Twisted

[Mairzy Doats]

She started her day tackling an unkillable train engineer, then went on to hang pictures in every one of the rooms, some of the photographs more disturbing than others. Then there was the stressful interview with her boss, and the clean up for the same employer's last minute Halloween bash, then a promotion out of no-where and literal graveyard duty. And Jean didn't even get the benefit of having a tired body. A reanimated corpse was on 24 seven so Jean was just going on to the next thing, but damnit, she thought, I could use some me time.

It was going to be a wait. A scraping of claws on the floor announced the coming of Spike, but his gate was all wrong. Hesitant and stumbling. The spiky alien maneuvered carefully around the corner. Even before Jean neared him she knew something was wrong- he was walking like a sick person. "Spike," she called, trotting over to where the alien clung to the wall. The alien actually startled which communicated to Jean that his senses were off. Oh come on, Spike, don't tell me you've been mutilating yourself again...

"Hey, Jean! What's up!" He said, his voice was a little shaky. Jean propped his arm over her shoulders "Oh, Jeanie," Spike muttered "that's ok, I can smell alright and gnast a little."

"Dat's de problem wit boys: dey never admit when dey need 'elp. Yah ken barely wok, Spike."

Spike sighed "Jean, we hab got to stop meeting like this."

"Wot did yeh do dis time, Spike?" She craned back to look at his quills. Instead of finding some missing, she saw a few of them were red and swollen. She realized that it may have been wrong to think of them as quills, as hair didn't swell like that. The organs seemed to be made mostly of cartilage and skin. "Yowch," she said.

"It looks that bad?" Spike asked.

"It dose. Now tell meh right dis time: what did yah do, Spike?"

"It wasn't me, this time! I told you, I'm done cutting my quills off. That goes for spilling hot coffee on them too."

"Ok. Den who did it?"

Spike sighed "Otto," he said.

Jean's face hardened. Spike must have read her expression because he jumped in "It wasn't what you think! He was helping me."

"Oh yah? En' how es dat?"

Spike seemed reluctant to talk on that point. They were almost too the triek's room anyway- it just took a little more care to maneuver the triek through his doorframe.

"I'd take yeh to deh showers again, but I don't tink you want teh get underah hot showah."

"They hab cold showers here?"

"Shuh. Just turn de blue knob instead uh de red one."

Stupid hospital humor. Jean helped Spike to sit on his bed. She pulled up the chair and sat next to him "Ok. Tell me what 'appened." She had a very no-nonsense tone. She wasn't going to take No for answer.

The alien could tell when he was cornered. He sighed "As I said, Otto was helping me. Something bad would hab happened if he hadn't jumped in. I was about..." he started to quake, especially his quills. The inflamed organs bounced against each other. "Ow!" He cried sharply.

Jean put a steadying hand on his shoulder. Spike stopped shaking. He sighed again.

"I was about to eat someone."

Jean's borrowed eyebrows shot up.

"No, it's true. It's- me. It's who I am now." He tangled his claws into one another "If my species gets hurt- a flesh wound, like a cut or a burn, we can heal. Actually, we don't have a choice." He took his head in his claws; cradling it "I couldn't stop myself...it was awful. I was just, so hungry. It hurts, Jean! But that's an excuse! I can't just hurt people because I'm in pain!" He swung arms back to the back wall and leaned back "I almost killed her. If it hadn't been for Otto and..." he trailed "someone, I think, helped him..." Spike wasn't making the most sense right now. "I should have stopped Elsa from spilling that, or something...she can't control herself. Nurse Jean! How can I help Elsa if I turn into a monster whenever..."

***

Jean thought that Zacky had trailed off, unable to finish the thought. Jean believed he was staring into space- into nothing. He had trailed off, but he was definitely looking at something. His walls looked different. With his actual eye. There was scraps of paper and pieces of shiny photo paper on the walls. The lights were on, so Zacky could see the images on the wall. And he recognized them. There were photos of him, Zacky, before the transformation, and Dan too. But if Zacky thought seeing Dan's face again was hard, harder still were the images, kodak shots and so on, of people...with scales, beaks, and quills...people who looked very sick. People with rostrosis.

When Jean started speaking, at first Zacky didn't know what she was talking about. "Spike, lissin." She said "You ain't no monstah. Dere's a boatloadah patients in dis place dat 'ave deh problem dat you got. Dey go a bit nuts every wuncinah while in' 'urt someone. De wolf-girls 'ave got it. Mistah Black's got it. Dey ain't monstahs and needah ah you. Deh real monstahs ah de ones dat 'urt people...en' like it. Dey keep do'in it en' pretendin day'l get better. Ah ken tell you ain't nevah gunna be wunna dose."

Zacky nodded "Thanks, Jean," he said "though if someone does die," he said bitterly "I don't think that distinction will matter much."

"Well, you'll jis 'af'tah mek shaw dat doesn't 'appen, woncha?"

***

Jean decided that if she couldn't soothe his soul, she could at least do what she could for his body. She stood up, meaning to get something from one of the supply closets, but Spike suddenly asked "Jean? What are those?" A long, apelike arm pointed to the wall.

Jean decided that the alien deserved a little bit of honesty if nothing else "Dat" she said "was De Good Doctor's idea."

