fish in a barrel /lin/

[Rick Freedom]

Rick Freedom
i used to be old
but now i feel young
‘cuz i was a boy
when i learned
how to run

He takes a step backward, his back hitting the steel wall, and slides down the wall, putting his head in his hands and propping his elbows up on his bent knees.

“Of course it’s more appealing. Starving ourselves puts us completely--“ As if they aren’t already. “--at the mercy of the MCA-ers. But taking it into our own hands and ending it on our terms… That adds a whole new level of independence.”

Rick raises his head and runs a hand back through his hair. “But, you know… Whatever we do in this test will be our way out of the fourth.”

[Lin Heiwa]

Lin Heiwa.

at times i wondered
if i had not come
a long way
to find what i sought
was something that i
left behind.

"Independence..." She echoed, sliding down the wall in a similar way and propping her chin up on her knees. Well, it's a start. Maybe if we showed these scientists that we'll fight them the entire way (hence the name freedom fighters) they'll let us go. Or they could kill us instead, which was all the more likely.

Then came the comment on the next test, and the girl sighed wearily. She had a sneaking suspicion that the next test would be alot more deadly than they both thought it to be-- but said nothing to voice her concerns. Maybe it would be easier when time and time came around if one of them was ignorant. Or maybe he had guessed too-- and was trying to do the same thing. Or maybe she was just over-thinking things because of the dark.

Lin sighed heavily, eyes flickering close in the dark (not that it mattered). She knew Rick had a plan, or at least an idea. Or maybe she was just assuming things like what seemed to be the trend in the past few weeks. "How?" Lin asked simply, voice muffled behind her knees. Anyway, she knew it was going to be unpleasant. The girl absolutely hated the dread of being unconscious. The prospect that she'd be totally unable to do anything, unable to wake from a sleep-- that had always horrified the girl. If it came down to that only one of them could be knocked out and the other had to endure the insanity of solitude and hunger.... Lin probably volunteer. The great things about the last few tests were that the uncounciousness was simply as easy as falling asleep. No apprehension-- just slowly sliding into a still sleep and waking up refreshed.

This would be different, and like any other person-- Lin was scared.

[Rick Freedom]

Rick Freedom
i used to be old
but now i feel young
‘cuz i was a boy
when i learned
how to run

He wraps his arms around his knees, glad he doesn’t have to but on a brave face for Lin’s benefit. He just has to keep his voice from shaking.

“Quick knock to the temple.” he says, faking a cheerful tone, and pushes to his feet. “And Lin? Neither of us is going to wait this out. That runs the risk of the other waking up and having to repeat this whole thing again. So we’re both going out.”

Rick starts to pace around the room, suddenly unable to stay still. Nervous energy.

“We have to do it soon. If we wait long enough we’re just going to talk ourselves out of it.”

[Lin Heiwa]

Lin Heiwa.
at times i wondered
if i had not come
a long way
to find what i sought
was something that i
left behind.

Every muscle in Lin’s body was tense, on edge— half expecting something to jump out of the dark and attack her at any second now. Heck, if a scientist walked in now and offered to get her out of here in exchange for an arm—Lin’d probably agree. Despite everything, though—Lin forced a half-smile (even though no one could see it) and managed a nonchalant voice.

“Alright,” she sighed. Back against the wall, Lin slid to her feet—crossing her arms, shoulders rigid; murmuring with a credibly normal voice, “Alright. Let’s get it over with. Any ideas on how to do it simultaneously—or is one of us going to have to go first, and other knock-themselves out?” Now she was just rambling, nervous beyond belief—simply standing there on the outskirts of the room in a totally frozen position, “I think I remember how to do a sleepers hold, from the times back at the School. I dunno if I can hold my breath long enough to knock myself out—is it possible to do a sleepers hold on yourself? Running into a wall won’t work either, I don’t think—we’d physc ourselves out and stuff…”
Lin abruptly cut herself off, falling into an uneasy silence.

[Rick Freedom]

Rick Freedom
i used to be old
but now i feel young
‘cuz i was a boy
when i learned
how to run

As he approaches Lin on his third circuit around the room, he slows down.

“It’s going to have to be one at a time. It’s not possible to do a sleeper’s hold on yourself. That’s not the point of the move.

He continues to shuffle toward her, his steps completely silent on the concrete floor.

“I’m sorry.” he half-whispers, about a foot from her now. “I’m so sorry.”

