Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Songbird's School of Deliverance [Entry Log Six]

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AA HomeTree: Songbird's School of Deliverance(SSD): Fundamental Progression Log:.

//:loginID::[Alice J. Songbird];

HomeTree Corp..::....:\\:loginID::ACCEPTED
..:\\:October 6, 2033:. 11:22pm
..:\\:employment status:: SSD Warden

//: Entry Log:[6, Strong Will];

//:[Today when I went to go teach the child of room 26A, I must confess that at first I was quite terrified. I would put him at the age of 11 or 12... however, his appearance makes him look as if he were in his young adult years(18 to 20). His muscle tone is far greater than that of the other male children. And I dare say that he has had nothing but a hard life since birth.]::.

//:[Later, when I went around to visit the other children I realized that 26A has more scars on his face than all of the other children have on their entire bodies combined. This and his shear mass make me wonder whether or not he was to replace his Hive's Alpha before we effectively exterminated the parasite. 26A is now my personal top priority, the sooner he learns English, the sooner I can hear his story... assuming he'll be able to learn, and assuming he still remembers...]::.

//:[I regret to say this, but I am quickly losing my patience with time... Unfortunately, I have no choice but to leave all my questions with it.]::.

//:[Anyways, despite the appearance of 26A, he seemed very docile possibly even comfortable with my presence... The whole time I was there he sat on his bedding with his back against the wall, relaxed... RELAXED! NONE of the other children appeared relaxed on my first visitation, even the ones who appeared to be fearful of my presence were tense and stiff... Perhaps his size has made him fear nothing and assume that his appearance is enough to cause no one to mess with him.]::.

//:[Whatever the case may be, I don't know how I could have possibly missed recording how tame 26A was on my first visitation. There are only two explanations; one, that we are getting through to him and he has become comfortable with our company, or two, I had become impatient with my task of visiting 33 ravenous children.]::.

//:[Of course, at first I couldn't see how I would possibly make such a mistake or miss such a dramatic attitude difference between the children. So he had obviously changed... But after I made my second visit to each of the children today, it would appear that each of their attitudes match my description exactly for them exactly... They hadn't changed. What are the odds, that only one child would suddenly become comfortable with my presence.]::.

//:[I am also not sure how I could forget a child who shows such promise... Oh well, dwelling on this won't get me anywhere. All I need to focus on now is attempting to teach 26A until his teacher calls back in... IF she calls back in...]::.
\\:Entry Log::Closed

\\:Logout?::(Y/N):[Y]

\\:loginID::Alice J. Songbird::..

HomeTree Corp..::....::\\:loginID::VERIFIED

\\:Logout::COMPLETE

..:\\:October 7, 2033:. 12:48am

Songbird's School of Deliverance [Entry Log Five]

PREVIOUS ENTRY

AA HomeTree: Songbird's School of Deliverance(SSD): Fundamental Progression Log:.

//:loginID::[Alice J. Songbird];

HomeTree Corp..::....:\\:loginID::ACCEPTED
..:\\:October 5, 2033:. 6:34pm
..:\\:employment status:: SSD Warden

//: Entry Log:[5, Delay];

//:[Unfortunately, I have yet to have the opportunity to visit the children since my last entry. HomeTree called me away from the school the next day to report on how the first 5 days of classes went. They also proceeded to ask if anything had gone wrong... I made them aware of the loss of Mr. Jonikin and one of the children. And the fact that there were some minor injuries on the first day... I presumed, at the time, that they just didn't know. But now... I'm not too sure. Perhaps they were testing me?]::.

//:[While I was gone, the teachers continued their classes. And upon my return I was thrilled to hear that nothing too eventful occurred. The most worrisome news was that one of my teachers has called out sick "until further notice"... That is the way she put it, and when I spoke with her she sounded perfectly healthy, so I fear she has quit.]::.

