Experiments

[Nox]

Dimirty had carried blonde to Alistair's lab through the underground tunnels. He had almost tripped several times, but he was thankful the woman wasn't overly heavy, though his arms felt like noodles when he dropped her into a cot in the lab.

It wasn't necessary now, but it would be later so Dimitry started strapping the blonde down. He mumbled to himself. "She's drunk and the 'form should be enough to keep her out." That's what he kept telling himself.

There were cameras in the little room. He knew Alistair was watching in his creepy sort of way. Human test subjects, she was the first woman they'd tried. They hadn't had good results on anything yet except animals... dogs and rats seemed extremely susceptible to the 'thing' Dimitry didn't understand any of it.

Now it was a matter of waiting till she woke up. Alistair always wanted to taunt his victims first - make sure they knew what was going on. That if this worked they'd be powerful god like creatures able to make more of themselves with ease. That was Alistair's favorite part. Describing how they would reproduce themselves. Dimitry shuttered. At least the money was good!

(( Alistair will come in when Nat wakes up. http://w11.zetaboards.com/TheFirstAge/si...t=10373581 -- I have to go see why his image isn't showing I know I picked one ))

[Natalie Grey]

She woke and could not move. A note of immediate panic locked her chest, coursing ice through her veins. Dim memories skated at the back of her mind, but they bled into a terrible darkness. She squeezed her eyes shut, breath catching in her raw throat, air never reaching her lungs. Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic. But when her fists tightened and opened, she realised straps held her down. Her teeth sank into her lip to stifle whatever awful sound threatened to escape.

Breathe. You only have to breathe.

She forced it all down. Numb and hollow. You're not dead, are you? And you're hardly helpless. But she certainly felt it. Shivered with it. Because the light hadn't come when she'd almost died in Africa, had it? And her mother's money wouldn't save her now.

[Nox]

The girl was awake. Alistair didn't know how long she'd laid there in a panicked state. It didn't matter. He'd only sedate her again until he was ready to preform the procedure. He was still missing a key ingredient. One of his men had yet to return with the specimen. They had everything ready, but now, now they waited on fresh specimen.

Alistair ran his fingers throw the short hair on top of his head and felt a little greasy. He needed a shower. He wiped his hands on his lab coat. Maybe he should shower before greeting his guest. No, that wouldn't do.

A grim smile slide across his lips as he opened the door separating her from the rest of the lab. His voice was ragged with lack of sleep. And the light of these so called channelers called to him just out of reach. He'd known what he could do before Ascendancy, but now, well now he had a name for it. But he wasn't going to reveal his secret to anyone. It was his secret. "Welcome."

Alistair walked to her bedside and stood above her looking down. He knew it was menacing, it was partially the point. "I'd apologize for the restraints but I'm afraid you'd run and I can't have that."

"What's your name?" He really didn't care but sometimes it felt good to put the subject at ease and small talk was a means to an end.

~Alistair
Edited by Nox, Oct 23 2017, 01:25 PM.

[Natalie Grey]

She'd been walking the razor's edge for as long as she could remember. Flirting with risk; waiting for the consequences to grab her by the throat, knowing one day it would not let go, and perhaps then she would discover the answer she sought.

Natalie knew full well the destruction she was capable of. Knew she could burn this lab to the ground, all of them in it, or wrench bones and limbs like rag dolls. The discovery had lit her heels with the urge to run before, and she'd fled continents to do it, still searching for something she was never quite sure of. Africa had provided peace for a while - an equilibrium she longed for now, the sense of belonging by choice rather than necessity. But the memories were tainted now. She thought of the refinery massacre. Azu's decision to stay. The pain wasn't easing; it filled up an empty void in her chest. A numbing helplessness.

The straps bit and the panic began to rear again. Helpless. Trapped.

No.

She refused to be a victim. She forced herself to stillness, to concentrate on the rise and fall of her lungs like it was the only thing that mattered. She pictured the light igniting in her veins; welcoming it even if it seared her to ash. But the doubt was still there, and the light didn't come. The only thing she managed to do was to ride out the panic attack.

Then came a voice. The pad of footsteps. Natalie stiffened, braced for the unknown, her nails carving crescents into the flesh of her palms. Her pale eyes settled on the stranger that came to loom above and an instinctual fear roiled in her belly, repulsed by her vulnerability. But the same fear crawling her skin fired her courage now that she had something to focus on. She'd spit in the eye of the devil. She would not cower. A muscle twitched in her jaw. Assessing. Angry and powerless. "Are you sure I'd run."
Her voice was hoarse, throat lined with blades, but there was an unmistakable challenge. The threat that fleeing would come secondary to revenge.

It betrayed every animal instinct, but she tore her gaze away from that gaunt, impassive face. The light didn't come. The fear was still there. So was the hope. It galled her to engage in the game he played, this pretence of affability, but she also knew it was probably her best chance of playing for time. "My name is Natalie Grey."

