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Post by River Tam on Apr 20, 2011 21:27:36 GMT -5
**follow the voices**
Force equals mass times acceleration, a squared plus b squared equals c squared, odontophobia is the fear of teeth, Monday is the favored day for suicide, the pancreas produces insulin, one in five thousand lobsters are born blue, the king of hearts doesn’t have a mustache, American car horns are the tone ‘f’, there are twice as many kangaroos in Australia as there are people, Saint Stephen is the patron saint of bricklayers… Ow!
River looks up, scowling and rubbing her nose. Where had that pillar come from? She certainly hadn’t noticed it before she ran into it. She looks around the small hallway she now finds herself in. She’s never seen it before, but that’s not exactly a shock. There’s plenty of things she hasn’t seen in this school, and a hallway is nothing that really surprises her. She glares at the pillar again, and then kicks it. A strange grinding noise come from it, about a foot above her head. She looks up.
A brick is sticking out about two inches. Her breath catches in her throat as she reaches up with trembling hands and takes the cinder out of the pillar. She stands there, in the almost-compete darkness, staring at a brick.
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Post by Christina Ann Robins on Apr 21, 2011 7:48:15 GMT -5
::::::::::::::::: “Hear the bells that still can ring; forget your perfect offering! There is a crack in everything... for that's how the light gets in." ::::::::::::::::: Robin walked slowly down the hallway, hands glued to her sides. The wrapped fingers of her hands jumped and twitched every few seconds as if trying to leap up into the air, but Robin was preventing them from doing so.
Well, that was true.
You see, Robin had again blind-folded herself with a long satin red scarf that was tied under her curly-blond hair. Naturally, her hands wanted to leap out in front and act as a guide so if they ran into anything, the hands would warn her. But Robin had restrained them. She wanted this to be a challenge of her mind alone.
Eyes closed under the thick cloth of the scarf, a veil of aura washed over her eyes-- turning everything in her vision a series of outlined black maps. There. Robin turned as a pillar came into her line of life-force induced sight. There were many pillars in this hallway, which made it a perfect place to practice. And gain many bruises, but you know-- it was all the price of success.
Left.
A little more to the left.
Right.
No, not left-- Right--OW!
Stupid blind-fold.
Black-pillar! Left!
Right.
Stay-straight.
More black--- wait------------------
...blue?
Robin stopped, hesitating. Slowly, her hands leapt to her face and lowered the scarf off the tip of her nose. It fell down onto her neck and rested there, as Robin found herself face to face with another human being. "Oh. Hi, River!" |
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Post by River Tam on Apr 21, 2011 20:44:08 GMT -5
**follow the voices**
Even on her tip-toes, River cannot see into the hole created by the brick now resting heavily in her hands. What could possibly be hiding in the darkness of the pillar? Why did the brick slide out when she kicked the pillar? It just doesn’t make sense. It seems like something you’d see in a spy movie, not in real life. Well, this school isn’t exactly normal, per se, but it’s not Hollywood Blockbuster exciting either.
She jumps as she hears her name, so close to her. How could she had missed the sound of the footsteps approaching? Everything echoes in here, in the darkness. She unhooks the flashlight from the ribbon around her waist and flicks it on. A girl with curly blonde hair is revealed, a red scarf around her neck that for one terrifying second looks like blood. Robin. “Hey, Robin.” she says, then presses back onto her toes and shines the flashlight into the cavity left from the brick, craning her neck in a desperate hope to see inside.
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Post by Christina Ann Robins on Apr 23, 2011 9:43:28 GMT -5
::::::::::::::::: “They say that curiousity killed the cat. Well, that shouldn't be a problem for me-- 'cause I ain't a cat." ::::::::::::::::: Standing in silence for a few minutes, Robin deeply considered simply moving on and forgetting this encounter. But, curiosity got the better of her-- and Robin craned her neck around River's side, giving both the pillar and the girl an up and down glance. "Uh... River," She began tentatively, nervously alternating from standing on her heels to her toes. "...if you don't mind me asking: What are you doing?"
It was relatively strange for a girl to walk in a pitch-black corridor blind-folded-- but for Robin, it was significantly more for a girl to be staring at a brick in the middle of the corridor. Not to mention that it was 10:30 at night. And that these mysteries corridors were never exactly safe-- Robin learned that from hands-on-experience. Heck-- nothing in this school was safe! |
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Post by River Tam on Apr 23, 2011 10:34:10 GMT -5
**follow the voices**
She drops the brick, the sound like a gong inside her head. River winces, then steps up onto it, hoping the extra three inches will allow her to see into the hole. Sadly, it does not, but the girl doesn’t move from her perch, only stretches her neck up higher in a vain attempt to see inside. Only the top of the hole is revealed, the light from her flashlight shining deep into the opening, then… Bouncing back? What?!
