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 Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2007 2:03 am
She sat in a corner of the coffee shop, absentmindedly twirling the spoon in her mocha-latte...thing. She never could tell the difference between all the drinks in the overpriced shop. They all tasted the same anyway, it was the atmosphere she came for. Nearly everyday after school, it was always to the same corner, with some random coffee off the menu, and sometimes a muffin or scone to accompany it. What she did there depended on her mood. Sometimes homework, sometimes a bit of reading. Today she doodled in her Biology spiral absentmindedly, while looking at a picture in her textbook. It had caught her eye when she was skimming through the book a few days ago, but she wasn't sure why until she asked her teacher what it was.
"That? Its a Lotus flower."
A Lotus...That's why.
Half daydreaming, she looked out the window at the setting sun. It was later than she thought, and so she closed her books and put everything away, leaving her empty coffee cup and a dollar tip behind.
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Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2007 2:28 am
Lin walked through the open garage door, and kicked off her birkenstocks at the welcome mat just inside, dumped her backpack next to them, and headed into the kitchen.
"Hi Lin!"
The girl turned to the sound of the voice to see a young girl standing with an irritated looking cat in her hands.
Lin smiled.
"You know she hates that. Why don't you put her down May?"
May gave her a pouty look, and hesitated for a moment before letting the cat down, who in turn hissed and darted away.
"You're back late. Mommy was going to call you."
"Where is she?"
"Next door. Mrs. J needed noodles for their dinner."
Lin nodded.
"Tell mom I'm in my room if she needs me."
May nodded in agreement and as soon as Lin turned towards the stairs, she went off in search of the cat once again.
Lin reached her door and stood there for a moment, in thought once more.
Why was she thinking about stuff like this all of a sudden? Was it the stupid picture?
She shook her head a few times to clear her mind then entered her room and shut the door, going straight to her computer.
No new mail.
With a sigh, she clicked around, checking on her favorite sites to see if anything new had happened, and with that a negative, Lin leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling.
Was she expecting something to happen? Did she want something to happen?
In the past, all she wanted was the quiet life. A home. A family. Now it seemed she was growing restless.
Was this all this life was going to be? Somehow she expected it to feel more...fulfilling. worthwhile.
Before, she meant something in the grand scheme of things. She had taken the "grand scheme of things", thrown out the window, and helped write a new scheme.
Now she was a little speck. Hardly noteworthy of anything.
"Be careful what you wish for..." Lin muttered to herself.
Funny thing was, the thought hadn't crossed her mind. None of the past had, for quite some time.
It was in the past, and she picked up her things and moved on.
Now it seemed to haunt her thoughts. Was there something left to do? Or was everything over. Either way, she figured she wasn't going to like the answer. Sometimes, she wondered if it had even really happened. But then she remembered the nitemares. And there were still the scars. Shuddering, she ran her hands across her shoulderblades, as if touching them would bring back the pain.
And then there was the key. Lin had found it one day, and its teeth struck her as interesting, so she slipped it in her pocket.
That was the first night she had one of "the dreams."
She had always known, even from the time she could hardly stand on her own, that there was something that had happened...before, somehow. But that night, about three years ago, she began having dreams, and for the first time she began to learn the specifics of her past. And calmly accepted them as true. Then the scars began to appear. lightly at first, then as prominent as they had always been. And she accepted them, and took measures to keep them hidden.
They key meant something. But in three years she had failed to find anything that it would fit in.
Was it the key to the lab? Did it actually exist here?
That was something she still wasn't sure of....
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Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2007 5:21 am
Lin opened her eyes with a start and looked around. No more light was coming in from her window, and her computer was in hibernation mode, so she assumed she must have dozed off. Looking down, there was a blanket draped over her.
"Mom must have come in..." She thought to herself. She made move to pull it off when she sensed movement in her peripheral vision, and she stopped.
"Who's there?" Her muscles tensed. She didn't look it, but she kept herself in excellent shape, and had been taking karate lessons for years.
There was no answer, and after a moment, Lin flung the blanket off and turned to face where she had seen the movement. Her cat was sitting on her bed, licking her paws.
Lin let out a long sigh. Was she relieved or disappointed? Smiling faintly, she crossed the room and sat down next to the cat and began to pet her.
"Hey Pancake. Did mom let you in?"
Pancake's response was a pleased purr, and she rubbed up against her legs.