[Nox]

The girl had spirit. Alistair liked that. That kinda spirit wasn't good for obedient soldiers, but it was good for survival. The name she gave made him pause. He was pretty sure it should mean something to him. He gave a mental shrug, it would come to him later.

"Miss Grey. I'm Dr. Alistair Pavlo. You are going to help me with something." He pressed a button and a wall lifted to reveal a glass pane on the other side. The room was dark on the other side. Alistair smiled as he waited. There was no telling how long it would take for the zombie-like creature to show up at the pane to see what was beyond the light.

Alistair and Ms. Grey didn't have to wait long before the sickly creature was pressing its hands and body against the glass trying to get out. Trying to get to the fresh blood on the other side. It was hungry. Alistair liked them that way. It made things go smoother. "We are missing one party member, and then all of my guests will get together."

Alistair smirked. "I think I'll leave you two to get acquainted."

[Natalie Grey]

He shared her father's name. Some irony. Natalie's gaze moved to the wall as it lifted to reveal a dark space beyond, the lead pit in her stomach deadening its weight. She flinched when the creature within hurled itself against the glass, her wrists jerking against her bonds reflexively. Her heart hammered. It barely looked human. What the fuck was it? Panic gripped her chest in a vise. The man's words washed through her.

Just the tap of his shoes as he walked away.

No one knew she was here. No one knew where she had gone last night. No one was coming.

How long would the glass last? Was it meant to?

She closed her eyes, feeling the tears leak. Embracing the fear.

And the light rushed in so sweetly it burned.

Her eyes shocked open, struggling to contain the mad euphoria that threatened to drown her -- but swept up in it nonetheless, and discovering in capitulation that it purred and arched like a cat beneath her touch. Her fingers twitched. She'd never had the chance to feel it like this - compliant and all encompassing, rather than reacting to desperate instinct. But she didn't pause to question it.

Pain lanced her wrists, like the thrust of razor wire swept across her skin, then suddenly the pressure containing them released. She sat up too quickly, and the moment she did her head panged dizzy. The room spun out of focus then resettled. She regretted all the alcohol, now. The throb in her skull. The sandpaper rasp of her throat. Just act. Blood washed her palms. Twin cuts lashed her her wrists like an inexpertly wielded knife swept the bonds away. Shallow, but bleeding profusely. She wiped her hands as best she could, then scooted to reach the straps on her ankles. She was dimly aware of threads snaking amidst the glow of power. Writhing like electricity.

The thing beyond the glass grew frenzied like it could smell the blood. Maybe it could.

Bang.

One leg free.

Bangbangbang.

Her fingers slipped. Hands shaking. Each ram against the glass jerked her body involuntarily. She wiped her palms again hastily, finally negotiated the clasp, and swung her second leg free.

[Nox]

Alistair hadn't gotten far before he felt a cold chill run down his spine. What was that? He asked himself.

The strange sensation made the scientist turn around towards his quarry. She was tied up and should be fine, but something told him to get back, to check on her. Had the glass broken? It shouldn't have...

Alistair thought of all the things it could be as he walked back to his enclosure and checked the locks. Everything was fine on all the doors. He opened the one with the girl. The only one that didn't have abominations - soon this one would house one too. Soon she'd be the first human in his new batch, new concoction. Soon, he'd have his super soldier and a lot of lucky accidents.

The latch clucked into it's final unlocked position as Alistair pulled the heavy door to him. The woman was sitting upright, her wrists bleeding and her legs were freed too. "What? How?" Alistair didn't waste a single moment before he grasped at his hidden resource - the dark light in his mind. He wrestled it into submission. The moments it took to get it under control were becoming fewer and fewer between. He'd finally learned the secret of wielding it without distraction. But it had been a perilous journey. A journey he'd not wish to ever undergo again.

The power cascaded around him and he drew up a barrier of earth around the girl. The ground shook as spires of earth erupted around the pretty little blonde. Immobilization was his goal. But he wondered if he should encase her head or allow her to see her destruction coming...

[Natalie Grey]

The pain of her wounds throbbed. Just move. One bare foot made contact with the floor when even over the continual slamming of the creature she heard the thick mechanics of the lock -- so much louder, everything seemed so much louder. She froze, gaze sweeping the empty room for something she could use to defend herself, but the door already opened upon the aghast face of the doctor.

Natalie tensed, fists clenched, ready to launch herself -- but the ground around her suddenly trembled and thrust skyward. She flinched her arms across her face, the light inside burning brighter in sudden fury. It slammed outward, spewing rocky rubble. Something cracked, but she was already crawling over the jagged remains of the spires that had nearly skewered her. Her feet tore on the shards; she ran for the door, propelling herself into the corridor beyond.

[Nox]

Jumping back to the original post and rescue party.