent to N.A.P.F.I.T. , to have a chance to become like everyone else.We wish you luck." Each word leaving his mouth was louder than the previous.Finishing his, short and unimpressing speech, he signaled to someone at the door and at once four guards entered the class and headed towards him.Apparently they were ready for a fight.

Blue looked at them briefly and then glanced around the class.Some had a childish smile and others were trying to hide their excitement.Afterall, this happened once a year and it was quite the spectacle.He clenched his fists not wanting them to see his hands tremble and wrote a few words on the now full page.

"You arent allowed to take any of your belongings at N.A.P.F.I.T. and before leaving you must wear these." the guard said louder than he needed to while handing him what seemed like a prison uniform."There is an empty classroom next to this one.He can change there." the teacher said to one of the guards.

Minutes later, Blue was wearing this hideous prison uniform."We will be going now.Anything you want to say to your classmates?" the guard ,almost ironically, asked.What could he say?Their world had broken his spirit years ago.Without any more delay they headed outside, slowly in order for him to be seen from everyone, to the N.A.P.F.I.T. mini van parked in front of the school's gate.A single moment before entering that van leading to a new reality he thought of his last haiku.

Born in death, forever a slave I will be.

After about half an hour he was put into a bigger van, apparently for more like him.Soon, all kinds of teenagers started filling the previously empty seats.Staring at the floor of the van, he thought of this change.Although everybody knew that this so called N.A.P.F.I.T. was of the worse prisons, noone knew what was being there like.Plus, Blue felt closer to these people than to all the people he had ever known including his grandpa.

As soon as they reached the "prison" he was amazed by the beautiful scenery and the huge mansion.He did notice the fences keeping others out or better, keeping them in but he didnt pay them much attention.Suddenly, a loud voice was heard telling them to do the impossible.Socialize enough to activate the elevator.If they didnt...definitely something bad would happen.

Seeing two boys grab an envelope each from a table, he waited for them to go, checked if any others were heading to the table and after everything seemed the way he wanted to, he quickly made his way to the table and picked up the envelope named after him.Apparently it contained a key-card giving him access to his room and the floor he was living in.Everything looked just fine so far and that was making him nervous.He grabbed a cup from another table and took a sip of his drink while sitting at the edge of the big round couch away from that boy socializing with that, undeniably, pretty girl.

[Jason Welsh]

He would trade his life for a guitar right now... or a radio, or something. His life was the only thing he had in here after all, it was the only thing that they could still take from him, but they didn't yet. Aiden needed music, the silence was killing him. He combed his brain for something to say to the girl next to him.

"I guess not that bad in hindsight" he said to her. "I just slept the whole time." There was a moment of silence, complete silence in the room. It ate away at his sanity. He considered asking if she would pretend to fall in love with him to get out of here, but they needed something that they didn't have right then: secrecy. It had to wait.

"I'm Aiden" he said.