Mysterious Circumstances (pm to discuss joining)

Once dressed, Kate felt her way to the door and opened it, tripping over April, she fell on her and heard April cry out.

"Oh goodness! What happened?!" Asked Kate, moving to kneel as she felt both Austin and April lying prone on the floor.

"This asshole." David said, ignoring Yuet's advice and giving Austin another kick to the ribs. "Just attacked April out of nowhere." David did his best to control the rage in his voice. "Did he try to... Do anything while you were in the shower?" David asked trying not to say what he was thinking even though it was obvious. If Austin had tried to rape Kate, nothing could stop David from killing him. He looked at Kate waiting for her to tell what had happened.

Kate let out a tremulous sigh and shook her head. "He...I was getting out of the shower and slipped just as April was taking my clothes he'd fetched for me from him. He was there to stop me from falling. I don't think he meant to stare...I'm sure he did based on his flummoxed comments afterward. Then, April pushed him away and got me wrapped in a towel and I felt like a bone with two dogs...So, I told them both to leave." She explained.

Meanwhile, two MeRPs with a pair of hover stretchers came and Yuet helped get both patients, both now unconscious, onto the stretchers. The MeRPs then whisked the two injured people away.

David nodded still angry. "I don't know what's wrong with that kid, but this shit has to stop. I can't watch him 24/7. If he does this shit again, I'm putting him down." David said his voice slightly raised in anger. "Do you need anything Kate? Any help getting somewhere?" David asked his voice returning to its normal tone.

Kate shrugged. I guess I can listen to a program or something. Lounge, then, please. I really can't wait until these new eyes kick in." Kate said, taking David's arm.

Yuet followed them. "I jus don't understand why anybody so mad...I never saw woman beated up before...I no want to see it again."

"That's one sight I'm glad I wasn't there for and am too blind to see, Yuet. I agree with you." Kate said with a smile.

"You get sight back soon, you say?"

"That's what I've been told." said Kate.

"Good. Maybe I draw a picture for you. You look at it when eyes better again." Offered Yuet.

"I'd like that. Xie xie." Said Kate, thanking Yuet in her own language.

"You speak Chinese?" David asked in surprise as he guided Kate into the lounge the helped her sit on one of the large soft couches. "Anything in particular you want to wat... Listen to, Kate?" David asked as he sat down next to Kate. "You can join us as well Yuet." David said patting the spot on the couch next to him.

Suddenly a siren rang out and lighting went red as the intercom blared,
"LOCKDOWN. NO ENTRY OR EXIT OF MED BAY FOR SIX HOURS. Residents are on reprimand. Warning 1. Limits on use of altering substances such as caffeine and alcohol are to be enforced for the following fifteen days. Limits on violence in programming, music, games, and literature until incident caught on surveillance video properly reviewed by command staff. Rules for behavior will be uploaded to all devices. NONCOMPLIANCE IS NOT TOLERATED."

Then, every device buzzed as the lighting returned to normal and siren stopped.

Yuet sat down just after the announcement whispering, "Scary!"

Kate said, "I guess Command just heard about the fight." Then, back to David she added, "Anything, perhaps read me the new rules when they come...Oh, I only learned a little Chinese during my travels. I know some Spanish, Italian, Latin, Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, Arabic, Farsi, Gaelic, German...And a bit of French, Chinese, Japanese...Oh, and both ASL and ESL, only a little different from one another." Explained Kate. "Who knew I should've learned Braille." She joked.

OOC: oops. I accidentally hit the post button. I'll try again

"Well shit." David said. "That's going to make things difficult." He turned back to Kate as she listed all the languages she knew. "Wow. I failed Spanish in high school. That's about the extent of my language skill." David laughed. "That's really impressive Kate, I've never really had a mind for words." David said picking up the remote and scrolling through the available movies. "How does everyone feel about Will Ferrell? I think a nice dumb comedy would do us all some good."

Kate shrugged, "I don't know who he is but it's fine with me." She said.

Yuet grinned, "I know who he is. Funny. Very funny man. We watch?"