He’s so different from the Rick of last week-- the one that was ready to run off and perform for the crowds, the one that talked of red Ferraris and burgers. He remembers the boundless joy and energy he had then, so different from now, subdued and thoughtful. Being in a laboratory as the lab rats really puts a damper on things, especially when your mother who orphaned you before you were even in the double-digits appears as one of your tormenters.

“Lin, I’m afraid you’ll have to go out first.”

[Lin Heiwa]

Lin Heiwa.

at times i wondered
if i had not come
a long way
to find what i sought
was something that i
left behind.

Lin let out a shaky breath, hugging her forearms. She didn't move other than that-- simply standing there in the middle of the room. She shivered, although it wasn’t cold—and let out a small cough for no other reason than to steady her voice. “Lovely,” Lin responded weakly after several seconds of awkward silence, cursing herself mildly for allowing this to happen in the first place

She had a bunch of questions that were snuffed under his heavy statement. Such as, how would it happen, how would he ‘get to sleep’ too, how did he sound so calm, why this had to happen to them, and bunches more—but all were crushed under Lin’s sigh of accent. Instead, she only asked one of them, not trying to put it off, or trying to convince him to go first, or to figure out another way—instead asking one thing: a request. A request that she hated: hated the child-like weakness in her voice—and the pleading edge—a voice Lin hadn’t used since she was very small. She hated the fact that the scinetist had broken through her shell, and forced this question upon her lips.

“Can you promise me that it won’t hurt? That it'll be like the other times?”

[Rick Freedom]

Rick Freedom
i used to be old
but now i feel young
‘cuz i was a boy
when i learned
how to run

He reaches out and places a hand on her head. “I would never hurt you on purpose. You’re my family, kiddo.”

It’s not an answer to her question, not really, not at all. Because, honestly? A sleeper’s hold cuts off all oxygen to the brain. That can’t not be at least a little bit painful.

It won’t keep her out for long-- a minute, two-- so he’s got to do whatever it is he’s going to do to knock himself out pretty soon after she’s out. If they had to repeat this whole scene… That would certainly not be fun. Not fun in the least.

“Ready?”

[Lin Heiwa]

Lin Heiwa.

at times i wondered
if i had not come
a long way
to find what i sought
was something that i
left behind.

”Yeah, yeah—” she scoffed back, needing anything to joke about at the moment, lightly standing on the tip of her toes to knock his hand off, slightly irritated to how tall he was. “Next time answer the question and leave out the emotional stuff.”

Well, quite honestly—that didn’t help. Not at all. One, it confirmed that it was going to hurt (at least he didn’t lie about it). Two, it made her wonder how Rick was going to knock himself out—and wondered how long a sleeper hold knocks someone out. Not long, if she remembered correctly.

“I’m ready.”

A pause, then nervousness took over again. “So, what is it? Sleepers hold, or a quick knock to the temple?” Another pause. “Do whatever will give you the most time. I’m ready.”

[Rick Freedom]

Rick Freedom
i used to be old
but now i feel young
‘cuz i was a boy
when i learned
how to run

He sticks his tongue out at her (unseen by both of them, of course), and lifts his hand from her head. “Pshh, answers are so overrated.”

“Sleepers hold. It’s more effective, and less likely to leave you with a nasty bruise.” And what if he misses her temple entirely, gives her a black eye? In the dark, there’s really no way to aim. With the sleepers hold, all her has to do is squeeze her neck, and she’s out like a light.

Moving around behind her, Rick links one arm around her neck, elbow in the little divot in the middle of her collar bone. His left hand closes over his right fist. And, silently praying this’ll work and he won’t hurt her, he squeezes. If he’s doing it right, it should only take a minute.

[Lin Heiwa]

Lin Heiwa.

at times i wondered
if i had not come
a long way
to find what i sought
was something that i
left behind.

“Right,” Lin responded dryly, still clutching her arms in a half-hug around herself. Temple-knock—no good. There was that 90% that it could just hurt, and not work at all. Or it could work, in that 10% chance, and be relatively painless. …Lin liked her odds with a sleeper’s hold better.

The next thing she knew, Rick’s one arm was wrapping around her neck. Not expecting it at the moment, Lin flinched but didn’t move other than that. Slowly the pressure increased—and after a few seconds already her thoughts were getting fuzzy. It was a funny feeling. She could breathe totally fine—it was just—getting hard to think properly. I guess that mean’s it’s working, she thought blearily.

And slowly, heart speeding up rapidly as the blood furiously tried to reach her brain, Lin dizzily tried to take one step backwards—and…

…and…

…

[Rick Freedom]

Rick Freedom
i used to be old
but now i feel young
‘cuz i was a boy
when i learned
how to run

She goes limp in his arms. Tears spring to his eyes.

