May, 2014
The next 2 years went by pretty quick. Legai's mental state slowly deteriorated, and most people credited it to the experimentation and gruel training that started gradually affecting him. The Doctor took him in for a special examination course to monitor his condition, but nothing changed what was happening to him. His friends were all still there for him. They continued to have laughs and fun memories with each other, but something about it just wasn't the same with Legai. Still he just ignored it, it probably was from all the extra tests and stuff anyways. One day, Jennifer was walking through the halls of the facility, conversing with a worker when all of the sudden she heard screaming coming from the childrens room. She and the worker ran to the room, to find another worker on the floor, holding a bleeding hand while two others tried calming down Levia, who had a dagger pointed at them. Levia blocked them from Lenani while screaming, "WHAT DID YOU DO? WHAT DID YOU DO TO US?" She yelled poking the dagger at anyone she tried to get close to. Jennifer, however, was rushed inside of the room by Legai. "Mom! Thank God, I don't know what's happening. They just started going crazy!" He said, pulling his mother to the side of the room where the rest of the children were huddled together behind Ikemi who was trying to talk down Levia.
Levia, whose rage has built up to a dangerous point and is now holding a knife made of ice, yelled at Ikemi in Arabic. "What is she saying?" Jennifer asks her. "What language even is that?" Apollo exclaims. Ikemi replies rushed, "She's speaking Arabic!" She says before going back to calming down Levia. The whole group is stunned, "How does she know Arabic?" Jennifer asks. "How do you know Arabic?" Jackson adds. "She taught me a while ago! And she's from Egypt of course she knows Arabic!" Ikemi responds to both of them. Jennifer refocuses, "What is she saying?" She asks again. "She keeps repeating, 'They poisoned me! They poisoned us!'". Ikemi continues to try to calm Levia down, who has pushed Lenani back into the bathroom, guarding her as she curled up on the floor in what seemed to be pain. Levia seemed to say one phrase in Arabic that caught Ikemi's attention. A suspenseful pause befell the room as Ikemi repeated the phrase in confusion. Ikemi's face went from suspicion to realization as she turned to everyone else, "You guys better leave." She says.
This raised confusion, and Legai protested, "But Keke, what's-" "Just get out of here Legai! All of you! Now!" Ikemi said with a sense of urgency. Everyone, including Jennifer and the workers left curiously, but Ikemi reached out her hand, "Wait, Jen. I might need your help." She says. Jennifer turns to Legai to command him to wait outside and goes back into the room. Jennifer kneels down in front of Levia, who still had the knife pointed at her but lowered it slowly as she trusts Jennifer more than most of the adults there. "Listen hun, just breathe. Deep breath, in and out." Jennifer says, reassuringly, "Just walk me through what happened. Start with when you woke up this morning." She says, slowly taking the knife out of her hands as Ikemi stood beside her nervously, trying to peek over her shoulder so she can check on Lenani, who was curled on the floor in pain. Outside the door, the three boys wait patiently, making small talk with each other, "What do you guys think is happening with her?" Apollo begins, sitting with his back to the wall. Jackson, standing adjacent to Apollo, responds, "I'm calling it, it's her first period." He says bluntly. Legai and Apollo are shocked by this answer, reprimanding Jackson for his lack of respect for her privacy, "What? You asked!" Jackson said defending himself. Legai, pacing in the middle of the hall answers back in a hushed voice, "I know, but you can't just talk about stuff like that. Remember what happened when we asked about Ikemi's first period?" He asked. "I still have the scars." Jackson said, zoning out as he thought about perhaps one of the scariest things to happen in his life, and that's saying a lot in The Facility.