David smiled at Yuet, her enthusiasm refreshing to him after such a stressful day. He chose the movie where Will Ferrell was a professional ice skater. It was a dumb slapstick movie and it helped David keep his mind off he things. He sat back enjoying the movie with his two companions.

Yuet enjoyed the film. It reminded her of her friends back in Beijing who'd gone to see it with her back when they were in their early teens. She hadn't seen any of them in so long and now realized she'd never see them or her family again. That made her sad. She didn't say so, though, and instead remained wondering how long she'd be able to get along with all these strange people.

By the end of the film Kate was itching to do something, anything more active. She wasn't sure what she wanted, though. That was answered when the devices, including tv screen, flashed up a screen with "Rules for Research Subjects". Yuet read the heading aloud, having some trouble with the "r"'s. Kate took David's hand and gave it a squeeze, nervously asking, "What do they say? Does it explain what they want from us or just telling us what we may not do?"

David gave Kate's hand a gentle squeeze in return as he began to read the rules aloud.

Ship rules and regulations:
1). Passengers are allowed 1 alcoholic beverage or 2 caffeinated beverages in a 24 hour period. If the approved limit is surpassed, the passenger will be subject to food rations and variety penalties.
2). No violent content above the ratings of TV-14, PG-13, or T may be viewed for the next 15 days. No music with violent lyrics may be listened to. No books with violent content may be read. Any attempt made to access this content will limit media access for the entire ship.
3). All violence between passengers is strictly forbidden. From this point forward 1 confrontation between passengers will put both passengers in a detention period for 6 hours. A second offense will result in a behavioral control chip to be implanted. A third offense will result in termination.

Thank you for you cooperation. Any questions can be addressed to a MeRP or the kitchen staff.

David finished reading. "Well... Guess I'm down to one beer a day." His joke not sounding all that funny with the worried note in his voice. David paused for a moment before saying. "That kid is going to get us all killed... Again."

Kate commented, "I hope they didn't put him and April anywhere near each other in "detention"...poor April..."

Yuet added, "Termination I get, mean death. But, what is, "behavioral control chip"?"

Kate bit her lip and replied, "It sounds like mind control via artificial means...R.C. Austin. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy."

Yuet sighed, "I don't know those two well but I have feeling they prefer to die than have chip in brain."

"Would you want that in your brain?" Asked Kate?

Yuet shook her head. "No way."

********************************************************


Med Bay
Detention Cell

April's head wounds and broken nose were repaired within an hour.
Then, she was put into a chair with restraints holding her legs and arms down. The chair was bolted to the deck. She was obviously not allowed to go anywhere until the artificial intelligence running the ship decided she may.

Across the cell about ten or twelve feet away from her was an empty chair just like hers. The room was empty and had bare, beige walls. There was a camera drone circling the room, recording every second. Every ten minutes the lights would go dim and a projected image of "Ship Rules and Regulations" would come up on every wall for exactly ninety-two seconds each time (She'd been timing it. There'd been nothing else to do.).

Once, she'd begun to doze off and the chair jolted her awake with an electric shock about the strength of the ones her grandfather described used to happen if he'd forget to turn off the switch, closing the circuit, before changing a light bulb, back in his childhood. Not damaging in short amounts but painful enough to keep her awake.

It was during the second hour that a dazed and woozy looking Austin was carried in and strapped into his chair. He looked like he'd also just had surgery.
Then, just as the lights dimmed and the rules came up onto the wall again, the MeRPs exited the room and left the pair of them like that.

Austin was awake and looking like a trapped animal when the lights came back up. He looked across the room at her and she smiled menacingly back. "What?" She asked, annoyed even looking at him when he glared that way. "This bullshit is all your fault. You're gonna get us lobotomized or killed if you keep it up."

Austin's head felt like it had a construction site inside of it. His head was pounding and even the slightest noise hurt. He opened his eyes and the lights blinded him. "This is like my worst hangover times ten." He thought. He growled in anger as two MeRPs carried him off of whatever he was lying on and into a plain beige room. He was roughly tossed into a chair and strapped in. Across from him sat April. Age was smiling with smug satisfaction at his situation. She told him this was his fault and that he was going to get everyone killed.