Carefully, Rick lowers his friend to the ground, propping her back up against the wall. He sits down next to her, crosses his legs Indian-style, and lets his head fall backward onto the wall.

He takes two deep breaths and presses his shaking hands palm-down into the concrete floor. He releases all of his breath and covers his mouth and nose with one hand, forcing his jaw shut and his nose closed.

After a minute, his lungs start to burn. He has to fight every instinct to keep from ripping his hand away from his face and gulping in air.

At a minute thirty seconds, his heart starts to beat fast.

At a minute forty-five, he starts to feel light headed.

And at two minutes and thirteen seconds, Rick Freedom loses consciousness.

[Lin Heiwa]

(D'aw... so sad-- it made my stomach get that weird feeling of sadness and epicness combined... Anyways, I'm going to slide Lin quite quickly through Session Four. You can do what ya' like. My version of the the session makes scientific sense. :3 (I got the science from a Star-Trek))

Lin Heiwa.

at times i wondered
if i had not come
a long way
to find what i sought
was something that i
left behind.

When Lin opens her eyes again a few minutes later-- it's pitch black. Her head pounded on all sides, and there was this suffocating feeling--

Everything was fuzzy... what exactly had happened? Did she pass out in the dark finally? Or was it because... oh right. The sleeper hold plan. Did it work? It must've, she felt absolutely terrible-- this was nothing like the other times: not as easy, and she definitely did not feel refreshed. But if it worked, then why was it still pitch black?

Only one explanation:

Their plan didn't work.

Oh god. Lin struggled to sit up, but after a few seconds she gave up. Too dizzy, too weak. She could feel the wall next to her side as she slowly rolled over from her side onto her back-- either she fell down, or Rick put her there or something. It was too confusing to try and put the missing puzzle pieces together, so the girl stopped trying.

Somehow, a few minutes later-- she used the wall to slide up into a sitting position. Huffing, sh started to call out, find out if Rick was awake yet-- and the beginning of his name was just on her lips, "Ric--"

"Let Session Four Begin."

Wha--?

Then the darkness exploded into light-- and Lin, looking straight up at the ceiling as if looking at the exact spot where the hidden microphone was-- suddenly found herself bathing in a white light.

And like every normal person, the sudden, extreme, light snapped her senses in two. Everything overloaded and froze, and just like that-- five seconds into the test-- Lin was out again, and this time, it would take more than a few minutes to wake up.

[Rick Freedom]

Rick Freedom
i used to be old
but now i feel young
‘cuz i was a boy
when i learned
how to run

((OOC: I choose to follow. Out like a light.))

The sudden light wakes him from his slumped position on the ground, back against the cold steel. He hears his name-- at least, the beginning of it-- while still half-out, then the light.

He doesn't open his eyes, only burrowing his head tighter into his elbow. If this is another one of the pranks, someone shining a light in his eyes to see if he'll wake up (he's a surprisingly sound sleeper) then they're really in for it. He works for his sleep. He provides for the rest of them. The least they can do is let him get a couple hour's sleep.

Rick rolls over onto his stomach, wondering momentarily why he's not in his sleeping bag and why the wall is so cold. Oh, yeah. The chase and the capturing and the tests and the dark and the not-breathing and the dark and now it's the light.

Without opening his eyes, and keeping one hand pressed over his eyes as he does so, he tugs his shirt over his head and ties it over his eyes in a crude blindfold. (He seems to be doing a lot with his clothing besides wearing it lately-- first the "gas masks", and now the blindfold. It's better to be a little cold than dead though.) It works well enough; he can still see the red behind his eyelids that comes from the light shining through the blood, but it's not too bad.

Putting his arms out like a zombie, Rick pushes to his feet and stumbles over to where he guesses he laid Lin down at the end of the last test. Nothing. Where'd she go? He shuffles farther out into the room and almost immediately runs into a soft, squishy thing. Lin, he guesses/hopes. Either she's still asleep-- which is unlikely, as it was her voice who had called out to him in his half-sleep-- or she'd passed out again. He chooses to go with the second.

Well. Since she's already out, there's nothing for him to do but follow in her tracks. He tugs the blindfold from his eyes, opening his eyes at the same moment.

Rick screams.

And the black is back.

[Lin Heiwa]

Lin Heiwa.

at times i wondered
if i had not come
a long way
to find what i sought
was something that i
left behind.

The thing that awakens Lin this time, is water lapping at her side. Lin blinked rapidly, dashing the spots from her eyes at the first sign of light she's seen in over three days. Cough, once-- twice, okay-- awake.