//:[So until I receive further word, her child is now mine to teach. Normally I might be upset about this circumstance... However I am rather pleased. Now I can try a more hands-on approach to attempt to reach this child using my methods. Hopefully I shall also learn more about them in this fashion.]::.

//:[Also as to my original plan I shall visit each of the children once again and try verbal interactions. At this time, all of my visitations are merely for study and observation... I'm sure that once I learn more about these children and their kind, I will be able to better teach them... Hopefully my filling in for the "sick" teacher will also help me better understand them.]::.

//:[I hope this child isn't one of the horribly ill tempered children... I realize that I didn't write much about this particular child on my first visit... So, tomorrow at midday I will start teaching my first child in room 26A.]::.

//:[Wishing myself luck...]::.
\\:Entry Log::Closed

\\:Logout?::(Y/N):[Y]

\\:loginID::Alice J. Songbird::..

HomeTree Corp..::....::\\:loginID::VERIFIED

\\:Logout::COMPLETE

..:\\:October 5, 2033:. 7:03pm

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

Songbird's School of Deliverance [Entry Log Four]

Previous Entry

AA HomeTree: Songbird's School of Deliverance(SSD):
Fundamental Progression Log:.

//:loginID::[Alice J. Songbird];

HomeTree Corp..::....:\\:loginID::ACCEPTED
..:\\:October 2, 2033:. 11:48pm
..:\\:employment status:: SSD Warden

//: Entry Log:[4, Promise];

//:[So I as I said, I went and visited each of the children. I even tried to visit the 20 kids that HomeTree is using as a "control group", but their head honcho, John Smith, wouldn't let me anywhere near the HomeTree Base!... Ugh, what a horribly dreadful name... John Smith... So plain and boring.]::.

//:[Visiting all of the children was a long and tiring process. Which is mainly the reason why I am only just now getting around to the Log... Thankfully I found some promising results! Now of course, these are merely preliminary observations but to me they show outstanding promise... The first 15 children I visited, were all incredibly violent the moment the guards opened the door. All bearing their sharp, jagged teeth and growling voraciously at me. They all seemed enraged with my presence. And the fact that we keep them in dim lighting due to their... malformed pupils... made visiting them nightmarish.]::.

//:[One of the children snapped his jaws at me and pulled viciously at the restraints around his hands and feet... It almost made me wish we would shorten the chains that bind them to the wall... In all honesty, I have serious respect for the teachers assigned to those children. Their urge to help these kids must be far stronger than mine.]::.

//:[Most of the children after this seemed more patient with my presence, although a majority of them still had a soft growl that emanated from within their chests... However, a handful of the female, and a few of the male, let loose what sounded almost like a whimper. However they did not cower at the sight of me, they stood (or sat, whatever the case was) up, straight and strong. They looked as if they were ready for anything to happen.]::.{PageBreak}

//:[I found this very interesting. I believe that maybe their families taught them this at birth. "Always stand your ground"... or something along these lines. I am still unsure as to how their kind communicate... Autopsies on the species from HomeTree show that they have vocal cords and the ability to potentially speak. But can they retain what we teach them?]::.

//:[I guess pondering over this question is going to get me nowhere. Once again, something that I will have to leave with time itself...]::.

//:[I think that I've learned more from the children than we've been able to teach them in the last few days. But nonetheless I still believe there is hope. As a small selection of the children I visited seemed calm and almost relaxed with my presence. Some of them looked as if they were just trying to ignore the fact that I was in the room with them, while others sat there watching me curiously.]::.

//:[But it was pure curiosity... There was no trace of anger or rage in their faces, only the innocent and quizzical look of a Human or Ayran child. As I sat there, the only sound they made was their calm and steady breathing. Whenever I made any slight movement they seemed to mimic the motions. I almost didn't want to leave these children's sides, because I felt as if I were making progress with them.]::.