"Fuck you cheerleader! You fucking started this shit! If you'd just kept your mouth shut we'd be fine! But of-fucking-course you had to prove how much better you are than I am! Well fuck you!" Austin shouted trying in vain to break free of his restraints. He didn't care how much it hurt to scream right now. All that mattered was the rage that was threatening to consume him. If he didn't let it out he knew it would drive him insane. "My entire life cunts like you have told me how fucking worthless I am and now look at you! You're right here with me. Welcome to Hell cheerleader."

April shook her head, tears welled up in her eyes but she shook her head and looked away, trying to will herself to stay calm and not take the bait. "Why does everyone have to suffer just because you can't stop feeling sorry for yourself?" She asked Austin softly.

He didn't think it was possible, but Austin began to shout even louder. April had tapped a depth of rage Austin didn't even knew he had, and even if he'd wanted to he couldn't stop his rant. "You think you fucking know what suffering is!? You think you've got any idea what fucking pain is!? While your fucking daddy was buying your fucking sweet 16 pink convertible mine was beating me. While your mom was kissing you goodnight mine was so fucked up she didn't know my goddamn name. You think you know suffering!? Come to me and tell me about suffering after your daddy lights you on fucking fire!"

April spat, "Fuck you and your fucked up family. You've done nothing but make assumptions about me since you stumbled into the place. You don't know shit! I had nothing like the life you paint for me, prick!"

She started telling him her story. Once she began the telling it flowed out of her like pus from a lanced wound: April had never known her father but had heard he'd left town two days after her sixteen year old mother had told him she was pregnant. They were kicked out of April's grandparent' s house when April was twenty months old because April wasn't sleeping through the night and her crying was annoying her grandparents, that and April's mom couldn't find a job. They were living in someone's basement until close to April's third birthday. She had a vague recollection of some drunk guy interrupting her blowing out her three birthday candles by throwing a packed suitcase on top of the cake and yelling at April's mom to, "Take the kid and get out. I have a new girlfriend and she's less trouble."...
...Then, they lived on the street or out of friend's cars, off and on, for a year and a half. April's "Sesame Street" was watching the schizophrenic bag lady argue with the meth head on the corner every morning while mom was dumpster diving for breakfast. April was left at her grandparents' house, packed suitcase and kindergarten ready toddler, left on the screened porch, when she was four and a half. Mom left. She would send cards and letters stuffed with money every couple of weeks, and great packages filled with cheap toys and coloring books for holidays, but Gram and Gramps were resentful yet raising little April while mom was away working (April later found out she had been prostituting herself). April missed her mom terribly during that time.
...When April was six, Gram got cancer. Gram was sick for a few months and April could remember a time with nothing but school and visiting Gram at the hospital. She hated the hospital... Then, on her seventh birthday, April came home from school and asked Gramps where her cake was. His response was to slap her hard across the face then break down crying like a baby. Gram had died. Mom came back for the funeral. She argued with Gramps afterward and April was made to decide who she wanted to live with. She couldn't answer and simply cried. Mom turned, without saying goodbye, and walked away. Gramps raised April for four more years. Then, he got sick. Something with his brain. He stopped being able to move. He was on life support. April was hating the hospital again...Gramps died...Mom came back. She looked like normal moms, had a husband and a baby son. They wanted April to move in with them.
...Things were OK for a while, like real family...Then, Daddy Chuck started looking at April funny. He's the one who noticed and told mom that at eleven years old it was time for April to get a training bra. He walked in on her changing three times and didn't look away or walk out as fast as she'd have liked. April told her mom she didn't feel comfortable around Daddy Chuck. He looked at her weird. Mom said she was imagining things. Time passed, April loved being a big sister, loved school...But Daddy Chuck was still creepy. He started not caring whether she was in the room or not when he'd put on porn. Once, he tried to touch her and she screamed and mom came in the room and saw what he'd been up to. She and him fought all night long and April and baby brother were sure he would kill mom. April called the police and they saved her mom's life.
...Daddy Chuck went away but mom now had two kids and a mortgage. She worked a lot. There was never enough, no money, no extras, sometimes no heat or electricity...but the three of them were OK. Life was ok, normal, just poor, during most of junior high and high school...
...Then, in Junior year came the energy drain, the constant colds and flues, she was always sick. She nearly didn't get to graduate because of absences. It wasn't long into her first year of community college that she was diagnosed. Cancer. And, the cancer got really bad really quickly. Two years sick, one year bed ridden. Then, death.

