THE THIRD STANDARDISED OCCURRENCE OF VIOLENCE PREREQUISITE TO ROMAN ANTZ (Jacky+Invisimort)

Random Guard #7:

She said some words that didn't make any sense, but kind of sounded like insults. And then she was proposing a bribe.

I don't take bribes. Mostly because I'd get fired if someone found out...but still.

"There is nothing you can do. We're going downstairs, so... get over it." I told her as I continued dragging her in that direction.

She was weirdly... not light for living here... Most people I haul around are like sticks. Maybe she'd been leeching off someone or stealing or something. Whatever. Not my problem. I'd lock her up, go get Mr.Face, and then... go back to my job.

Only what they pay me for, and nothing extra. I'm not going to babysit some idiot n00b who can't follow directions, it's not in my job description.

Bells

Stairs were bad. Hadn't T.Mor said that? "Why downstairs?" Things were so different around here. Sometimes I knew I knew better, that this wasn't the way to live, and people better listen to me when I say so. Then suddenly, I was being dragged down a nightmarish hall to prove that I had no choice but to follow the rules . . .

And I felt like a little girl again. I hated that feeling. I wished someone was holding my hand, and I wanted to hide in someone's arms, and that alone feeling was burning a hole deep into my gut. I tried to cover it up. I was supposed to be the one to stand tall, stand proud, and not need a soul around to care for me . . . that's what I used to pretend, aye? Back in Luna, when I was out away from Skelet's eyes, I would pretend I was strong and brave and didn't give a damn, because I was higher than them. People respected me that way. I'd made quite a few secret friends and enemies with that facade. Yet, that was a lie.

I just wish I was different, y'know?

Ah, look. There were the stairs.

RG#7:

"Because your actions involve more serious reciprocal action than what takes place on cellblock 1. Cellblock 2 is better." I didn't know what reciprocal meant really, but Mr.Face used it a lot to talk about punishing people and things so... I figured it would go there kind of well. Maybe.

I continued pulling her down the stairs, and through the door of cellblock two.
"Someone lock her up for me I have to go find Mr.Face." I called to the block.

"Yes fine." Someone walked over and grabbed her just above where I had a grip on her arm. Never knew who, because of the name rules, but, that didn't really matter anyway.

And with that, I was on my way to talk to the scary man who paid me. I believe that the word to describe this is 'FML'.

Bells

I found myself locked in a crowded cell. Well . . . isn't that just a bloody perfect picture, right there. Lovely. I had nothing to do but wait around with a bunch of strangers. I was girlishly scared of whatever was going to happen next . . . terrified, though I felt stupid doing so, seeing as I was the one who made all this happen. And there was no way in hell I was about to let the fear show in front of any stranger. . . . I think.

RG #7:

I knocked hesitantly on the door to his office... agh. I hated this part... he always looked at me funny. Or.. unlooked... or whatever. I didn't know if he could see me or not... Didn't really matter, he was scary as crap.

"You better have a legitimate reason for interrupting me, whoever you are." He stated as he opened the door and looked straight down at me. Or... didn't. Anyway.

"Uhm... new chick was being all... what's that word, non-compliant. Sir. Thought you might wanna deal with that." I told him as directly as possible.

"Ah. Right. I will be along directly then, as soon as I finish this nonsense. About fifteen minutes, I suppouse before the illegibility becomes intolerable. Where'd you put her?" He asked.

"Cellblock 2...sir. Ask the head there about what cell. " I responded quickly.

"Lovely. Dismissed." And the door slammed shut on me. Back to work then... great.

Mr.Face:

I sat in my office for several minutes trying to reestablish what nonsense I had been working my way through and then decided that that would be a waste of my time. I stacked all my paperwork back up neatly on the right edge of my desk, three inches from the edge of it, and left my office. I didn't bother to lock it. OS had a motion detection system and sheer fear typically was a great reason for everyone to leave the place alone. Besides, if I did find anyone in there, they would be deceased several times over.

I went downstairs to cellblock two, and the place fell into silence as I walked into the hall. "Good evening. Where did you put the girl with discipline issues?"

"Uhm.... cell three sir."

"Excellent. Thank you." And I pulled the appropriate door open and walked inside. There were three other occupants and the girl. She was the only one with a mask on. I love those masks. So easy to hear.