//:[Tomorrow I hope to visit the children again, only this time to observe their response to verbal interaction. Hopefully some of them will show a positive response and maybe even understand what I say... Until then, it is terribly late. If I wish to have the energy needed for tomorrow, I should head off to bed. With any luck, I shall have something interesting to report.]::.
\\:Entry Log::Closed

\\:Logout?::(Y/N):[Y]

\\:loginID::Alice J. Songbird::..

HomeTree Corp..::....::\\:loginID::VERIFIED

\\:Logout::COMPLETE

..:\\:October 3, 2033:. 1:02am

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Songbird's School of Deliverance [Entry Log Three]

Previous Entry

AA HomeTree: Songbird's School of Deliverance(SSD): Fundamental Progression Log:.

//:loginID::[Alice J. Songbird];

HomeTree Corp..::....:\\:loginID::ACCEPTED
..:\\:October 1, 2033:. 8:39pm
..:\\:employment status:: SSD Warden

//: Entry Log:[3, Surprise];

//:[To my surprise only 3 of my teachers quit after the incident. It is good to see that many of these people hold the belief that we can save these children.]::.

//:[All I have to say is that classes went well today, nothing impressive to report. But it’s only the third day of classes so I wasn’t expecting much. I still feel that it is my duty to fix what my kind did to the Humans all those years ago… That’s why I MUST succeed. They rid Earth of the parasite without our help so I HAVE to at least try to redeem our failings.]::.

//:[HomeTree was more than generous to take on the hopes and dreams of someone of my race. It is good to know that not all Humans hold a grudge against us… or maybe they are simply mocking my attempts to fix this and shoving our failures in my face in the form of the children of the once infected… I supposed I should just be grateful for this opportunity I have been given.]::.

//:[Hopefully my more morbid thought are simply paranoia. I guess only time will tell… Tomorrow I shall go visit all the kids myself, and with any luck find signs of hope in a few of the children.]::.

//:[I will report my findings tomorrow… If there are any.]::.
\\:Entry Log::Closed

\\:Logout?::(Y/N):[Y]

\\:loginID::Alice J. Songbird::..

HomeTree Corp..::....::\\:loginID::VERIFIED

\\:Logout::COMPLETE

..:\\:October 1, 2033:. 9:11pm

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Songbird's School of Deliverance [Entry Log Two]

Previous Entry

AA HomeTree: Songbird's School of Deliverance(SSD): Fundamental Progression Log:.

//:loginID::[Alice J. Songbird];

HomeTree Corp..::....:\\:loginID::ACCEPTED
..:\\:September 30, 2033:. 7:53pm
..:\\:employment status:: SSD Warden

//: Entry Log:[2, Incident Report];

//:[To whomever may read this, I apologize for not writing an entry about yesterday on our first day of classes... Finding the words to say this is proving incredibly difficult for me right now so I shall make this as formal as I possibly can.]::.

//:[It fills me with great sorrow to announce that SSD lost a teacher and a child yesterday. I was informed of a situation happening in one of the children's rooms and as I arrived, I was met with a gruesome sight. The female child lay slump against the back wall filled with bullet holes, and its blood smeared across the wall. The teacher lay squirming on the floor and two guards struggled to stop the blood that gushed from his throat.]::.

//:[I regret to inform you that the teacher, Paul Atlas Jonikin, did not survive the ordeal.]::.

//:[Of course, I was required to question the guards about the situation. They were both shaken up and I found that HomeTree's guards may not be as qualified as I had hoped. But from what I gather, Mr. Jonikin had become increasingly agitated with the negative feedback from the child. Mr. Jonikin eventually became enraged with her and stepped within the child's restraint limit, where she bit a large chunk out of his throat. Wherein the guards immediately unloaded on the child.]::.

//:[This upsets me. One, HomeTree's guards are apparently prone to panic and a happy trigger-finger. Two, we could have still helped that child. She was still in her restraints and killing the poor thing was unnecessary!]::.

//:[Sorry. This was to be formal... It just I only have so many children to work with and I can't be penalized for the mistakes of the teachers. Yes, it is sad that Mr. Jonikin did not survive but I only have so many shots to make this work.]::.