Spike seemed to straiten where he sat. That caused some of his inflamed quills to rub against each other, however, so he resumed his slumping posture "I should have known. What is wrong with that bitch's head anyway? Elsa had a surprise when she got back to her room, too. Needless to say, she wasn't too pleased." He sighed "Hey, Jean? Would you do me a fabor?"

"Innaminit." She knew exactly what he was talking about "Ah wanna get ya sometin farst." She excused herself from the room, walked up the hall a little to the nearest nurse's station. The keychain she carried on her belt buckle now simply had more keys on it. Buck had had access to cabinets that Jean wouldn't think about going near. But Jean was not after one of those. The cabinet was wanted was locked, but Jean used a copy of one of her old keys.

***

Zacky was left alone with the pictures for a few seconds. He wondered if he could manage to get any of the photos off himself. The closest wall to him was the back wall, that the bed was pushed up against. Zacky tried leaning back but found that painful. Turning was painful, and so was leaning to the side, though he did manage it. It felt weird with his gnasting ability all off. He could gnast the room, but it was blurry and everything "felt" soft. He was almost surprised when he put his claw on the wall and hit a hard surface instead of something cushy.

There were five pictures here. The first one was a photo of himself and Dan, both ten, standing on the end of a dock. The white fluffy clouds, trees and a single white stretch of beach from the lake's opposite shore was in the background behind them. The boys were in their red swimming trunks, grinning like goons, each holding up a fat trout by a length of fishing twine.

The next picture was of a girl in a graduation robe. Her eyes were hazel, and actually had just a hint of gold in them. It wasn't in any vampire way, this girl was model gorgeous, even in her bulky graduation robe. Her skin was blemish free, her lips pink, her hair in hay colored wisps around her face. Zacky had no idea who she was.

The next photo was an xray of a skull...a skull that wasn't human but not not-human either. While it still had the roundness of a human skull, it had no teeth, and the front of it was extended into something like a muzzle.

The forth photo was a shot taken at the fair, with the Ferris wheel and the Zipper- a faster version of the Ferris wheel that turned you upside down- in the background. A pretty girl stood in the middle, her plump cheeks sunburned a little, her dark blue eyes shining, red hair in a ponytail. She was wearing a bright pink tank top. On the right, bean-pole thin man- well, maybe a boy- had his arm around her middle, his eyes were closed and he was about to place a kiss between her cheek and her ear. He was wearing a black t-shirt with some text on it. The boy on left of her looked almost identical to the first, but there were slight differences. The one was leaning his elbow on the girl's shoulder, grinning, though the grin seemed strained. His shirt was offwhite and advertised the fair. From left to right: Dan, Naomi, and Zacky.

Feeling very carefully, Zacky removed the pin holding the photo to the wall. Since he was alone and no one could see him, he pressed the photo close to his chest and rocked back forth for a few minutes. Oh Naomi...how I miss you.

He placed the photo face down on the bed. As good as it was for him to look at Naomi's face, he couldn't stand to see Dan standing right next to her.

The last piece of paper on the wall was a newspaper clipping. There was a photo with some text on the side- the text being in French of all languages. The photo depicted the same mystery girl from the graduation pic. She was less model-y now, in shorts and tennis shoes, her face screwed up in a serious expression as she kicked, a soccer ball making contact with her raised foot. The headline over the photo had but one word that jumped out at Zacky: Delacroix. Zacky searched the article and found the full name: Tatienne Delacroix. "Tatienne..." Zacky moaned, putting his claw on the newspaper clipper as if by doing so he would reach out and touch his friend.

"Ah leave yeh alone fuh five minutes en' you staht tokkin to yaself?"

Zacky had been aware of a shapeless blob coming into his room. A shame, too. Maybe Jean didn't have all the curves Zacky liked, but she still a definite female shape. He hoped his quills get better soon- gnasting was one of the things he actually really liked about this triek business. He tried to turn to face the door a few times, but found himself hissing with pain each time.

"You cut dat out! Now lay down!" Jean ordered. Zacky complied, laying down on his chest. He gnasted Jean reaching a blobby arm over to his quills and tensed at first, but felt only a coolness on his injured quills when her hand finally reached him. His left side was facing Jean, and he tried to lift his head, but she just scolded him until he put it down. "What are you doing? I can't see."

***

Jean had momentarily forgotten that his senses were a little off right now. She said "I'm puttin awn ointment awn your, your spikes, Spike. It'll 'elp em get bettah." She was leaving out one detail: that this ointment had been concocted by Dr. Wylde herself for Zacky's sake. All of Zacky's medications had to be specially formulated, his body chemistry matching nothing on earth and, because of his eye, nothing in the rest of the galaxy either.

"Wow, thanks. I feel better already! Do you think I can keep some to apply myself later?"

Jean had to hesitate. The usual policy with patients and medication was that you did not leave them alone with one another. However Jean couldn't much see how something like an ointment could be abused. "Shuh." She said.

Zacky sighed "Guess I won't be able to gnast for a while. Well, better than I did that one day," he sounded embarrassed "but still...I can probably smell a little better than a human right now. Hey, it's almost like I'm a real boy!"

Jean frowned. She had put those pictures on the wall- she had seen the photos of the twin beanpole kids. And she had also seen the picture of the twins looking very miserable and very sick, his skin peeling to make way to colorless scales, his hair half fallen out, his jaw starting to protrude from his face. And she had seen the photos and x-rays of other humans growing beaks and spikes and whatnot and she was able to put two and two together. Jean just hoped that, if she had had to go through an ordeal like that, she'd be as strong and optimistic as Spike, but in her heart of hearts she knew she wouldn't.