She jumps as Robin speaks again, forgetting for a moment that her precarious perch on the edge of a brick might just tip her down onto the hard floor. After a moment, she realizes that the blonde had asked her a question. What was she doing? “Thinking.” she mumbles, “Feet brought me here. Hit the pillar. Brick fell out.”
She has to know what is in the hole to make the flashlight beam bounce back like that. Without thinking, she shoves her hand into the brick structure, her arm scraping painfully along the rough edge until her elbow reaches the opening, and then it will go no farther. River can just feel the side of something smooth and cool with her fingertips.
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Post by Christina Ann Robins on Apr 24, 2011 10:39:04 GMT -5
(Er, yeah. It's your thread, so you decide what happens. Hopefully this meets the 75 word limit... xD) ::::::::::::::::: "Since knowledge is but sorrow's spy, it is not safe to know." ::::::::::::::::: "Alright, then," Robin sighed, noticing that River seemed like she was obviously concentrating on something. She turned, readjusted her scarf to position themselves over her eyes. "See you in the morning then-- whoa, wait! What are you doing?" out of the corner of her mind, Robin had seen River's curious blue figure reach into the pillar-- where her mind's eye could make out a narrow black tube. First hand experience talking: 'Never stick your hand into a hole where you don't know what's inside. Snakes, bugs, secret levers and switches... Doing that was just asking for trouble.' |
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Post by River Tam on Apr 24, 2011 20:13:38 GMT -5
**follow the voices**
Robin’s question would probably have been useful a minute before River had dove bravely into the unknown, but the brunette probably wouldn’t have listened anyway. She’s incredibly stubborn, not taking the smartest of advice, and almost never giving in to doing things she doesn’t want to do. In fact, she shoves still deeper into the hole, straining with all her might, until her hand presses against a flat, glasslike surface. A blue spark, hidden inside the pillar, flickers to life. Instantly, she is thrown back, landing against the wall, a good ten feet from the pillar. She stares in confusion at her hand, smoking slightly, a black char mark standing out in brilliant relief against her pale skin.
“Whaa…? How…? Whaa…” she stammers, the pain of the electric shock the last thing on her mind. She’s completely focused on the hidden trap inside the column.
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Post by Christina Ann Robins on Apr 26, 2011 19:36:10 GMT -5
::::::::::::::::: "Ah, the things that we should know. If we knew them, we need less doctors in this world." ::::::::::::::::: Robin watched soundlessly as River dead-flat ignored her and shoved her arm further into the hole-- obviously trying to reach the switch at the back. Then, the transparent blue hand pressed against the panel and Robin's whole vision was cascaded with pure white light. Robin yelped and lept backwards into the wall behind her vision flickering uncontrollably between black, white, normal, and supernatural vision. Just in time too-- as River was sent flying backwards right where Robin had been standing moments ago. Slumping down so she sat on the ground, the girl let out a sigh of relief and exasperation as the aftershock of River's flight sent her hair flapping momentarily. All that came after that was silence lit by River's flashlight spiraling slowly on it's axis-- pointing vaguely at nothing. Sneezing, Robin shook her head, "You know, I could've told you what was in the pillar before you stuck your hand in like that, if you had just asked." |
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Post by River Tam on Apr 28, 2011 6:37:52 GMT -5
**follow the voices**
She smiles sheepishly for a moment, getting over the initial shock of the experience, then grins lopsidedly. “Yeah, but did you know what it was gonna do?” River pushes back to her feet and knocks the dust off of her skirt.
Unknown to the girls, the excitement is far from over. Already, inside the pillar, pins are pulling out of locks, levers are switching, bricks are sliding, all without the smallest inkling of a sound.
(Right, Daze. I dunno what I want it to do, so it’s up to you.)
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Post by Christina Ann Robins on Apr 28, 2011 7:52:10 GMT -5
You dare use my imagination?! XP I have nothing either! ...well, except... alright. But you asked for it. ::::::::::::::::: “I find it unlikely in the event of a case that I run off a cliff, that I'll be able to defy the laws of gravity, even for a few moment. This is the problem I have with Loony-Toons." ::::::::::::::::: Robin crossed her arms, a defensive position, and leaned back against the dusty walls. "Well, I could've at least tried before you went and burned your arm like that! Do you want to go to the infirm-- well, I could always try to heal it for you, if you'll allow it. I'm getting better at this stuff." Her scarf had drifted back down onto her neck by her plight backwards, so Robin also had no idea on how the chain-reaction was occurring. The locks switched and opened in the pillars, bolts under their feet slid open, and the tiny and thin tile-stones beneath their feet suddenly crumbled without basic support. As she closed her eyes to get a 'better' look at River's hand, it came to Robin, quite suddenly, that there was no floor to stand on. |
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Post by River Tam on Apr 28, 2011 16:25:56 GMT -5
**follow the voices**
Grudgingly, she extends her hand toward the other girl, shuddering at the mention of going to the infirmary, immensely grateful that she didn’t say the whole word. She closes her eyes, waiting for the shock of contact that would surely come with this examination, though the burn doesn’t hurt, really. Just a vague tingling in the surrounding area. As with all third-degree burns, the nerve endings are shot, and no blood is going to the burned area. Later on, she knows, the charred flesh will have to be cut off of her hand, but for now, it’s the least of her worries.
