Arrival

[River Tam]

THE WORLD KEEPS TURNING

They’re all rats in a maze. thinks River, watching the people bustle past her in the train station. Going from place to place, always thinking about themselves and no one else. Trapped in a maze.

Taking her duffel bag into one hand, she joins the hustle-bustle of people streaming through doors, her brown eyes flitting delicately over words above arches, looking for the train heading to South Carolina. There! Directly across the hall from her, a red light blinking steadily next to the words. The train is about to leave.

Dashing in front of an old couple, weaving through a group of schoolchildren, and mumbling a hasty “Sorry.” to a business-woman she runs into, River slides through the entrance, and leaps onto the last car just as it pulls out of the station.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she drops into a seat and cracks open a book. The ride passes in a blur of colors outside the window, and a few hours later, the pale brunette steps out of the otherwise empty train car.

She steps out of the station and hails a cab. A yellow station wagon pulls up next to her.

“Where to?” asks the wrinkled, old cabbie.

He’s going to die soon. she thinks, and says, “Alexandria Academy.”

River settles back into the cracked upholstery, pulling at a particularly large gap with her fingers. The car starts off with a jolt, and in half an hour, the cabbie speaks again.

“Alright, miss. That’ll be fifty dollars on the nose. Just take the ferry across from here.”

River slips the man a bill and ducks out of the cab, snagging her duffle at the last second, and trudges up the dirt road to where a boat sits waiting. She steps onto it, and in a few minutes is at the other side.

Taking a deep breath, she walks up the path, like a condemned man heading to an execution.

BUT NO ONE EVER NOTICES

[Christina Ann Robins]

Robin hugged her brown-clad journal tight to her chest, trying to muffle the pounding of her heart that pulsed throughout her entire body. She shifted in her seat, bopping her knees together as she rearranged her suitcase to slid more comfortably under the seat in front of her.

She was had rented a Taxi to driver her up to the school, as she had been on her own since the ferry to the island-- and Robin was just beginning to make out the tops of the white-clad mansion of a school. Biting her bottom lip, she fought the queasiness that rumbled up through her stomach as waves of pulsing emotion started to reach her from the school.

It was going to be an utter challenge, being surrounded by so many people. Robin had gone to a private school during her younger years-- and after constant pleading from herself when her abilities had first emerged, Trent had agreed to home-school her. Now, Robin was back at school with tons of people; she didn't know how she was going to cope.

The car suddenly slid to a hault; Robin's head sliding up in suprise. They had arrived, and the girl's stomach twisted horribly. Opening the taxi car door, she jumped out, paid the taxi-river his respective dues, and lifted her suitcase from the car.

Swinging it over onto the ground; she clicked the handle drew it out, begining to start her way up the path to the mansion. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a tall girl with black hair also struggling with her suitcase. Wordlessly, Robin slowed down as if not to catch her attention and continued her trek towards the entrance.

[River Tam]

YOU MAY BREAK MY BONES

River tugs her hair out from under the strap of her bag as she hoists the duffle up onto her shoulder. The fingers of her left hand curl around the doorknob, and then she stops, hearing the sound of Robin’s footsteps.

Her hand drops back down to her side and she turns around, looking nervously back behind her at Robin. She opens and closes her mouth, as if she meant to say something, but thought better of it. Her face stays expressionless, as she openly stares at the other girl, her eyes skimming over every detail of her, from her tightly curled blonde hair to her slow, quiet footsteps.

She blinks once, cocking her head slightly to the side. The knuckles of her right hand stand out, flared brilliant white, as her hand tightens around the strap of her bag, as if it is a lifeline keeping her connected to this world.

River had known that human contact would happen sooner or later, but had hoped that it might be a bit later than this. She wasn’t even in the door yet, for crying out loud! A small flicker of annoyance crosses her face, but it fades quickly, leaving her porcelain skin as clear and flawless as ever, except for the mild curiosity in her dark brown eyes.

Who is this girl? Why is she here? she thinks, then, though she tries so hard to squelch thoughts such as this, What hell is she going to put me through?

River hadn’t really had a healthy relationship with anyone since she left home, and even then, she had only ever really known her brother. It broke her heart when he didn’t come to save her from the School, and it hurt her even more to have to leave him again. One day, she knows, she will see Simon again. And then he will know what he put her through, and how much she still loves him.

But now, her thoughts are still on Robin, on the tiny girl walking slowly toward her.

BUT YOU WILL NEVER BREAK MY SPIRIT

[Christina Ann Robins]

Robin stops dead eyes locking with the girl in front of her. The girl's emotions hit Robin like a hammer, leaving her outward appearance as stock-still as a hammer and her knees weak. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, as if trying to block out the world around her. It was an instinctive thing humans do, but it only made it worse for the girl. The normal black that most people felt was replaced by a veil of blue and swirling clouds, strengthening her own abilities.