//:[After the incident, HomeTree informed me that we were to exclude 20 of the children from the teaching process as a "control" group. HomeTree also sent one of their top men to oversee this. I found out that they took 20 of the children and are holding them on a remote base just outside of my school.]::.

//:[Unfortunately, I have no say in the matter and I fear what they may do to the poor children. Tomorrow I shall inform the teachers that they must be patient and wary of the children's restraints. They are wearing them for a reason.]::.

//:[Despite the incident, I am more anxious than ever to reeducate these kids. If we can teach them manners, morals, and English they may yet be able to re-civilize their kind. I just hope the other teachers hold the same beliefs. We owe it to their future. They used to be Human after all.]::.
\\:Entry Log::Closed

\\:Logout?::(Y/N):[Y]

\\:loginID::Alice J. Songbird::..

HomeTree Corp..::....::\\:loginID::VERIFIED

\\:Logout::COMPLETE

..:\\:September 30, 2033:. 9:27pm



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Songbird's School of Deliverance [Entry Log One]

AA HomeTree: Songbird's School of Deliverance(SSD): Fundamental Progression Log:.

//:loginID::[Alice J. Songbird];

HomeTree Corp..::....:\\:loginID::ACCEPTED
..:\\:September 28, 2033:. 9:05pm
..:\\:employment status:: SSD Warden

//: Entry Log:[1, School's In];

//:[We received the children HomeTree informed us about... But when they got here there were only 64 of the 80 promised. What happened to the remaining 16 is beyond me. Personally I just want to believe that HomeTree could not find enough children for my school. So for all intensive purposes, that is what happened.]::.

//:[I'm just happy that I am finally getting my chance to reeducate these children. As I watched them being unloaded by HomeTree Guards from the trucks in groups of five, I could not believe how adorable they all looked. Now of course they were all a tad bit misbehaved and violent, but that is the whole reason I created this school. Teach and Discipline... At least, this is my hope.]::.

//:[I am also very happy with today's results. There were only two incidents amongst the children, both in which a few of the children attacked each other. Luckily the HomeTree Guards were there to break it up and escort them to their rooms safely. Only two of the Guards received any injuries, and the worst of the two was a poor man name Henry who lost two of his fingers and may now be blind in his left eye from a scratch across his face. I am pleased to hear that he will be perfectly fine... Well at least he'll live.]::.

//:[Tomorrow I will assign the volunteer teachers to a child. We were luckily able to find more than enough volunteers for the SSD so that we can have a safer environment for the teachers. I will be able to assign a teacher to a single child until I feel it is safe enough to have a larger class in a single room with a few teachers. HomeTree is also giving me the power over 150 of their guards who have been transferred to my school...]::.

//:[So for now I think it will be safer if each of the teachers have two guards for their protection and the children remain restrained. If the teachers try to befriend these children first it may be our best shot at reaching them.]::.

//:[Until then, the children have all been safely secured in their own rooms and are settled in. I'll inform the teachers of their assignments tomorrow and begin classes promptly at midday... Oh and HomeTree is strongly encouraging me to update this Progression Log periodically. I'm not a big fan of sitting down and writing, but this is probably a good idea. We'll see how classes go first... until then...]::.

//:[Cheerio...?...]::.
\\:Entry Log::Closed

\\:Logout?::(Y/N):[Y]

\\:loginID::Alice J. Songbird::..

HomeTree Corp..::....::\\:loginID::VERIFIED

\\:Logout::COMPLETE

..:\\:September 28, 2033:. 10:01pm


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Monday, January 23, 2012

Talosman

Daedalus saw past the opening and stepped in.

Fluorescent blue lights flickered in rapid patterns along the wall, never leaving the room in absolute darkness. The trail led along the center of the hallway in a line that grew thicker and thinner in shorter and shorter intervals. It matched John Lafferty as he crawled forward, stopping occasionally to regain his strength.