All the boys decide to change the subject to something less horrific, and Apollo nudges Jackson with his foot, "Hey, perfect time to ask him." He said. Jackson's face lights up with excitement, and he turns to Legai, "Yo bro, I gotta question." He says. Legai looks up at him, "What's up?". "Does water ever taste metallic to you?" He asks with a grin on his face. Apollo chuckles in the background, and Legai is puzzled, "What do you mean?" He asked. Jackson explained, "Well, it's this thing going around on the internet that if you swim in water and it tastes metallic it's because it's got electric volts in it." He starts. 'Why would you drink the water you swim in?' Legai thought to himself. Jackson continued, "So me and Apollo have this bet, cause since you're...made of lightning..... I thought that water would always taste metallic. And Apollo is wrong." He says, pointing a thumb behind him to Apollo. Apollo defends himself, "I just can't see how it would make sense.". Jackson swats at him playfully, "Ok, come on. 1 hour in the break room hangs in the balance. Does water taste metallic or nah?" Jackson says, as he and Apollo wait anxiously for an answer.
Legai is dumb founded at this fascination with something he found so casual, something that was for him so natural, but who could resist a good bet, "Yes, water tastes metallic." He said, finding the whole ordeal funny. Jackson celebrated, mocking Apollo playfully as they got in a little play fight. Aajiah says, "You boys are idiots.", watching the battle playfully from behind Legai. Legai jumped, being startled by her voice, "OH Jesus! Aajiah! I thought you were in the room with the rest of the girls." He said, trying to lower his heart rate. "Whatever Levia has going on, is not something I want a part of. I'm going on a walk." Aajiah says, turning away. Legai calls out to her, "On your own?" He asks. Aajiah turns, walking backwards with her arms up at her sides sarcastically, "Oh don't worry, I have my trusty bodyguards with me." She says rolling her eyes, referring to the two men assigned with monitoring her constantly as she turns the corner and walks away. Just then Jennifer had come out of the room, rushing for medical supplies. Legai asked her, "What's going on?". Jennifer responded, "She's having ...lady problems for the first time and just needs some help is all.". Jackson playfully punches Apollo's shoulder, "Told you." He whispered, and all three of them chuckled in a hushed voice, trying not to be heard by the girls inside while the door was open. Later on, the children are at the beach, as close to a beach as the island has to offer, and Levia and Lenani are sitting together, Lenani under Levia's arm in comfort, preferring to just relax and be away from people rather than playing. Legai tries to approach them, "Hey, Vi, Lele, we found a school of fish. You guys wanna come see it?" He said, reaching his hand out which was met by yet another knife being flicked out in Levia's hand, close enough to almost have nicked Legai's fingers.
Her cold expression behind those blackout sunglasses looking out to the ocean, not even bothering to turn her head to him, said everything that needed to be said. Legai got the idea, and turned to walk away, choosing to not risk losing any other limbs. Levia turned, calling out to him, "Legai!". He turns around, "Yeah?" He replies. "Tell your mom I said thanks, for Lenani too." Levia says. Legai nods, affirming that he'll do it for her, and then walks over to his mother with a lot on his mind. Levia watches him walk away, letting the slightest of smirks escape from behind her emotionless shades. Legai walks up to his mom on the beach, "Mom, I have a question about Lenani and her- problems." He said. Jennifer turns to him, lifting up the flaps of her hat to see him clearly, "Legai, I thought we agreed to respect women's privacy. Especially about something like this." She said to him, her kind voice flowing with the wind and waves. This side of the island was never as bad as the rest of it, all of the children actually found some sort of piece here. "I know," Legai says, "but I didn't think it'd happen so soon. I mean, Lele is only 13." He says, gesturing to them slightly so as to not be noticed by them. Jennifer replies, "And some girls have started earlier than that. It's complicated, but it's not impossible to deal with. And since she has me as her mother, you as her brother, and Ikemi as a figurative big sister, I'm sure she'll be fine." She says, putting her hand on Legai's shoulder.
