Cyberlad
Qia
Half Pint
Festive
mickilennial
AndyC
Sep
Roman
Rockette
Lord Wraith
The sun beat down hard on San Franciscan streets. The bus rolled smooth. It was electric. Disquieteningly silent.
At a volume loud enough to be heard, but barely loud enough to recognise it, a song was piped through the speakers on repeat.
It had three passengers, scattered a socially reasonable amount of space apart to allow for personal space, but all three seated between the front and middle of the bus.
At the very front was perched a short girl of South Asian descent with a prim, clipped British accent. She was completely self-contained in her seat, and in her own occupation and sat with upright patience, despite having been on the bus the longest. One of her small hands was folded in her lap, the other propped open a notebook, filled with a neat script. The journals seemed to have her unwavering attention, save for the brief stolen glance and short "Afternoon" that greeted each new arrival on their journey, only to retreat back to her original focus. Not until the bus hit the more interesting famed hills and streets of the City itself did her raised hand finally fall as well, closing the book in her lap as her face turned towards the window. Her parents had seldom brought her to the city proper, and never as circuitous a route; always a direct clear purpose and home.
On the other side of the bus about three rows back, sat an excited girl dressed in green, of Japanese heritage.
Despite frequenting the city on a regular basis she still gasped in wonder at the sights. There would be time to befriend the other two new program entrants when they seemed more relaxed. She was happy to look upon the sights, some she'd seen, many she hadn't. More than happy.
Sitting halfway along the bus, but on the same side as the first girl was a cleancut male who'd been on ever since the bus stopped at Sunnyside. He was deep in thought and paid no attention to the whereabouts of the bus. Trusting instead, that it would hit its destination in reasonable time, he was clearly well within his own thoughts. The furrow of his brow forming a gentle crease beneath the discolouration of his hair as a result.
The bus came to a smooth stop at the Courthouse, and the doors opening, picked up a single passenger who was expeditiously uncuffed and had come fresh from Holding.
The older teenage male, with a distinctive hairstyle and a penetrating green stare looked up and down the bus at the assortment of passengers, before giving an unimpressed exhalation and getting on the bus, walking all the way to the back, one row ahead of the Aegis Security team member, he slid in and slumped himself against the window on the same side of the bus as the second girl.
The bus smoothly started again, whisper quiet, and made its way through traffic to get on the 101.
Once it eased from the on-ramp it swiftly made speed, all the while still whisper-quiet. The music continued to play at a barely audible volume, punctuating the mood periodically in the background, before drifting away again.
The bus moved to align itself for the next exit, which was foreshadowed by a sign as 'San Francisco International Airport'.
This drew great attention from the newcomer and the young girl of Japanese descent, who swapped sides of the bus and leaned against the windows to see what was going to happen.
The Security guard paid close attention to the male at the back, who was pressed against the side of the bus - he'd been briefed on this one - and unclipped a holster which held his radio, should the situation change.
The male let out a low-but-rising impressed whistle as he watched who the bus approached, before jumping back to his seat on the other side again, leaning back against the window and cooling out.
The bus made it's uncomfortably smooth, silent stop, and the doors opened.
Outside was a redheaded girl wearing dark sunglasses and with headphones in, seemingly sealing herself off from the ultrasensory situation of the outside world, and a blonde who was talking with a much older man. They seemed to be discussing exactly what would be happening, and when he would be speaking to her next - evidently he had the means to do so. The redheaded girl waited, part in patience, part because movement did not seem comfortable right now. The trio had flown in from Seattle, Washington.
Both girls boarded the bus, the blonde girl wore a telnyashka in the heat, looked up and down the bus and picked out a seat in the biggest vacant space, between the girl-in-green and the boy-with-the-hair from the courthouse.
The doors shut behind the redheaded girl, she grabbed a seat back in anticipation of a jerky, loud start, and when instead was only met with the electric bus's smooth and silent one, smiled slightly despite herself and made her way aboard the bus. Choosing the seat directly behind the quiet, introspective boy, who would likely be no bother to her in her current condition.
It wasn't long through the airport pickup line before the bus stopped again, this time to pick up a series of passengers who had come in from LAX. A quartet of people in various states of energy levels. Two boys appeared the most tired, particularly the young Hawaiian in the tanktop and shorts with his hair tied back and carrying a large board of some description. He'd transferred to San Francisco via LAX and the multiple flights were starting to show the effects. He embarked, and looked for a seat, considering who he had to work with, and immediately spotted a cool looking kid sitting at the back. He jumped at the opportunity and waded through the rows of seats, putting his board in the back seat next to the security member and sat in the seat opposite him. Shrugging off the fatigue to greet the other boy with a smile and a "hang loose" shocker hand gesture.