"Yeh das right...but ken yeh wahk?"

"I have to admit it...not really. How long will this this take to heal, anyway?"

"Days I tink, maybe more doh, I don't much about space aliens. I tink Ah'm gunna get you ah cane."

"A cane? That's pretty sweet! Just get me a monocle and a tophat and my Mr. Peanut cosplay will be all set!"

And Jean did smile at that one "Sho, Spike. I'll look fo soma dose too."

[pumirya]

"In thee my soul shall own combined the sister and the friend." ~Catherine Killigrew


Well, the girl was certainly acting as though she really were blind... Elsa pursed her lips as she drew a deep breath and exhaled. “We aren’t near the edge,” Elsa finally said in a soft but even tone of voice, hiding the annoyance she was feeling. Really, did the girl have to hug her? “Here... I’ll show you,” Elsa said as she reached down and took hold of the girl’s hands and began to slowly and as gently, pry her loose, one tightly intertwined finger at a time. “You are not going to fall,” Elsa sighed as she finally freed herself from Adel’s grasp.

Taking Adele by the shoulders, Elsa slowly walked her backwards until they came to the wall. When Adele’s back bumped gently against the stone wall, Elsa said in a quiet, calm voice, “We’re at a wall, can you feel it behind you. Now sit down while I figure out what to do.” Elsa stepped back a pace and sat down. Pursing her lips again, Elsa sighed softly. “I’m sorry I called you Silvia,” Elsa said after a few moments. “I mistook you for another girl I knew once.” It was true, though probably not in the way the other girl might think it was. Elsa didn’t elaborate. The other girl didn’t need to know about her, Elsa’s episodes.

“My name’s Elsa,” Elsa said after a few more moments of thinking. It was getting harder to think what she had said and had not said.. the headaches and the frequent episodes were not helping matters any... “So she’s blind, really blind,” Elsa thought. “I do not think she’s acting... She seemed really afraid and back in the hallway, what did she think Zacky was, a dog or something?” Even with her apparent disability and mannerism... Elsa couldn’t rule out the other girl could have abilities that she, Elsa, wasn’t aware of. Was she a potential threat? It seemed fairly unlikely, unless she, like some others, had multiple personalities...

“Whoever put you here wasn’t thinking about you,” Elsa said bluntly as she stood up and turned away from Adele. Looking out across the bleak landscape, Elsa sighed quietly and shook her head. A sudden gust of cold air made Elsa shiver as it blew across the exposed roof and further made a mess of Elsa’s hair... “Let’s go inside,” Elsa abruptly said, turning and approaching Adele... “Take my hand,” Elsa said quietly, kneeling down in front of the blind girl and placing her right hand over the girl’s left. “It’s getting to cold to stay here.”

“Your first day and you almost died,” Elsa thought aloud as she and Adele descended the stairs. “I suppose that does happen. Don’t you have someone with you, someone who can watch out for things that could hurt you?” It was absurd that anyone would place a blind girl in a place like St Osmond’s in the first place... and on top of that with no one along to help her. “I need to find a nurse,” Elsa thought aloud as she passed the door to what was St Osmond’s backyard-graveyard area. “I’m not really… You’re better off... with a nurse.”

“That didn’t come out right, did it?” Elsa sighed inwardly... “What I mean is. I’m a patient here and it’s dangerous to be with me.” Should she Adele about her old occupation? Elsa slowed her walk a little as she and Adele passed the cafeteria again. “I wonder if Zacky’s calmed down,” Elsa thought, worry for her friend making her feel ill. What had set Zacky off? They had been close, so close to coming to blows. All she could do was be there for Zacky just as he was always there for her. In the meantime, she still needed that nurse.

"Why do I care what she might think?" Elsa thought with a indifferent shrug of her small shoulders as she and Adele passed through a intersection... "If i tell her I'm a assassin, maybe she'll avoid me. That will be for the best, wouldn't it? If I have another episode... No, when I have another one, she might get hurt or killed... Then why do I care? I don't owe her anything, and yet; yet I'm thinking about her." What was it about this girl that made her hesitate, for the first time, to divulge her former work, Elsa wondered silently...

And why had she felt that feeling on the roof? Elsa hated being touched, she did not like being hugged, not now, not in a very, very long time... and not that she could remember. And yet, for the briefest of moments she had hesitated to force the girl to let go... That warm feeling, it had been happiness. Who had she been thinking of? Where had she been, what had they been doing? Somewhere far away in the past was a memory of a embrace, a memory still hidden away... A memory of a warm summer's day and a sisterly embrace.

-

"I never knew until that moment how bad it could hurt to lose something you never really had." ~From the television show - The Wonder Years


Henrietta looked up at Clay again as he spoke to her. His voice was calm, reassuring and he seemed genuinely kind and wanting to help her. But could he really help her...? Kiyoko was at her side... growling at the nurse until she was reassured that he meant no harm. Her friend’s presence made Henrietta feel calmer... although she still skated upon a razor then edge between her present calm state and the state of extreme panic that she had fallen in shortly after awaking in her room next to the cold, lifeless corpse of Casey Jones.