Realizing what she had done, Robin cracked open her eyes, swallowed hard; bowed her head in acknowledgment of the other girl's presence. Slowly, she took another step forward, opened her mouth, voice quiet, raspy, and dry, and murmured a faint greeting.

[River Tam]

After deciding that she could trust the girl, at least for now, she gives Robin the tiniest of nods, an almost imperceptible movement. The brunette pushes a lock of hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear.

A sudden wave of loneliness hits her, and she bites hard on the inside of her cheek to keep from crying, from sinking to the ground to wail for home. The acrid taste of blood fills her mouth. Wincing, she tenderly probes the new wound with her tongue as she turns back to the door.

Once again, she wraps her long, thin fingers around the shining doorknob. She hesitates, just for a moment, before twisting her wrist, hearing the smooth click as the door opens.

[Christina Ann Robins]

Robin staggered backward, suppressing a cry of alarm, fighting the urge to flee back after the taxi. Was everyone here sad? Was everyone here angry? The doubted she could last a day here, unless she did something fast.

Stumbling forward, not really realizing what she was doing, Robin reached out and touched the hem of the girl's shoulder.

[River Tam]

As Robin's fingers close on her shoulder, a scream bubbles up from inside of her, emerging from her as a strangled yelp. That’s how it always starts.

So many of her memories had sprung from human touch, the wonderful-- Simon’s hand covering hers as he taught her to write; her mother’s soft fingers wiping away her tears-- and the horrible-- white-gloved hands holding scalpels, the blades cutting into her tender flesh, carving open her skull, hacking at her brain.

“Don’t touch me. Don’t EVER touch me!”

[Christina Ann Robins]

Robin leapt back, as if struck, eyes wide.

Fear.

Anger.

Sadness.

Longing.

Gentleness.

Robin swallowed hard, and looked up straight into the girl's furious eyes. Instead of the expecte apology that wanted to leave her lips, all that came was,

"Are you alright?"

[River Tam]

Her chest heaves as if she had just run a marathon. Her poker face flickers for a moment, revealing pain, so much pain.

“They didn’t believe me.” she whimpers, so softly that if you were not listening, you wouldn’t have heard it. “I thought they would come, but they didn’t. I waited. So long. But they left me there.”

Her bag falls from her shoulder, but she doesn’t seem to notice. Her eyes stare straight in front of her, the pain in them so vivid, so pronounced.

[Christina Ann Robins]

(You're going to put Robin here over the edge with all this raw emotion. Are you trying to make her sick? XD)

"Who?" She whispered, her mind shrinking back from the terrible memories River brodacasted. As their minds started to conect, the memories became more vivid and terrifying-- flooding adrenaline and fear through Robin's own self."Who hurt you? Who didn't come?"

[Ani]

Guys, remember, there is a minimum word count of 75 words.

[River Tam]

(Sorry, sorry.)

“They- they said it would help me. It would be a good opportunity.” She sounds like a small child, frightened in the dark after a bad dream. “They didn’t understand.”

A tense moment passes, and then River lets out a long, shuddering breath. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for that to happen.” She smiles weakly, clearly still rattled. “I’m River.”

She stoops to snag her duffle from the ground, then turns back to Robin. “And you are?”

[Christina Ann Robins]

(Sorry, Ani. I'll try. I'm just getting into it.

She stares, at first, in silence at this broken girl. Then hesitating as the roles turn tables, she bows her head. "My name is Christina. But no one calls me that." She lifted her head, smiling slightly. "So I'm called Robin."

Slowly, the girl tilts her head and peers past River's form. Turning back, "Are you moving in too? To Alexandra Academy?"

[River Tam]

“It’s nice to meet you, Robin.” She turns her gaze to follow Robin’s before answering her question. “Yeah, I am.”

Without another word, she turns and walks into the room, taking everything in, marveling in the differences between this room and the last school she went to. While the last one was cold metal and examination tables, Alexandria Academy looks more like a home, the most home-like a place has looked since she left her family.

[Lillian Alexis Keller]

Lily Keller
don't you wish you could be a fly on the wall?

Lily was in the form of a lioness. It was one of her favourite forms, except for a hawk or an eagle. She was laying in the shade of one of the old oak trees that lined the school drive. It was one of her favorite places, at least to spy on new people.

This time, it happened to be two squabbling girls. One had yelled at the other, and they were ruining her peace and quiet. Time to referee, she thought. Rising slowly and silently, she padded soundlessly among the shadows, hidden to those who were not observent. Lily stepped out from underneath the trunks, and let out a quiet roar. Growling softly, she knew the one girl would understand. "Quit your fighting, some of us here like the peace and quite," she seemed to say. That girl, River Tam, could understand anything. She knew this because she'd read all of the new student's files. The other girl wouldn't understand, and Lily was perfectly fine with that. Let the girl do the talking.

Notes: Meh. Short. [keep that word count above 75! ]
Tag: River, Christina