"It's over. I should be glad right?"
The cat stopped and looked up at her, her eyes seemingly glowing in the dark.
"Yea, its a good thing. I'm safe. I can live a normal life. I can go to school...have a family...and not have to worry about some psychopath trying to ruin it all."
Pancake purred in response.
Lin leaned back, letting her head hit the wall behind her with a dull thud.
"Who the hell am I trying to kid? I'm bored out of my mind."
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Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 3:46 am
Lin woke up in an entirely white room, and looked down to find that she was clothed in flowing white robes and a pair of simple sandals.
"Isn't it what you always wanted?" A voice spoke from behind her. It was hauntingly familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. She whirled around to see a figure standing behind her, but she couldn't make out any features, it was as if her vision was blurred, although everything else was crystal clear.
"What?"
"Your new life. Simple, safe, and you have your dearest wish. A loving family."
The last part was spoken with a touch of bitter sarcasm.
"And lets not forget. None of the others are there to bother you any more."
"The others didn't bother me."
"Is that really true?"
Lin thought for a moment, back to before. True, she had always treated them poorly, but she had trusted them with her life more than once.
"But did they trust you? All you ever did was push them away."
"That doesn't mean I was bothered by them."
"Do you think they believed that? Maybe that's why you aren't with them now."
Lin bit her lip and turned away.
"Of course. You were just misunderstood. Tormented by the situation you were in."
The sarcastic tone was back, and Lin got the impression that he (she was pretty sure it was male) was grinning at her.
"I was a cold hearted manipulative b***h. Is that what you want me to say? Or do you want me to deny it and continue to wallow in my self pity over the past?"
There was a pause, and a sharp intake of breath.
"You've come a long way."
"Am I supposed to say thank you?"
The figure chuckled. Lin noticed that the blurriness was beginning to go away.
"You haven't lost your charm."
"Are you going to tell me something important or no? My alarm clock is going to go off soon."
Suddenly, the figure became clear, as if he stepped out of a haze.
Lotus.
"Farther than I expected."
"You think I didn't realize it was a dream?"
"You weren't supposed to until you woke up, no. But that's not important." He stepped forward and slipped an envelope into her hands. She looked up at him, confused.
"The place you were looking for."
Lin began to open it, but he stopped her.
"Don't look until you wake up."
She nodded, and faintly in the distance, she could hear a faint buzzing sound. Her alarm clock. Lin looked back to Lotus, and she could see him beginning to grow blurry again, but she could tell he was smiling at her.
"Lotus?"
"Yes?"
"You're dead...aren't you?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"Yes. I am."
Lin woke up in her bed, a small envelope held tightly in her hand.
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Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 4:07 am
Lin left the envelope sitting on her bed while she did her normal morning before school routine. Her curiosity burned, but she waited until just before she normally left for school. Her fingers shook as she tore the seal. Inside was a simple piece of paper. Quickly, shaking even harder, she opened it.
"An address?"
Then she thought of the key.
She dashed to her desk drawer and wrenched it open. There it sat, laying on top of some old papers. Lin grabbed it, and dug through her jewelry box until she found an old silver chain, and slipped the key on and put it on.
Then she flipped her computer monitor on, and pulled up a map program and quickly typed in the address. After a moment of computing, it gave her the results. Downtown Lakefront, only about 15 miles.
It was an office building, though currently not in use. Using a few tricks a friend had taught her last year, she did a little more looking, and in a few moments, she had the name of the owner of the building.
"B. Dakkon." She said under her breath.
"Oh god..."
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Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 6:52 pm
It was all in her hands.
Everything she needed. Needed for what though? What did she hope to accomplish?
Did she long for closure, or another adventure? Her thoughts we torn. Perhaps she just wanted some sort of clue that she wasn't alone.
Was it possible that she was the only one that made it? That everyone else was gone?
The thought had crossed her mind more than once.
Her mother called from downstairs.
"Lin, are you almost ready?"
"There's no way I'm going to school today."
"Coming mom."
She put the paper in her pocket, and tucked the key under her shirt before she opened her door and walked down the stairs, still trembling slightly.
Her mother looked at her oddly for a moment, but said nothing, and Lin followed her out the into the garage, slipping on her shoes and grabbing her bag as she did.