Reaching behind her, Henrietta picked up the scrub top from where it lay on the floor and, turning her back on Clay, shifted back to her human form and slipped the scrub top down over her head. Thanks to it being larger, the top fell far enough below Henrietta’s waist to cover her, although just barely. “I’m a … I’m really sorry,” Henrietta said piteously, as she climbed to her feet and looked helplessly up at Nurse Clay. “I… Casey… We were together and then I saw those horrible pictures.” Henrietta turned her head sharply ti one side and swallowed a large lump that rose in her throat as she clutched tightly at her shirt collar.

“I… I never wanted to see that face again, but…but there he was and I… I couldn’t stop.” Henrietta, in a fresh flood of tears turned to Kiyoko and buried her face in the other girl’s hair. “You’re lucky… You… You can’t remember… I remember everything,” Henrietta wept into Kiyoko’s long, dark hair as she wrapped her trembling arms tightly around her friend’s shoulders. “And now… now I can’t scent Casey and his room… His room... they cleaned it out… You know… what that means...? You know... don't you? Oh God; what have I done!”

“Nurse Clay,” Henrietta asked between deep breaths as she raised her head from Kiyoko’s now very damp hair. “You know, don’t you?” He would know, of course. Being a nurse he would know all to well that when a room was cleaned out, it meant either the patient had been sent home, either because they were healed, to recover or die, or they had died. No one was sent home from St Osmond’s, so it had to mean Casey was dead... didn’t it? He had not recovered enough to leave; so what else was there? And it was her fault, again.

Henrietta wiped at her red; tear swollen eyes as she finally raised her head from Kiyoko’s now dampened hair. “Do you know if they have any Milk Bones,” Henrietta asked in a soft voice that was so quiet that it was barely above a whisper and as a result was probably hard to hear, even for Kiyoko... “Please don’t laugh at me,” Henrietta begged... grabbing Clays wrists in her shaking hands as tears welled up in her ice blue eyes again... “I need them…. I need them…!” It was pathetic... but she needed something and needed it now.

It was better then nothing.,, Perhaps if she had her Milk Bones she would not think about the drugs.,, Henrietta swallowed another large lump in her throat and licked her suddenly dry lips. She knew the things she suddenly craved again were out of reach behind doors that she had tried and failed to open... Buck had been kind to her, he'd not punished her for what she had done, but that didn’t mean Nurse Clay would not, or another nurse. Still the desire was there again, growing quickly like a wildfire. “Kiyoko knows what they look like,” Henrietta mumbled, blushing crimson red with shame... “She's seen the box before.”

Why did she care so much? She had not known Casey that long after all. It was just one more of her weaknesses, a girl who didn't want to get close to anyone for fear of hurting them or killing them and yet, yet she had allowed herself to give in to desires and wishes and spend the night with Casey. If he was dead, and not coming back, it was another sin added to her long list of sins. If her were alive though, what could she really expect from someone so random? Still, he'd been someone to be with, not just as a lover, but a person to do normal everyday things with, and that had made poor Henrietta feel 'normal' again.

Henrietta was afraid again now, intensely afraid. Her worst fear was very likely to come true. Henrietta slammed shut the telepathic connection between herself and Kiyoko. She couldn't let her dear friend know what she was thinking, it could, no it surely would hurt Kiyoko. "How can I ever be close to anyone again...? What if that had been Kiyoko? She wouldn't have died; I know that, but it would have been her I would have hurt... I don't want to be alone, but what else can I be? If I get close to people, I end up hurting them, killing them. Casey would be here if I hadn't been so weak... but Oh I needed someone."

[Shin Majin]

Kara watched patiently at the scene unfolding before her. She hoped the creature wouldn't keep the nurse busy for too long, but she didn't really have any truly urgent business to attend to, at least, not that she was aware of.

"Sorry! Uh, yes, yes I am. Names Clayton. Nurse Clay."

That confirmed her suspicion. The horned one was indeed a nurse. Not a head nurse, perhaps, but still good enough. She didn't know much about their chain of command, save that a nurse was probably a bit below a head nurse. Still, perhaps if this one was more patient than head nurse Jean, it might actually tell her something important.

"Oh it bloody would be another werewolf! Why do I keep running into your kind?"

Apparently, the transforming creature was called a werewolf. "Were...wolf..." She mumbled under her breath. There was something about that word, something familiar. It was a strange sensation, knowing something that you know you don't really know. After thinking for a moment, she "remembered" that a wolf was some kind of dog that looked pretty much just like the creature's quadrupedal form...and a werewolf was a creature that could transform between a wolf and a...human! That's the word! The pink bipeds were called humans! Kara couldn't help but feel proud at remembering this word she'd never known. Those language implants were really something!

As she mused over this, another wolf ran up to the werewolf, possibly another werewolf itself, and began licking it, as nurse Clay provided the frightened one with his shirt. The second werewolf had looked briefly at her, but didn't seem to take much interest. Again shifting to its human form, the werewolf continued to babble. "So, what're they talking about?" Hane inquired. "I...I'm not quire sure. The talkative one seems to be confused about something. I think...she's upset about somebody here dying." Hane nodded. "I guess that would make sense."

Kara slowly approached the group, but did not speak. This didn't seem like a good time to intrude on the conversation.