"So, you see? Nobody's perfect. No time for cheerleading or even staying on in glee club when you're stuck dying in a bed, coughing up your own entrails."

Austin listened to April's story in seething silence. When she finished he gave her an odd look. "What's wrong with you? Why aren't you pissed off too? The world fucked you over, why don't you want revenge?" He paused. "People have looked down on me my entire life. They've called me a freak. They've called me worthless. Told me I'd never be anything. People like the fucking pig out there. My entire life people like him have kicked me, people like me, people like us. And after being kicked enough I wanted to kick back. " He paused again looking confused. "If you're really one of us, they why do you want to be one of them? Where's your rage?"

"What good does rage do?" April asked through tears. "Haven't you ever been tired, so tired...so tired of being angry or scared or fighting?...Austin, at the end I didn't even have the energy to sit up. I couldn't sip through a straw. I was skin and bone and everything hurt. I had no energy to be angry. When I got this second chance I really was kind of pissed at first...But, the more I think about it, the more I'm happy to have a chance to be fit and healthy, to sing and dance and eat and laugh...to enjoy being in a body that works for a while. I want to try to be happy, even if it's just for a little while...before they do whatever it is they are going to do to us."

Austin felt tears blur his eyes. He tried to stop them but he couldn't. He hated her. He hated her because she could see through him so well. He hated her because she was right. Rage hurt. It ate away at his soul. But he needed it. "Because without it I don't have anything!" He shouted. "If I don't feel rage then it's nothing!" He tilted his head backing showing his scar. "I died a long time before this." He said quietly.

"Austen, please don't get me into more trouble. Don't hurt anyone, ok? I want to leave you alone but I can't stand by if you shit all over everybody around us!" April pleaded, "David is a cop, OK? He's a good guy, I think, but as a cop certain things will get on his nerves. That girl, well, she's barely an adult. She doesn't mean any harm. Kate, she's like a living saint, Austin, Jesus Christ, if you're going to go crazy on anyone don't do anything bad to her because I can't let you! I can't let you hurt innocent people just because you hurt. I need this, Austin, I need a chance to feel alive for a while without all the drama and pain. Shit, Austin, you could try making the best of it too. We could have fun here instead of beating the shit out of each other. Can't you try?"

The lights dimmed and the rules came up again. April just sat there quietly weeping.

Austin watched April weeping in silence. She thought he was going to hurt Kate. He felt the rage leaving him. He felt the familiar cold in his stomach. The deep grey fog that invaded his mind when the rage left him. He thought back to his final months at home. After Angie left he was totally on his own. No one to talk to. No shoulder to cry on. He was totally alone. And to make it even worse, his father took all his rage out on Austin. He was alone and scared and in pain, and now the feeling had returned. He looked at the sobbing girl in front of him and spoke in a soft tone, his meaning obvious. "Don't worry. I'll be out of your hair soon."

April shook her head,"Then, you're truly not getting it. Do you honestly think killing yourself hurts no one? Kate is starting to care what happens to you, though I knew from the start that'd be unwise. Yuet was defending you. I lay there bleeding, David raging, and Yuet was defending you...your death would hurt them. We don't want you dead. We also don't need the constant anti social, hate the world, destructiveness. Find a happy medium, balance...I don't know how, but find it." April replied before the rules were back again.

They talked in circles this way for another hour, spent one in silence,each absorbed in their own thoughts... In hour five April broke the silence by asking, "Can you think of any games we could play to make the time pass?"