The car ride to the school was silent, Lin had put headphones on the second she entered the car, in order to avoid a conversation. Her nerves were wound much too tightly, and speaking would be a dead giveaway.
When her mother dropped her off at the curb, Lin hopped out and waved goodbye, waited until she was out of sight, then crossed the street and got on the public transportation bus that would take her two blocks from her destination.
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Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2007 12:34 am
Before she realized what she was doing, Lin was standing in front of the building, looking up. It was easily the tallest building in the city, reaching about 30 stories. She looked back down and peered through the glass, not seeing much. Her hands shook violently as she pulled the chain off her neck and slid the key into the lock. Holding her breath, she turned it. The door opened easily.
Lin stood there on the threshold for a few moments, not quite ready to walk inside. The building was dark, and seemingly unused, and a thin layer of dust covered the floor, interrupted only by tiny tracks made by rodents.
After what seemed like an eternity, she walked inside properly, and shut the door behind her.
She was standing in what appeared to be a lobby. There was a reception desk, also covered in dust, with a computer. Lin reached down and lifted up one of her pants legs, and pulled a knife out of its holster, holding it ready in her hand as she headed towards the elevator.
It finally arrived, and she stepped in, only briefly considering how long it may have been since it last had maintenance. The doors shut quickly behind her, and immediately the car began to rise.
It moved quickly, though it creaked and shuddered. When the doors opened once more, there was a loud groaning noise and Lin quickly darted onto the floor. As soon as she did, the doors shut behind her, and the car began to descend.
A glance out the window told Lin she was either on the top floor or close to it. The elevator had opened into a narrow hallway, with no doors, and only the one window to her left.
The only way to go was forward, Lin thought to herself, as she began to walk, her knife clenched tightly in her hand.
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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:27 am
The hallway came to an end, with a heavy metal door at the end of it. Lin approached it, and touched the handle, spent a moment to gather her courage, and pushed it open. The door led to what looked like a lab, with computers, and filing cabinets, some chemistry equipment was set up to the left. It looked like nothing had been touched in quite some time, but the computers were on. She lowered the knife and approached one, nudging the mouse a bit to cancel the screen saver.
Username and password required for access.
Lin frowned, and thought for a moment, but nothing came to mind. Then she heard a noise behind her, and she let out a loud yelp and jumped, whirling around. There was no one in the room, but one of the drawers in the filing cabinet behind her had opened somehow.
She cautiously walked over to it, and knelt down to inspect its contents. Inside there was a small box, with her old name written on the top in graceful letters.
She picked it up and blew off the dust, and made a move to open it, when she heard a voice.
"You must leave now."
Not hearing any other noises, she froze for a moment before she realized the voice was in her head.
"Spread your wings and fly. The window faces the South, there's nothing but fields."
She could see the little window in the corner, but fly? Could she? The thought had never crossed her mind, she had always just assumed her powers were gone, but now that she thought about it, it seemed silly to think so.
"Don't just stand there like an idiot! Get out!"
The voice was more urgent now. Quickly, she slipped her jacket off, and with very little effort, her wings slid out.
Thats when she heard the shouts coming from the hallway. A quick glance told her there were at least five people coming towards her, and she got up to make a run for the window. Gunfire rang out, and Lin tucked the box close to her chest, her wings tightly against her back, and leapt through the window.
"I hope I can still do this..." She thought as she fell. After a few seconds, Lin spread her wings out to their full span, and the shock nearly caused her to drop the box. Using her speed from the fall, she was able to coast far into the empty field behind the building, and tumbled to a stop in the tall grass.
"Am I safe, voice?" Lin said, not really expecting an answer.
There wasn't one.
"Well, I wanted adventure...", She thought, standing up and brushing herself off a bit before tucking her wings back in and slipping her jacket back on. It was early Fall, and there was a chill in the air, even though, judging by the sun, it was almost noon. Taking another glance around her and finding nothing, she plopped back down into the grass to open the box.
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Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 4:58 am
Lin stared at the inside of the box in disbelief.
There was nothing inside.
She closed it, and opened again, not really expecting anything to happen, but she couldn't accept the fact that she had just been shot at and leapt through a window for an empty cardboard box. She had expected to find papers, old belongings- anything.
Instead she had nearly gotten herself killed....for an empty box.
She growled and cursed in frustration and threw it across the field.
"ALL THAT FOR A ******** EMPTY BOX!?"