[Kally]

Needless to say, the events that suddenly unfolded in the space of a few minutes was one that McKenzie thoroughly enjoyed. The blind one was swept right out from under their noses as the rabid Zacky ripped her away and pinned her to the ground. The red head watched, both wary and fascinated as the Alien stood over the girl. If she wasn't such a heartless bitch, she might have stepped in and tried to help the helpless girl. That wasn't going to happen though, not today. She hadn't seen anyone torn apart in a long time, it was about time she saw some real gore.

Before anything good happened though, Otto rushed passed them, cup in hand, and then it was all over him - all down his back, and his antennae things. Zacky cried out, it was loud, and McKenzie flinched a little at the sound. By now McKenzie had stepped back. Right back. As much as she trusted her own abilities, and now upon discovering that Zacky's back spike things were sensitive to heat, she could do without the chaos today.

The alien charged, and the female braced herself for another gore fest as she anticipated Otto being torn limb from limb. However, much to her disappointment, this was not the case. Otto was still very much alive, and Zacky had stopped, his attention drawn to his feet. Upon following his animalistic gaze, she found the gremlin.

Hope is not lost! Kill it, kill it! Rip it apart!

Finally, Kenzies wish was recognized. The aliens beaked face tore into the leathery skin of the gremlin, and began to eat it from the inside out. Hearing the little things screams gave McKenzie shivers, down her spine and fingertips. It almost gave the female the urge to kill someone herself. How long had it been since she killed someone? She missed it, the sweet release of life at her own hands...

She missed the smell of the human skin burning. The sight of fresh flesh peeling back on itself, unable to withstand the heat. She relished the sound of their screaming voices, the panic, and the fear, everything, it was McKenzies drug, and she hadn't had a hit in a while.

"McKenzie," She snapped out of her thoughts casually and glanced up at the Alien, "You're a bitch."

The scarlet eyed female laughed out loud then, it was a mocking laugh, "Me? Have you not seen what you just did? I may be a bitch Zacky but at least I can control my killer instinct."

And at that, McKenzie looked at the other few people in the party with her, "Now then? Who's hungry?"

This one isn't so bad really, Clay mused to himself, just upset, and a little overly dramatic. Nothing I can't handle. It's slightly unfortunate she doesn't keep her clothes on when she transforms, though. Especially now I'm half naked again. Still, I can find another scrub shirt if need be. Buck probably has a few - even if they are a little tight, they do show off my figure. Not that I'm vain.

He looked down at the wolf and offered another pleasant smile. He'd always wanted a dog, but being in hiding, it was just too much of a risk. He's wanted a Great Dane, and he'd have called it buster. Still, this one wasn't a dog, but it was sort of like that, wasn't it? And he'd adapted a little nickname for her, too.

Silver. Not bad.

Then there was another one on the scene, and Clay actually rolled his eyes when he saw the white fur and four legs, "What?" He exclaimed, "Is there a pack of you lot going around here or something?"

The new wolf growled at her a few times, but Clay wasn't bothered much this time. It was obvious this one was only trying to protect it's pack, and Clay knew he posed no threat, so surely the wolf would pick up on this?

And assumingly it did, as it turned its attention away from her and round to Silver. A minute or so later, the wolf was back in it's human form, and Clay's eyes suddenly decided to examine the ceiling in minute detail until she was covered.

"I'm a... I'm really sorry," He looked back at her, and a faint smile appeared on his lips. He was going to say something, but the blonde continued on, “I… Casey… We were together and then I saw those horrible pictures. I… I never wanted to see that face again, but…but there he was and I… I couldn’t stop." Tears rolled freely down the girls face as she turned to be comforted by her wolf friend, "You’re lucky… You… You can’t remember… I remember everything, And now… now I can’t scent Casey and his room… His room... they cleaned it out… You know… what that means...? You know... don't you? Oh God; what have I done!”

Then she turned her attention back to him, “Nurse Clay, You know, don’t you?”

Confusion washed over the males face. He didn't want to say he didn't know, because he was a nurse, and he was supposed to know these things, but he didn't really want to lie to her either.

"I'm sorry Silver," He frowned, "But I'm afraid I can't really say anything about it right now. I can try and get in touch with some people, and I'll see what information I can get for you," He offered a smile, "How does that sound?"

“Do you know if they have any Milk Bones, Please don’t laugh at me," She moved over to him then, and he stared down at her, suddenly slightly uneasy at the female contact, "I need them…. I need them…!”

"I don't know what they are, so I couldn't tell you if we have any..."

“Kiyoko knows what they look like," She said quickly, “She's seen the box before.”

Clay paused, unsure of what to do. She was so desperate for these things, he'd feel terrible if she simply just shot her down. So instead, he twisted his wrist and took a hold of the girls hand inside his own, gave her a big grin, and patted her head with his free hand, "Tell you what, I'll try and get these milk bone things for you, but you have to calm down, okay?"

Turning his head, the male nurse glanced down the hallway, and his eyes fell on the most unlikely creature he thought he would ever see. It stood a few dozen yards down the hall from where they were standing, and Clay question why he hadn't noticed it before now. Perhaps it hadn't been standing there? He had no idea.

"Hello?" He called out over Silvers shoulder, "Are you a patient? Do you need help? I'm a nurse, you know."

[Melodym]

Adele nervously allowed herself to be moved back, and sighed with relief when she was guided towards a wall.