Daedalus scraped at the red line of blood with the tip of his boot. He knew he had to be catching up.

Walking forward, he saw Sunwarden glyphs etched above the frames of the lights. He put his finger into the crevices formed by the words and felt the cold concrete within. The glyphs been made by machines; they were perfectly hewn and at least two inches deep. The corners of the indentations were sharp enough to cut flesh.

The door there was unlocked. After the first door code he’d had to break this one seemed carelessly unprotected, but he realized that most anyone who’d been able to break through the first chamber would have to have been a member. Or otherwise had enough skill that a second lock would have presented little to no problems.

Daedalus opened the door with his left hand; his right hand slid into his coat and grabbed the handle of his San’izer.

The fluorescent lights spilled out into the room as Daedalus entered, illuminating Lafferty’s prone form in the center of the chamber. He was holding a gun of his own, but he looked weak, and he failed to consistently train it on Daedalus’ chest.

“Just some talosman?” John Lafferty asked. “I was expectin’ someone else.” His accent was from the United States; familiar. It reminded Daedalus of his days growing up in Texas.

“Who were you expecting?” Daedalus asked. He didn’t expect an answer. “Who told you to kill her?”

Lafferty’s breath was going slow. It was the poison, seeping into his liver and bloodstream. It reminded Daedalus of the chimera that still lurked outside.

When Lafferty did not answer, Daedalus barked, “What did you expect to find here?” Daedalus was surprised at the static that crept into his voice. He forgot that Madeline had told him not to shout. Daedalus did not realize how confused he really was.

The room was empty, as far as Daedalus could tell. There was a glyph on the far wall that appeared to have been carved out by whatever machine had created the glyphs in the tunnel. It was the only one that Daedalus knew; it was a sun with the left side shaded. John Lafferty coughed and said, “They said I… could save us.”

“Who did?” Daedalus asked. He walked across the room and knelt down before Lafferty, “Save us from what?” Daedalus could smell the necrotizing flesh wafting up from Lafferty’s crippled body.

“What do you care?” Lafferty asked. “I failed. I… I’ll die in a few hours from the poison. Why should I tell you anything?”

Daedalus grabbed him by the shirt collar and lifted him up. He pressed the barrel of the San’izer into the skin of Lafferty’s neck, “I’ll kill you now, if you tell me who told you to kill her. Spare you some suffering.”

Lafferty looked confused for a moment. He looked at Daedalus with eyes that were almost frightened, and then slowly became confident. “Smith. Was supposed to accept her bracelet. I think you scared him off.”

“He told you to kill her?” Daedalus asked. “Smith who?”

“Smith Brightwater,” John Lafferty said. “I don’t know if he has a middle name.”

“Unfortunate,” Daedalus said, pulling the trigger.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Sunday, January 15, 2012

the phone light
b-l-i-n-k-s r-e-d
in the dark of my room.

I roll over 
to flip the phone 
face 
     down

I catch a glimpse of the thing in the corner
crouched
breathing slow 
a mad glimmer in its wet teeth
and ----
I close my eyes
Ever get the feeling like you're a dying man?

There's an ache in your chest and your vision blurs. The world spins for a moment and you think, this is it, I'm going to die. You humorlessly lament the clothes you're wearing. I don't want to be caught dead in this shirt.

Your hands and feet grow numb, and lights flash all around. When they all go out, you're as surprised as you were when you were born.

And then you wake up.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Gust of Wind

A gust of wind slammed the door and we were alone.

“You have any soda?”

I nodded towards the kitchen.

“Could I have some?” His face was strange. The features were an aggregate of everyone I’d ever known. Incredibly normal. The only strange feature was his earring which danced even when his head seemed to be still.

“S-S-Sure.”

“It would be ever so lovely.”

As I passed the leather sofa I heard the creaking as he stood and boots hammering across the floor towards me.

I heard the sound of steel sliding across leather as I drew my father’s revolver.