Lin got to her feet, and seeing that the box hadn't flown very far, she stomped on it a few times, although it didn't really make her feel any better.
"You really feel that you wasted your time?"
"What's that supposed to mean!?"
"You're angry. Understandable. Perhaps I should wait."
"Like HELL!"
"Now now Lin, shouting never gets you very far."
Lin was seething, and breathing heavily.
"Take deep breaths."
As angry as she was, curiosity got the better of her, as usual and she listened, and after a few moments, had calmed down.
"You gained nothing in a material sense, but you learned something important, did you not?"
It was true, she supposed. She had come to the realization that she wasn't happy with the quiet life, and that she still had her old powers.
"You aren't Lotus, who are you?"
The voice laughed.
"Just an old friend. Hopefully you will find out soon enough."
And then Lin knew she was alone again, and she decided to head home.
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Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 6:22 am
Lin decided, once she got back to the main road, that she would walk home. It wasn't horribly far, a few miles. She was wearing good walking shoes, and figured it was probably best to burn as much time as possible. Her parents didn't mind when she occasionally skipped school, as long has her grades were kept up, but it was best not to show up until after school was out, just in case the office never called. It happened sometimes. Walks were always good for sorting things out, and for thinking. The rhythm of her pace calmed her mind and helped her to think clearly, which was something she needed.
"Am I ever going to be happy?"
"Is anyone?"
"How many people do I have listening in on my innermost thoughts these days?"
"Just me, for the most part. But even that's rare. Your thoughts are usually pretty boring."
"Thanks. So do you have a point?"
"I said it already."
Lin let out an exasperated sigh, causing several people around her to stare for a moment.
"Just food for thought."
"You're pretty annoying for a dead guy."
After a few moments with no response, she frowned.
"Lotus?"
Lin sighed.
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Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 9:43 am
Lin arrived back at her house a little after three, and plopped down on the couch, flipping on the tv. Her mother had left it on CNN and there was the usual string of bad news going across the screen. Pancaked hopped up next to her and purred, nuzzling his head against her. She smiled and petted him absentmindedly as she watched the reporters and the news footage. After a few moments, Pancake hopped off the couch and stared at a spot towards the other side of the room, near the entryway. Lin turned and followed the cat's gaze, seeing only a shimmer at first. She concentrated for a moment, and slowly began to see Lotus's form take shape.
"Stalker."
He smiled and walked toward her, taking a seat on the couch. Pancake hopped up and curled up on his lap, looking intent. He looked at the tv, then at her.
"Makes you feel insignificant, doesn't it?"
"Going to actually talk to me now?" She said accusingly. After a moment, she answered; "Yea, it kinda does."
"So what are you going to do?"
"About what?"
"You aren't satisfied with your life here."
"Am I supposed to be?"
"Its what you always wanted."
Lin let out a long sigh.
"This is what people do. They grow up, go to school, go to college, get jobs, have families."
"That's what humans do, yes."
That made her pause.
"You, my dear, are no such being. From the moment you were born, you were destined to be more. For someone that has already left such a mark on the world, it would be a shame for her to live the rest of her days in suburbia.
"But none of that actually happened, did it?"
"Thats a tricky question. To an average human, the world was not affected in such a way that they would notice. The project itself never truly existed in a physical sense. But those who experienced it have such a vivid memory of it that, to say that it never happened, would be I suppose.... 'spiritually' incorrect. As a direct result of events that took place there, your world was destroyed, which would indirectly affect this one as well...To say whether or not it happened is really not possible to give a definite answer. But think of it like this; You experienced it. You exist here. Therefore it was real, since your memories of it are present here."
Lin thought for a moment, and nodded.
"And the building?"
"Was where the observations were made from outside. I assumed you gathered that while you were in there."
"Well yea but...is it still running?"
"It is still capable of running, although its purpose has been served."
"Why did you send me there?"
"You were getting boring. Another few months and you wouldn't have been able to use your wings at all."
"So instead of that, you decided to torture me with the thought of having more."
"Does it bother you so much?"
"You seem to read my mind enough to know."
Lotus chuckled a bit.
"What is it you want?"
She sighed.
"I'm not meant for the quiet life."
"No. You're not."
"Do I have a choice?"
"There's always a choice Lunel."
Thats right. My name is Lunel. I'm not Lin.
"You have something you want me to do."