An African American girl with a full head of hair and a silver pendant, who seemed far fresher than the other three pickups here, stepped on the bus and made her way to the middle of the throng of passengers, choosing to sit about two-thirds from the back, in front of the Hawaiian transfer where the more sociable sort seemed to gradually be assembling.
A blonde girl boarded, and carefully selected a seat just behind the girl in green. Leaving a vacant two rows of seats as a social buffer. She eyed the final boy who was behind her to ensure he didn't intend to sit by her. And then briefly checked that the quiet, introspective boy with the white patch hadn't made any kind of moves to make eyes at her. He hadn't moved. He looked uncomfortably upright at this point, the blonde girl was so far from his mind he hadn't even grown aware of her presence yet, to her relief.
The final boarder from the LAX transfer was a Native American male, despite looking fit by his physique, he looked tired and weary. As if he'd had a late night. This was combined with the fact he'd been on a prior lengthy bus trip from Nevada to LAX before this bus got here. The blonde watched as he passed, turning in her chair and sitting more comfortably after he'd gone by. As if sensing the disapproval he sat further back behind the other blonde in the striped attire.
The bus once again smoothly pulled out in silence, before making another stop just ahead to pick up a solo transfer. This was an average looking kid in a hoodie, with auburn hair and the headphones of his MP3 player obscured deep within the recess of the hood. He exhibited no signs of being bothered by the day's scorcing heat. He sat several rows behind the red headed girl, opposite the last guy who got on from the LAX transfer.
The bus pulled further along before stopping to allow on program attendees who had transferred from Atlanta's Delta hub. These were a shorter African American male and a colossal boy comprised of granite.
They in turn sat between the Native American guy and the green eyed boy with the hair, and the auburn haired kid and the African American girl.
The bus lurched mightily to the left side as the slab of granite took his seat, disturbing a few of the program attendees before the bus settled into its balance and smoothly moved on once more.
Another stop, and an athletically built girl got on the bus mousily, as if trying not to take up too much space, or get in the way. With this in mind she sat close to the front, behind the small girl with the British accent. As she turned to get into her seat it became apparent why she had these concerns. A large set of wings tucked behind her as well as she could, which would have easily spread far beyond the bus on both sides if extended fully. She sat as comfortably as she could, all things considered.
The sight of the wings in his peripheral vision was even enough to jerk the quiet introspective boy out of his own head... for a few seconds, before he went back to his own thoughts, as if the wings she had were merely a new fashioned jacket he'd never seen before.
The bus pulled away quietly again, before making a stop to pick up some Northeastern transfers. A brassy rockabilly blonde girl and a smaller unnaturally blonde girl who was dressed in a hoodie despite the damnedable summer's heat.
The rockabilly girl walked to the middle and sat between the boy in the hoodie and the red headed girl, who by now was asleep - her protective instincts spiking. The smaller girl in the hoodie, walked to the middle of the bus. Briefly grabbing one of the metal seat backs, only to quickly release it as it almost instantly frosted up. She rapidly slid into the seat just in behind the blonde girl in the Russian striped garb, and the Native American and hurriedly reached into her pockets, putting on a pair of gloves in a rush.
The final airport stop picked up a bedraggled pair. A boy and a girl, both lean to the point of appearing unhealthy, boarded the bus and found seats near the front. The boy sitting between the winged girl and the other boy who was still trapped in his own head. Whilst the girl deciding to sit immediately behind the young girl of Japanese descent.
The bus pulled away and swiftly and silently took the on-ramp to get back on the Highway, leaving the airport behind them.
The electric bus cut silently through the traffic on the highway, eventually jumped on the I-280 and eventually went down the waterfront. Anticipation lifted amongst the kids on the bus. Water meant Ferry. Ferry meant they were close.
The bus pulled up by the Historic Ferry House, kids began to get excited. They were here. Many of the kids towards the back started to stand up. The excitable young girl in green was already bouncing on the balls of her feet, so she hadn't even had to stand up.
An Oxford accented voice spoke up from the small girl in the front. "The Ferry to Alcatraz Island doesn't leave from the Historic Ferry Building. What are we doing here?"