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to freak out, I just don't handle heights well." She gave a shaky smile in the general direction of the girl. "I'm Adele, and you just saved my life from my wild bear. T-Thank you."

She stood up and after a minute of searching, found the girl's hand and gave it a light squeeze.

"I don't even know what to say. I feel like I owe you my first born child now." Adele laughed lightly while following Elsa back into the building. "If you ever need anything, just let me know. My skills are talking to plants and using Ouija boards. Sometimes using Ouija boards to talk to plants if I'm feeling adventurous. They don't talk back or anything crazy like that! I mean, not that it's weird if you think plants talk to you. I'm sure you're perfectly normal, even though we're in an asylum..."

Adele listened patiently as Elsa tried to explain that she needed a nurse. Was she hurt? Well, she did just fight off a wild animal with her bare hands, so it would make sense. That would also explain why she insists that she is dangerous to be around. She didn't sound hurt though. Maybe the nurse wasn't for her.

"Elsa, I'm not afraid." She whispered. "I'm not a bear, so why would I be afraid of you? And if I was a bear, I would be a Panda and I would be way too busy eating bamboo to cause you any trouble. You know, the more I say these thoughts out loud, the more I begin to realize why my parents sent me here."

They walked in silence down the corridors that smelt like bleach and other cleansers. Only after a few minutes did Adele begin to speak up again.

"Would you mind helping me with something?" She bit down on her bottom lip while thinking it over. She really wanted to get Elsa a present, to thank her for what she did, but she had never really gotten someone a present before. The few times she had tried, the gifts were horrible. When you're blind, it really makes shopping difficult. "Can you find me that nurse after all? I think there's something I would like to ask them. But, until then..."

Adele fished out a scrap piece of paper from her pocket along with a small pencil. On it she began to do her very best to draw. She tried to draw Elsa fighting off a bear and herself praising her from the sidelines.

"Here you go. This is an I.O.U. card. You can cash it in whenever you want." She handed the drawing to Elsa. It looked like three blobs with sticks poking out of them and one was randomly wearing a feathered cap.

[Shin Majin]

"Are you a patient? Do you need help? I'm a nurse, you know."

This is exactly what Kara wanted to hear. Ideally, this person would be able to tell her why she was here, how she got there, when she could leave, what the situation was back home, and whether she could get a translator for Hane. If he didn't know, perhaps it could lead her to somebody who did.

She had a nagging feeling though, that something was seriously wrong with this whole situation. It didn't seem that the other patients knew why they were here either, and didn't seem to care too much about that. She couldn't help but think that this whole institute was some sort of cover-up for something more sinister, and that the inhabitants had been brainwashed into complacency. It was a rather silly thought, but then again, this seemed like a rather inexplicable development from the very beginning. She snapped out of her thoughts. She wouldn't learn anything just by thinking about it. She looked the nurse in the eyes, trying to force a smile, relaxing her eyes and lowering her ears slightly.

"Ah...I don't really know. I think I ahm a patient, baht I ahm not cehrtain. Do you know 'y I ahm here? My name ehs Kara Ka Puvam, ahnd I ahm a kran."

[Vampricprincessty]

Being naked was never a problem for Kiyoko. Maybe it was because she couldn’t remember but she watched Henrietta cover herself and cared not about herself. Standing there next to Henrietta if she needed her which came more quickly than she thought, not long after changing back in fact. Wet tears coated her locks as she cried. Again this telling her it was good her memory was gone. How is that? There now seemed to be someone that really wanted her to remember them. How she wished she could remember her past but only small pieces were coming though and it was a jumble.

“His room is cleaned out?” That had no meaning to her. Never had she been in a hospital long enough to know what it meant. Watching her friend as she asked for milk bones. That she did remember. First meeting her she was holding a box of milk bones. They smelled ok but not someone she would eat. Moving up to pull her back a little from the nurse. “Yes, I know…” Holding Henrietta a little to help calm her.
Then she suddenly let her go. Shaking her head a little it was like something shut on her. She felt more alone for some reason. “Henrietta? What just…?” She didn’t know what to call it. It was like she couldn’t link with her but she didn’t understand how she was doing it in the first place. It was Henrietta that taught her about it after all. Yet something felt so wrong. Taking some steps back and a saddened look crossed her face. Kiyoko watched them and turned away. Walking down the hall from the lonely feeling she was getting inside herself.

Never could she remember having this feeling before. Total loneliness from the link slamming closed. Why had she never felt it before? Surely she had the feeling of being alone before. As she thought while she was walking she remembered she couldn’t sense Nex anymore either. Was that how this link thing worked? Was it supposed to make her feel this way? Wish there was someone else she could ask but there was no other werewolf here? She sighed and stood against the wall. What to do…?

[Arandomname]

"Now then, who's hungry?"
Otto was shocked; Malicy, for once, even had nothing to say at the redhead's comment.
This left Louise. And Louise, unlike her brothers had something to say and enough courage to say it.
"WHAT THE FLYING HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?!"
In three steps Louise closed the distance between her and McKenzie. Even across genders, the expression of purest unadulterated disgust was clearly decipherable.
Then, Otto: "Do you even stop to think about the ramifications of your actions? You just made an enemy out of Zacky, and while I doubt he'll actively try something, you need to keep in mind that he is literally designed to kill things in the most painful way possible." Then, Malicy spoke up: "Damn! While I'm all for the occasional blood and gore, do it your damn self. Don't drag other people into it, you manipulative, scheming... GAH! And to think I thought you had potential." Ending the tirade, Malicy decided that perhaps the thing to do here was to pour something on her, too.
Nah, been there, done that. I'll just find a fire extinguisher later or something. Show the little mastermind how to get her hands dirty.