"Is that a question or a statement?"
"A statement."
He smiled at her.
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Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 3:18 pm
He turned the tv off and turned to face her.
"I assume you did enough research to realize who officially owns that building, correct?"
Lunel nodded.
"He's been quiet for almost a year now. He's up to something."
"What do you want me to do? Go knock on his door?"
Lotus grinned.
"I want you to investigate. He hasn't been keeping tabs on you like he did when you were younger. You might be able to 'keep under the radar' so to speak."
"Until what happened earlier."
"Its been taken care of."
"I'll take your word on that, but what do you mean, keeping tabs on me?"
"He watched you like a hawk from the time you were born, till around the time you entered high school. When he seemed satisfied that you would grow up to a normal boring human, he turned to focus on other things. And I can't keep track of him anymore."
"So why didn't he kill me?"
"There were too many people watching you. Everyone assumed he would focus on trying to kill you, which turned out to be a mistake."
He waved his hand.
"Thats not the matter at hand right now. The security in the office has been disabled. I want you to go back and investigate."
"You're pretty crafty for a dead guy."
He laughed softly.
"Calling me dead stretches the truth a bit. But I wouldn't really go so far to say that I'm alive either. If you need me, I'll be able to find you."
Slowly, he stood up.
"Wait. The computers were passworded."
"I'm sure you won't have a problem."
As soon as he spoke, he was gone, and Lunel sat alone in her living room, Pancake sleeping next to her on the couch.
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Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 4:03 pm
Lunel's mother and sister came home around six o'clock with a pizza, and she ate quietly with them, not saying much. Afterward, she sat on the floor of the living room and watched cartoons with them, and quietly went to her room around nine, saying she was tired. Once inside, she shut the door behind her and locked it, and changed her clothes, putting a cami shirt with a low back on, and put a hand over where the key was still hidden under her shirt.
Quietly, she pulled on her tennis shoes and slid open her window. The night was cold, and she shivered a bit as the breeze drifted in. Lunel gave herself a quick glance over in her mirror and picked up her backpack that was filled with things that might be needed, and slipped out the window, leaving it open a small crack to get back in later. Lunel climbed out onto the roof, and gave a quick look around to make sure there were no prying eyes before she shifted her backpack to be slung low over one shoulder, and spread her wings, flapping them a few times to work the muscles, and took off towards the inner part of the city.
It was already dark, but Lunel took care to fly high, panting slightly from the effort it was taking her to stay aloft.
"Damn, I'm out of shape."
After about a 10 minute flight, she landed on the old building's roof, and sat on the edge for a few moments, catching her breath.
"I don't remember it being that hard."
"It's hard because you've ignored your powers for so long. You're lucky to be able to use them at all."
Lunel glanced around, looking for a sign of him, but saw only a bird flying lazily overhead.
"That door is unlocked. Go through it and down four stories. That was the main laboratory."
Lunel nodded, even though she wasn't sure if he could see it or not, and walked towards the door, goosebumps prickling up on her skin as she touched the handle. And she was positive it wasn't from the cold.
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Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 8:35 pm
Lunel took a deep breath, and turned the handle. The door creaked loudly, and she winced and slipped in. The stairwell was covered in cobwebs and she made a face and slowly headed down the stairs, flipping on the flashlight she had pulled from her bag as she did, interrupting years worth of dust on the ground. After counting four stories, she stopped at the doorway that would take her to the main floor, and paused for a few moments. She could hear no noises coming from beyond it, but she wasn't about to take chances either. After hesitating a few more moments, she lowered her bag to the ground and pulled another object from her bag, and stuck it into the back of her jeans, and opened the door, a part of her expecting Dakkon to be standing there, waiting for her. But the room was just as dust covered as the stairwell, and mostly empty. A single computer was in the corner, covered by a dust jacket.
"May as well get started..." Lunel said, as she crossed the room, pulled the cover off, and hit the power button.
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Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 8:56 pm
Her footsteps were soft as she walked down the hall, almost a mirror image of the girl that worked at the computer. The biggest difference being height, a good five or so inches taller, her build more muscular, ready to fight. Her pumpkin colored hair framing her face in the front while the back was pulled into a sloppy bun. A smile crept across her lips as she caught the glow of the monitor, her own black wings almost invisible in the dark hall. Turning back, she slid into the room and watched as the girl typed away at the computer.
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