River’s stomach suddenly jolts upward. Her heart leaps into her throat. Her mouth opens in a silent scream, a perfectly round O of surprise, as her feet leave the floor, though she hadn’t jumped. She finds herself tumbling down through darkness, head over heels over head, for what seems like hours. Something hard and cylindrical hits her in the small of the back, and she snags it with one hand. The flashlight. Good-- it still works. She aims it down, shocked to find the ground only ten feet from her body. She closes her eyes, waiting for the fall…
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Post by Professor Alexandra Fieldings on Apr 28, 2011 16:26:26 GMT -5
Conjunction junction,
What’s your function?
Hooking up words
And phrases and clauses.
Alexandra, though she is a grown woman, can’t keep herself from the insuppressible urge to explore every square inch of the school. It’s probably a good thing tonight, though. She had seen the brilliant white light from inside the pillar, seen a dark figure thrown back, seen another form press back against the wall. She checks the map in her hand. “Fug.” (The word ‘fug’ was used as a euphemism for swearing in the book “The Naked and the Dead” by Norman Mailer, which Alex read when she was fifteen, and used ‘fug’ to swear ever since.)
She leaps into action, racing for the girls, but knowing that it’s too late. The floor is already disappearing beneath them, and before Alex can call out, they are tumbling down. It’s over a hundred feet to the ground. Gritting her teeth, she holds out her hands, stopping gravity underneath them. She steps out into the chasm, praying that she is strong enough to break the fall for all three of them.
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Post by Christina Ann Robins on Apr 28, 2011 16:43:24 GMT -5
::::::::::::::::: “I don't know about you-- but I would choose bullet to the leg rather than bullet to the head any-day." ::::::::::::::::: If it weren't for the sudden death thing, Robin might've thought that this was kinda' fun. Of course, she had bigger things to worry about than how she could turn this into some-sort of amusement park ride-- or how she could do it again. WHOOSH! Air! It seemed to slide past her lungs, always fleeting, never there for her to grab and inhale. The wind tugged at her eyes, making them water and curl. But unfortunately for her, even as the girl tried to shut her eyes and die peacefully, she could still see the light-speed approaching death sentence. This is the end... If I somehow live through this, I am never going to leave my room again. 50 feet. Noooooooooo! 40 feet. Falling... 30 feet. What? 20 feet. Who was that above them? 10 feet. I AM GONNA' DIE! 5 feet-- Invisible strings seemed to latch onto every part of her body, the strain making her head snap backward and making it painfully crack and send spots across her eyes. Not even bothering to open her eyes, Robin quickly noticed another figure had joined their plight-- and they were glowing. Well, not literally of course-- just the glow that suggested that they were using their ability. Suddenly, the bonds of invisible lines broke and sent her falling onto the stone and dirt ground with a large thump-- only five-feet from the ground. It was only a little shorter than her own height, but hey? Robin wasn't complaining. It was better than falling from 100 feet! |
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Post by River Tam on Apr 28, 2011 16:58:40 GMT -5
**follow the voices**
… But the fall never comes. Five feet from the ground, she suddenly stops, every cell in her body jolting painfully forward. Curse inertia. She drops to the ground, rolling over onto her back, but not bothering to stand up. She stares upward, seeing a figure, floating down, red hair wild around her face, blue high-top converse pointed down. She almost looks like a goddess. An angry goddess. A familiar-looking goddess.
The Goddess’s past flashes through her mind. Normal childhood. Loving parents. Went to Alexandria Academy. Gravity Manipulation. Now a teacher. At the school, no less. Literature. Professor Alexandra Fieldings.
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Post by Professor Alexandra Fieldings on Apr 28, 2011 16:59:05 GMT -5
Conjunction junction,
What’s your function?
Hooking up words
And phrases and clauses.
She clenches her teeth, struggling as their weight hits her invisible barrier. She can only hold them for a second, but that’s all they needed her to do. Just a net to break their fall. She looks around her, realizing with a jolt that she is falling as well, and slows the gravity around her, floating gently down to earth, landing with hardly a sound. As soon as Alex is standing, she turns on the girls, snarling, but doesn’t raise her voice. Much, at least.
“What the fug were you two doing! You could have killed yourselves.” She doesn’t even consider the possibility that it might have been an accident. She had stumbled onto the passageway when she was their age, so she knows how you drop the floor. She also knows how the ceiling will close over, which is starting as she glares at the sophomores.
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