Legai looks back at the girls, and Jennifer notices a specific look in his eyes, "And Levia will be ok as well." She says with a smirk on her face. Legai looks back at her, confused, "What? No- yeah, of course. She's tough, I know she'll be alright." He says. "Then you don't have to worry about her." She says, looking in his eyes. "Worry? Nah, I'm not worried about her, why would I be?" Legai affirms through a nervous chuckle. Jennifer hits him back with a sarcastic "Uhuh" Before embarrassing him in her arms and looking off into the distance, "Do you remember how I told you me and your dad met?" She says through a heavy sigh. Legai looks at her, refusing to be seen sitting in her lap, "You were in the same College class right?" He answered. Jennifer nodded, "Yup, same class, same friends. I saw him all day just about everyday," she said, "But did I tell you I didn't like him at first?" She said. "You didn't?" Legai replied, shocked. Jennfier nodded again, "Not at all. He was so..loud and obnoxious, I mean he calmed down after a while but I still carried that attitude toward him for a while." She said, rocking back and forth. Legai was curious, "What happened?".
"He kept giving me this same look every time I saw him. Like he was trying to be charming but didn't know how. It wore me down after a while, at first I thought it was embarrassing for him but- he didn't stop trying. Eventually I finally decided to accept going on a date with him, and have been in love with him ever since." she said, reminiscing about all the good times she had with her late husband. "And I see that same look he gave me whenever you look at Levia." She said, poking Legai's chest. "You may be able to hide it from them, but momma knows. And you want me to tell you a secret?" She asked him with a grin. Legai nodded, his interest peaked, "Sometimes, I can see that same look when she looks at you. But don't tell her I told you, especially not now cause she might kill you about it." She said laughing. Legai's eyes widened, "Really?" He said, looking back at Levia, who had laid down on a beach towel, and was seemingly taking a nap, though he still couldn't tell from behind her shades. Jennifer continues, "Listen, if you ever have any problems or any questions about any feelings, just let me know. I'm always here for you, ok?" She said. Legai responded with a head nod, and ran back out to meet Jackson who was calling him over. "We're about to play volleyball, you wanna join?" Jackson asked. Legai nodded happily and picked up the ball before joining Apollo on one side of the court, with Ikemi and Jackson on the other side. Aajiah sat on the side lines as an audience, and a pretty poor cheerleader. "Remember, no superspeed! I'm still picking sand out of my hair from last time. Not to mention it's cheating!" Ikemi yelled, and the game commenced.
Lenani went to use the bathroom, and Jackson walks over to Levia, who was seemingly meditating on the waves of the ocean. Her deep breathing and relaxed state perfectly mimicked the movement of the water right in front of her. Jackson sat down next to her as quietly as he could, tucking one knee into his chest as his other leg stretched out over the sand. "What do you want, Jack?" Levia said, barely breaking the silence as even the flow of her words rythymed with the soft waves. Jackson was genuinely confused, "How did you know it was me?" He said, not believing her and thinking she opened her eyes, waving his hand in front of her face waiting for a reaction. "Your feet sound like a mix between Legai and Apollo, light but clunky." Levia responded cockily. Jackson let out a chuckle, "Wait wait, which one's clunky?" He joked. Levia rolled her eyes from inside her eyelids, "What are you doing here?" she asked, still facing the water. Jackson faces her, "Well, everybody is either playing, sleeping or whatever it is you're doing. So I thought this would be a good time to have private conservation." He said, obviously eluding to something. "Conversation about what?" Levia raised an eyebrow. "You know", He responded, "About the...thing?" He said, hoping she would get the picture. "I'm not telling the story." She said firmly. This disappointed Jackson, "Why not?" He said in a fustrated tone. "Better question, why?" She irritatedly rebutted, "Why are you so obsessed with me? My story? What about me interests you so much?" She exclaimed, turning to him, opening her eyes. Jackson started getting riled up as well, "Because! Other than Legai you're the only one of us with a story. The only one who had a story outside of the Facility! I just wanna know what it is!" He stated. Levia shrugs her shoulders, "Why? What is it that you're looking for?" She asks him. "I don't know! It's just- I wanna know what else there is to find out there. What else is there than this." He said, gesturing to the Facility. Jackson looks into the distant horizon, and Levia looks down at the water, "Trust me Jack, there isn't anything out there worth finding." She said, her voice cracking. Jackson could visibly see her troubled, "Vi....what happened? What is it that scares you this much?" He said, concerned.