The girl starts to sit up blearily, before simply collapsing onto her back dizzily. You'd think unconsciousness would refresh you-- but it doesn't. It looks like the scientists have stopped 'rejuvenating' them after the past two round (considering one lasted twenty minutes, and the next lasted twenty seconds). In reality, it's been a few hours. Those silly mad scientists had some trouble with setting up the vents to pump in water. In those few hours, both freedom fighters have been moved to opposite sides of the room, knocked on the head a few more times while they worked, and generally remained out-cold. Of course, Lin knew none of this and instead concentrated on the simple matter of sitting up.

Why? The sudden thought stopped the girl dead in her tracks. Why even bother to sit up? The water lapped gently at her side, still trickling in at a relatively slow pace. This is all going to end the same way with pain and... and Rick getting tortured by his mother who's probably watching me and laughing right now... and... and...

The water again lapped at her side from a small grate in the corner of the room. It was no more than a puddle now, slowly building up in size and creating small waves that swept against the girl as she laid there on the metal cold floor-- already soaked and shivering. She hardly even remembered the last two tests-- something about a bright light and a pain on her neck-- and now--

"Let Test Five commence."

--exactly. The water lapping at her side made her feel slightly better for a second, before only dragging her down further. I can't even bend the stupid water. 'Cause of this thing they put in my hand. Lin rolled onto her side and glared at the sharp metal contraption in her hand that took the place of her faint blue veins. In a small desperate act, Lin dug her nails into her hand and scratched so hard at the metal that it broke skin and turned her hand red with blood.

The blood floated away in the water, and the metal jeered back at her.

Lin propped her head up on her hand, shrinking into the pool of water-- no doubt unattractively smearing streaks of red on her cheek. Her shoulders sunk and the girl's knees ached as she brought them close together and not so completely stretched out like a board. It hurts to move. The thought barely penetrated her mind, voice small; thinking back on it-- Lin couldn't even remember if it really had been a thought, or a mummer. Either way, Lin seemed to shrink in size a bit in this threadbare hospital dress, as it became soaked and plastered to her skin.

It was an odd look. A scrappy street-girl curled up in a few centimeters of water, in a pathetically thin red and blue striped dress that hardly reached her knees. Head curled up in an elbow, hair as black soaked hair just reaching beneath her ears; whose arm's hand glistened silver and leaked red. The red trickled out and stopped-- floating on the pathetic amount of water, creating a ty-dy look in the gradually expanding water. Yes. It was an odd look, Lin thought as her free hand pulled close to her chest and face. Her eyes closed, not asleep, merely resting in the water.

Oh, what times these are.

[Rick Freedom]

Rick Freedom
i used to be old
but now i feel young
‘cuz i was a boy
when i learned
how to run

"Nmph. Go away…"

The boy rolls over, pressing as far into the wall as he can.

"Lemme alone…"

He might be saying the words aloud-- or, then again, he might just be thinking them.

"Five more minutes…"

He had fallen asleep again, at the end of the last test. It was more like the limbo in between the two tests, after they 'could not continue' but before the water had started.

He remembers snatches of conversation, feet tramping through the little room that had become his world. The shoes were mostly combat-type work boots, most likely belonging to the workers setting up for the next test, but there was one pair, these tiny black stilettos, that stuck out in his mind.

It's just a pair of shoes, but he knows the shoes. He knows who bought them-- his father-- and where-- Nordstrom-- and why-- anniversary present. They're his mother's shoes. She always had a bit of a thing for stilettos, even when Rick was just a little boy. She must still love them; both times he's seen her, she was wearing stilettos. Maybe it's because she's such a tiny woman.

Anyway. He remembers her voice, singing. A sweet voice, like honey. He always begged for her so sing to him, especially when he couldn't sleep.

She wasn't singing anything important-- a lullaby, actually. Daisy, daisy.

Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do.
I'm half crazy, all for the love of you.
It won't be a stylish marriage,
I can't afford a carriage.
But you'll look sweet,
Upon the seat,
Of a bicycle built for two!

He remembers her arms around his shoulders, her fingers barely touching each other, his head lolling on her shoulder. There was a prick of pain before that-- drugs to keep him out (or half out) he guesses-- and then his mother's hug. Lord knows he'd never let her touch him without the drugs. She might still love him after all.

Water laps at his foot. He reluctantly opens his eyes and turns over, the rough cotton of the uniform grey scrub-like shirt and pants they gave him soaking up the water like a sponge. The acrid tang of blood reaches his nose.