Otto walked out of the room, holding something in his hand; he wasn't really sure what. When he finally flopped down into his bed in exasperation, he looked at what he was holding...
And jumped up like he'd been burned, dropping the gremlin skull. "Dammit, Malicy! When?"
Thought you might like it. You know, paperweight, little desk thing, beat the firey bitch into a coma with it...

[pumirya]

“If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he will soon find himself alone. A man should keep his friendships in constant repair.” ~Samuel Johnson


Elsa sighed deeply as Adele explained that she, Adele, was not afraid of Elsa and that if she were a bear, a bear of all things, that she would be a panda. Elsa shook her head. It made no sense, the girl just didn't seem to get what Elsa was trying to say, even though Elsa had said it as plainly as she thought that she could without bluntly stating her usual opening line of ‘I’m a assassin.’ Elsa pressed her thin lips together in a slight frown... She should tell Adele out right. It was best to be straight with the poor girl from the beginning.

“The beginning of what,” Elsa asked herself as she accepted Adele’s gift. Staring down at the small piece of paper, Elsa puzzled a bit over what the drawings actually were... One, she thought, reminded her of Robin Hood. “I’m no savior,” Elsa thought as she folded the piece of paper in haft and slipped it carefully into the right pocket of her dress. “That was nice of you, thank you,” Elsa said softly, deciding to leave it at that since she did not feel the need to add anything that might make Adele think she, Elsa, thought the picture ugly.

“Sure; we’ll keep looking,” Elsa said, trying to sound confident. The truth was she didn’t quite know where to look next. In fact she couldn’t recall seeing very many nurses lately, and she sure as hell didn’t count the gremlins as nurses, ugly little bastards. “You do not mind if we make a brief stop somewhere, do you...? I'd like to do something,” Elsa asked Adele quietly as the two girls turned a random corner and entered the hallway where the music room was. They would have to backtrack because she, Elsa, hadn’t paid attention.

But first there was something Elsa suddenly and unexpectedly wanted to do. She wanted to play something for Adele. “Why? Why do I want to do that,” Elsa asked herself as she opened the doors and lead Adele into the room... “I’m doing everything wrong! She’ll get attached to me and then if, when I have another episode, she’ll get hurt or killed... It’s not like it wouldn’t be easy. How many ways do I know to kill someone; and she's blind.” Yet even with those morbid thoughts, Elsa found herself leading Adele toward the piano.

“Sit down here,” Elsa said gently, showing Adele by touch where the pianos stool was. “I don’t have anything to give you back. I’m not a good artist, well not in that sense.” That much was true, even though killing could be said to be a art, if someone were good at it, and Elsa was very good at her craft. But that was not a gift a person gave another, was it. “It’s probably almost bedtime so I won’t take long,” Elsa added quietly as she sat down beside Adele, making the old piano stool creak. ‘Then I will try to find that nurse for you.”

Against a part of her that still protested loudly that what she was doing would only end up getting Adele killed, and another part that asked what was she doing. It was foolish to make more friendships in a place like St Osmond’s, and a third part that thought of just saying what she was and leaving Adele alone in the room to whatever awaited her, Elsa began playing... The piece was not long, only just over four minutes long and Elsa didn’t remember where she’d heard the song before as it had came to her only a minute before.

“Well; that’s it. I hope you liked it,” Elsa said as she finished playing, resting her slender, tapering fingers lightly on the ivory and black piano keys for a moment before she stood. Internally Elsa was still trying to understand her own confusing actions. “We should get moving,” Elsa spoke evenly, taking Adele by the hand and leading her from the room.. “I think a nurse should be back this way,” Elsa said thoughtfully as she turned right down a random hallway and continued walking. After a while she spotted a group ahead of them.

There was the lycan Henrietta, the other one, Kiyoko, who was naked and walking away from Elsa and Adele down the hallway and Nurse Clay. Elsa breathed a long, inner sigh of relief as she approached Clay. “Nurse Clay,” Elsa spoke softly, but loud enough and with enough presence to get the cat-eared nurse’s attention. “I know it’s almost time for bed, and I did not know where to take Adele,” indicating Adele with a raised open palm in the girl’s direction. “Plus Adele told me she wanted to see a nurse about something earlier...”

After saying a quick, but polite goodbye to everyone present... Elsa walked quickly away down the hallway, saying a quick ‘hello’ in passing to Kara... Once back in her own room, Elsa went straight to her bed and sat down. Leaning forward, she rested her head in her hands as it started to hurt again, making it hard to think, which was precisely what Elsa wanted, needed to do right then, she thought. Taking Adele’s gift from her pocket, Elsa stood and walked across the room to her small writing desk and put the gift in a drawer.

Elsa took a quick, hot shower next, hoping that the steaming hot water would sooth her head a little. It seemed to work, or at least Elsa thought it did as she drowsily made her way back into the main room... She slipped into a white coloured ankle length sleeveless faux silk nightgown and then got into bed, pulling the cover up to her chin as she turned onto her side facing the door, a habit Elsa had picked up somewhere along the way as a assassin... “I’ll figure things out in the morning,” Elsa thought as she drifted off to sleep.