Levia takes a deep breath, collecting her wild thoughts, "I'm not scared," She said sternly, looking at Jackson, "I'm focused. Focused on all of us, staying together, and someday getting out of here. That's what's important. Worrying about the past isn't gonna help." She insists, to herself as much as to Jackson as she goes back to her meditative state trying to calm herself down. Jackson gives up, realizing how little ground he was gaining in this debate, "Fine." He says, getting up and beginning to walk back to Jennifer's table to get some water, saying one last thing as he leaves, "Where we come from will always be just as important as where we are, Vi." He says, turning back to her. "You read that in one of your comics?" Levia responded in a mocking tone. "Nah, one of your books," Jackson replied, "It's just.... food for thought." He said, standing behind her. 'I pray it isn't true, for all our sakes.' Levia thought to herself. A thought popped into Jackson's mind, "And did you just admit we're important to you?" He said with a sly smirk. "Tell anyone, I dare you." Levia threatened from her criss-crossed position. Jackson chuckled, "Aye aye captain." He said with a mocking salute. "And Jackson." Levia calls out to him. He turns to her one last time, "Don't, ever, touch my books again." She orders. "Yeah... uh- sorry." He responded with a nervous grin before walking away.
Back at the shaded table where Jennifer was sitting, watching over all of the children, a guard came up from behind to speak to her, "Ms. Artorian, are you certain you wouldn't join us inside?" He asked. Her head turned slightly, as she spoke with her back turned to him, "No, thank you." She said quickly. The guard insisted, "If it's the children's security you're worried about, rest assured-" "I'd rather stay out here with my kids, thank you." She said in a stern voice, turning back to watching over the children. She wouldn't say it out loud yet, not even to the kids, but her trust of this Facility was slowly deteriorating. The exams were becoming more and more aggressive, along with their forms of "experimenting". She tried her best to make sure Ikemi oversaw all of not only legai's treatments, but all of them, but still she can't seem to get through to them sometimes. She was the only one there to help Levia and Lenani this morning, the only one that cared enough to be there. For the safety of all of the children, she would need to start making a plan to get them out of there, and fast. She had started to see all of them as her children, and she'll die before letting them rot in this place.
Later that night, everyone was finishing up in their showers. Ikemi, who was walking out of the bathroom with Levia, both drying themselves off, tries to check on her, "Hey, how are you feeling?" She asks tenderly. Levia's response is short, "I just had to take a shower, standing in my own blood, how do you think I feel?" She says, expelling the remaining water from her hair with her powers. The boys were all getting into bed, when a worker came in through the door, "Legai, could you come with us please?" He says. The children were confused, but Legai suspiciously followed them out. The Doctor was having a conversation with another worker, "What is your concern here?" He asks. "Are you sure the power dampeners would work? I mean Legai is-" The worker began, but was cut off by The Doctor, "Our tech has never failed us so far, and they won't start now." He says. Just then, Jennifer rushes around the corner, "You." She says, pointing a finger at him accusingly, "Where did you take him?!" She yells. The Doctor puts his hands up to calm her down, "Woah woah woah, take a breath. What are you talking about?" He said in a calm and caring tone. "I went to say goodnight to the children, and he wasn't there. They all said a worker took him out of the room, so where did he go?" She said, her worry and fear appearing as tears in her eyes. "It's a new experiment. We took him out for his first test in the field. All of the children have done this already." He says, trying to diffuse the situation. Jennfier is furious, "You didn't think to tell me?!?" She hissed at him, trying not to be too loud too late at night. "I thought you were already asleep. I didn't think it'd be worth it to wake you; he'll be back safely within a couple hours." He says, with that same disarming smile. But it did nothing but irritate Jennifer as she pushed a finger into his chest, "You let me know the minute he gets back." She says in a slightly threatening voice. "The second." The Doctor assures her. Jennifer walks back to her room, trying to calm herself down, and The Doctor's fake smile fades away as he returns to his work. He picks up a radio, and presses a button to hear the static from the other side, "Micheal, you're up." He said. "Yes sir." Micheal said, sitting next to Legai on a boat headed for the mainland.