"Lin?" he croaks, sitting up in the cold water and looking around. The water's a couple of inches deep now, all over the floor. There's Lin, a tendrils of blood in the water around her. He pushes to his feet and stumbles over to her, shaking off the cobwebs of the memory, pushing his mother's voice out of his thoughts.

Rick drops to his knees beside her, one hand moving to her head, the other curling around her shoulders and lifting her up, out of the water.

[Lin Heiwa]

Lin Heiwa.

at times i wondered
if i had not come
a long way
to find what i sought
was something that i
left behind.

There was this dream. Of running.

But running from what, exactly?

She couldn't remember.

All she knew was that she was running. From something... terrible, and heart wrenching... something that would hurt her. No, not just her. It would hurt other people too, if it could get away with it. If they could get away with it.

So she ran. But who was she? She was me, and me was we, and we was I.

Confusing, right?

But still she ran. Then she stumbled, and fell. It first got hot as the gravel bit into she's face, then a flash of cold as it caught up to she. A cold, that grew and grew and grew into blackness.

She looked down at her arm.

It was made of blood.

And the blood hurt. It hurt because the cold was gone, and replaced by a black. She couldn't see anything, but all the while-- the red of the blood jeered at she-- and she hated it.

Running again.

Somewhere, a lion roared.

Not fast enough, not good enough-- She felt something pinch on her arm, and the cold was back again. This time she felt it spread from the blood on her arm up to her neck-- where it choked, suffocated-- until she tumbled over herself. And into a river. Where it was cold, and miserable, and there was nothing there but hurt.

Then something came and lifted her up out of the lake. It must've been a wave, because it was just as wet as she. She didn't fight it-- she loved the water, but the water hurt her. The water made her arm turn to blood-- and just like that, she fought against it.

She didn't want to. But it made she do it-- she knew it would hurt her again if she trusted it to do what she had been given. No. No, it wouldn't hurt her-- it didn't mean to hurt her, it was IT who made it hurt. It was doing all this. And it was time to fight back against IT.

Right after she swam to the surface.

And then there was light.

And she welcomed it.

"Are you okay?" Lin asked blearily, a reflexive question now everytime a test ended-- just now processing that this light was actually the light from the room. The girl was already missing the dream feeling-- where at least it was warm, and she didn't have to think about what came next. Oh, yes-- the question. It was directed at her leader who was above her in an awkward way (with his hair hospital shirt splattered with water) that she couldn't quite figure out how that made sense if she was lying on the floor-- oh wait.

This might be a good time to go back to sleep. Lin's eyes closed again. Wake me when I'm dead... she thought miserably.

[Rick Freedom]

Rick Freedom
i used to be old
but now i feel young
‘cuz i was a boy
when i learned
how to run

The water's rising faster now; it's almost a foot off the ground.

He tugs Lin into his lap, looking down at her sadly. This is all his fault. All of it.

And that thought makes him angry. Furious. His jaw clamps shut and he can almost feel the medicine in his veins. The room warms up, just slightly. His hands glow red.

He gets to his feet, pulling Lin with him. He sets her on the ground, shakes her by the shoulders. "You are not giving up on me. We're getting out of here. NOW." he snarls, pointing his left palm at the lock on the door. His eyes close.

The power rushes through his veins. His blood feels alive. Hot. So hot. Burning. Boiling. Searing. He tugs the power upward, pulling it toward his shoulders, toward his left side, down his arm, into his hand, concentrating in the center of his palm. A beam of red light, about the size of a quarter, shoots from his hand. The lock melts away.

Rick storms over to the door, smashes his foot into the steel once, twice, three times, and it swings open with a bang. Trusting Lin to follow, he takes off at a run, alarms blaring overhead.

[Lin Heiwa]

Lin Heiwa.

at times i wondered
if i had not come
a long way
to find what i sought
was something that i
left behind.

Lin figures it's easier to give up and not fight the urge to rest than to panic and wait to drown in the water. It's less painful that way, it's less awful that way. And that's what she did-- until Rick quite unceremoniously jerked the girl to her feet and right back down again instead in a sitting position. Lovely-- "You know," Lin muttered irritably, half to herself-- before trailing off. Any conversation seems pointless now.

Then Rick says that they're busting out. After a brief surge of happiness, it's quickly muffled by dread. How, and what happens if they don't succeed? What happens then? Are they carted off to different sides of the barracks and tranqed 24/7? We can't even use our powers-- Which was why Lin was quite shocked when Rick busted the door open with a shot of red light. And the next thing Lin knew-- she was sprinting through waist-length water and out of the door. It would be worth it.

Unless they loose.