The doors opened, and with a small slap, a tiny otter dragged itself up the first step onto the electric bus, before shaking off its still-wet fur from swimming in the bay, beginning to look down the rows of seats.
"What. The. Fuck?!" One student called out.
The otter worked its way down the aisle as the bus started rolling again smoothly. It attempted to climb up into a seat near the front, and failing in the attempt chose to instead attempt to cling to a seat with tiny paws. It wasn't far from where the ferry actually would be, so it wouldn't need to hold on long.
The bus continued on its way to its final destination. The wharf had a smallish boat docked against it. The M/V Warden Johnston, the historic passenger transport vessel which would take these adolescents to their new home for the coming months at least.
Most of the youngsters once again stood up before the bus reached its destination in anticipation. The bus stopped and they all disembarked, except for the boy who was so stuck in his own head he hadn't realised the whisper-quiet bus had stopped yet, and the girl who was asleep in the seat immediately behind him. Getting to his feet and seeing her, he chuckled in realization, and bent over to try to gently wake her up and tell her they'd arrived, when the security guard barked at him from the back of the bus.
"Hey! You! Keep your distance! Leave the bus now!"
In stunned reaction, he raised both his hands in innocence. His eyes wide, as he looked at the officer, slowly backing away as he walked to the front of the bus. When he got to the door he turned back and checked on what he'd left in his wake. The guard was helping the girl to her feet as she woke. The boy stepped off the bus and joined the others.
The large boy of granite looked at the size of the boat with skepticism. With great care the security personnel helped the colossal stone teen aboard the boat, which creaked and rolled with the weight. They positioned him in the centre, where his size would be more manageable. They added the boy with the iconic hairstyle from the courthouse, the girl with wings, the boy with auburn hair in his hoodie, the girl in green and the otter. The rest would have to take the ferry when it returned from its first trip.
The others watched as the boat slowly drifted away from the wharf, before it's motor fired up and it powered away toward the Rock. The water was more still than normal on the hot day, but not without its chop.
Time trickled onward for the youths who had already had to wait so long just to get to this point, and anticipation was high - with a nervous energy amongst much of the group.
After a while they saw the boat finally reach the other side, moor, and the program attendees begin to alight.
As soon as the last one was off, it once again began to power up and come back.
They formed a more cohesive line as the Warden Johnston returned, so the larger group could more quickly and smoothly be situated on the ferry's second trip.
Once the boat was moored they were poured into the boat with far less consideration for weight distribution than the first trip had seen. The smaller blonde girl in the hoodie was very nervous in checking her balance and gloved hands as she stepped aboard the boat, as it rocked somewhat from the chop its motor had created in returning to the wharf.
As the last took their seat, the rope was away and the boat cast adrift. The nose of the Warden Johnston raised slightly as the motor powered up to send the second batch to Alcatraz Island.
Soon enough the ferry was being moored on the other side and all of the new Ju-V program attendees had reached their destination. They were escorted through to a set of gates where security personnel searched their items.
Numerous items were seized, the officers met with a mix of different levels of disappointment from the property owners in general, but it was too late now. Each person's seized items were bagged up to be returned upon their departure from the program and the compound. Some items would only be taken temporarily, to be more extensively searched, and returned to their owner's room with a large yellow sticker declaring that it had passed through security's scrutiny.
The group were then herded together and walked down a long corridor where they were brought to the Recreation Wing's sports court, and stood in attendance as a full group of nineteen.
The clipped sound of leather dress shoes walking across the stadium floor echoed before the assembled group.
"Hello newcomers. I... am Director Virgil Rowell, I will be responsible for your tenure in this facility; your rehabilitation, your growth. Between yourselves and I, we will decide the person that YOU will be. Much like the world outside of these walls... this place is a community. You will be expected to behave in a socially acceptable manner. If you do not, you may find that your time here becomes more difficult than it need be."
He walked along the line, stopping in front of the child with the distinctive hair from the courthouse.
"There are many people in here for numerous reasons. Theft of personal property will not be tolerated... but at the same time, taking things into your own hands, should property be stolen will be treated more adversely than the initial theft. If we are to be a community OUT THERE we must be a community IN HERE. I hope I have made myself clear on this matter and it will no longer need to be addressed."
"After all, for many of you this place is about rehabilitation. Continually dragging this up and treating you in this fashion is not good for this purpose either."
"Welcome to Alcatraz Island."