(What Elsa played for Adele.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCpzbnq7O-M


“Drugs may be the road to nowhere, but at least they're the scenic route.” ~Author Unknown


‘Okay; okay, I’ll try,” Henrietta replied softly, closing her eyes as Clay patted her gently on the head. “Dammit all to hell,” Henrietta thought... “Bloody dam him to hell why is he being so nice. I know he’s a nurse and they are supposed to be nice but still; still it isn’t helping me, not in the way… Oh just please... oh for the love of god just please find me some Milk Bones.” Henrietta did not hate the cat-eared nurse for being nice... The issue was Clay was making Henrietta think of Casey and how, in his way, had been nice to her.

“No; no, I have to think about something Elsa,” Henrietta despaired silently. She looked at Clay, at his bare chest, which admittedly wasn’t hard upon the eyes and it did serve as a great distraction for a moment before a image of a bare-chested Casey came to mind, his chest streaked with bright red ribbons of blood. “Maybe I’ll just go to bed... Can you give me something to sleep,” Henrietta asked softly, hopefully... pointing to a nearby medical cabinet. She was interrupted briefly as Elsa appeared, leading a strange girl by the hand.

Following Elsa’s quick conversation with Nurse Clay, and her hasty departure... Henrietta returned her attention to Clay. “Do you have any Trazodone,” Henrietta asked quietly as she all but lead Nurse Clay to the medical station as he tried to speak to Adele. “It’s that one,” Henrietta said, pointing to a small square white bottle on the top shelf of the eight shelf unit... Nurse Clay then had to explain, although Henrietta was not listening, that he didn’t have a set of keys yet. Somewhere along the way Henrietta wandered away down the hallway as Clay turned his attention back to Adele... She suddenly was feeling sleepy.

It shouldn't have been a surprise, especially to Henrietta. Stress and anxiety, she knew all to well, could make a being very tied and physically ill. “Kiyoko,” Henrietta thought as she opened a telepathic link between herself and her friend again... “I’m just not feeling very good. I’ll… I’ll be okay in the morning, I promise.” Henrietta found her room and made her way inside... Like Elsa she took a quick, hot shower and then went to bed, but unlike Elsa, Henrietta slept naked. “Good night Kiyoko,” Henrietta thought as she pulled the thin cover up over her shoulders and slowly closed her eyes. "I hope... I don't dream... about him..."

And it was because of those pictures. Who put them there? Was it Dr. Wylde? Would she really do something like that...?" Henrietta's increasingly sleep filled mind wondered as she sank lower into the dark inky blackness of the void that was her night's rest. If it was the good doctor, what could she do, nothing really. She could try and tear the bitch limb from limb, but that wouldn't bring Casey back... If anything killing Doctor Wylde would get her killed and that would leave Kiyoko alone, no she had Remington, wherever the man was...

"But what if Kiyoko can't ever remember Remington again... She'd really be alone then. I can't... I can't do something that would get me killed... Even if it turns out Dr. Wylde put those pictures up or had it done... Even if I want to kill myself because of what I've done to save the other people I might hurt or kill someday. I have to stay alive... for Kiyoko. I just need... I just need a way to cope...! I can't go down that road again; I can't...! but what else can I do...? I'm losing it again... like after the accident," Henrietta thought as she finally drifted complete to sleep, in which, thankfully, she did not dream about Casey.

[Shin Majin]

Kara sighed heavily as she walked away from the encounter. The horned nurse seemed to know nothing more than she did. It didn't know why she was here, who was in charge, or even who did know. This puzzled her to no end. How could anybody possibly not know who they worked for? This only served to further her suspicions. Either this nurse was holding back simple information, or its higher-ups were holding back information from it.

Either way, everybody seemed to be leaving for their rooms, and upon further inquiry, disclosed that is was already night time! Was the day cycle shorter wherever they were, or had she merely lost track of time? In either case, there was no point in sneaking around at night. She began to make her way back to her room, which conveniently enough, was a double room. This was unlikely to be a coincidence, and it comforted her knowing that Hane would be with her in case...something happened.
After turning off the lights, she pulled off her simple two-piece outfit, hung it back up, then pulled herself under the warm sheets. Hane did the same. It had been a stressful day. They were in a strange place, seemingly for no reason, and nobody else seemed to know why they were there. The place's relative lack of windows was beginning to create a claustrophobic feeling, as well.

"What...do you think we should do now? Even the nurses here don't seem to know much about this place." Kara couldn't hide the worry in her voice. As usual, though, Hane sounded unconcerned. "We'll do whatever we have to do. Isn't that the way we've always done things? If we keep asking around, somebody should know a thing or two about this. I mean, if there are rules here, somebody's gotta enforce 'em, and somebody's gotta have given 'em those orders and rules. If we can't get anything outta' them, then I guess we'll just leave. We'll break out if we have to."

Kara smiled. Everybody assumed that she was smarter than Hane, but she wasn't so sure. At the very least, Hane was clear-minded and decisive. All the brainpower in the world didn't mean a thing if you couldn't act on your own deductions. Freshly comforted, Kara drifted off into a fairly restful sleep.