"Hello." I said to the cell as a collective.

Bells

Oh shit. Shit a billion times over. Is billion even a number? . . . Who cares. I was in deep shit.

I'd backed myself into a corner of the cell, and only glanced at him. More like just past him. I hated the look of those teeth. He had to be part demon, or even straight Devil's blood family. No one returned the greeting. It was all a terrified, suffocating silence, so much so that I could hear everyone else trying not to breath.

Mr.Face:

One thing about a 10 by 10 cell was that hiding was somewhat futile. The other idiots in the cell were of no use to me, and it seemed that we were over crowded as it was already. I pulled out my pistol and shot them all. Except for her. Several thuds happened in quick succession and someone made some kind of noise as they died. Lovely.

"I heard that you were demonstrating disobedience." I stated calmly, walking over to be right up close to her, staring straight down at her...probably. "That is not permissible you know."

Bells

I was ready as soon as I saw the gun. Every inch of me tightened like a spring about to snap, and I was so ready to die when I heard gunshot crack . . .

And crack . . .

And a few more . . .

My hearing swam when it was over. Huh . . . perhaps he was blind. Bad aim. Perhaps I was extremely lucky . . . or unlucky . . . or maybe I just hadn't felt the shot.

I flinched back when I heard his voice, and opened my eyes. Everyone was . . . dead. Shot in cold blood . . . except for me. I wasn't sure what to think of that, so I took a breath to steady myself, putting on a blank expression.

He was . . . right . . . there.

"I'm . . . not exactly used t' Auda, yet."

Mr.Face:

What kind of excuse was that? There was an informational pamphlet by the front door of this place.

"Clearly. That is no excuse though, You are living with Mr.Namechov, are you not? He should have informed you about such things. Or you could have picked up the informational pamphlet about your new occupation. Arms. Now." I contemplated whether I ought to grant Mr.Namechov a similar visit downstairs, for his inability to explain these things to the girl, who I recognised by accent. It was strange.

I waited for her to extend her arms. "And go ahead and roll up your sleeves as well, those only get in the way." I added as an afterthought.

Bells

I couldn't seem to move, or breathe, for that matter. I hadn't looked at him directly since he entered the room. But an image was still stuck in my mind: A stare without eyes, a grin full of knives. That smile . . . igh.

". . . As if I can read, Cheshire."

. . . Alright, that somehow managed to slip out on its own. It probably didn't make my situation any better, nor the fact that my arms were glued stiff behind my back. So, I bit my lip, I raised my sleeves, I clenched my fists, I forced my arms in front of me. The skin was already disfigured from Skelet. The thought of getting them cut up again made my heart pound.

Mr.Face:

Cheshire. A reference to Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" If I wasn't mistaken. Well read for an illiterate. Not quite spoken as a compliment. It seemed much more like a taunt.

" In addition to learning how to follow directions, you should also consider learning how to address people who could kill you without insulting them." I informed her as I cut paralell incisions across her arms, working from wrist to elbow. "I personally reccommend 'Sir'." I added as I opened a packet of boric acid and emptied it onto the new injuries.

"I also reccommend that you inform whoever was chopping you up before that they get a ruler... none of their lines were paralell." I was on my way out of the cell when I realised that I didn't inform her what to do now. "I suppouse Mr.Namechov will find you here eventually...I see no reason why I should let you back on the block with such behaviour issues." And then I waited a moment. Typically people had something to say about things like that.

And, I realise that I normally send people back to work post punishment, but...I didn't need another call down here today... I had stuff to do.

Bells

When I hurt, I usually try to swallow it, except when I'm with Skelet. With him I never knew what to do: Sometimes he would be satisfied when I screamed, and then everything would be alright . . . but sometimes if I screamed he would just hit me again for making noise. The bastard. But this faceless guy . . . I didn't know how to act around the freak.

It's not like I had much of a choice, anyhow. The acid stings ripped through my arms, up my throat and out in a scream, quickly silenced with a clenching of my jaw. I found myself bent over the angry gashes, in a fog of pain, and then more words sliced to my ears like daggers.

"A-alone?" I squeeked, biting back tears. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch . . . it hurt so bad, I had to make some kind of noise. Couldn't scream, no, not real scream, Hell no. Whistle scream. The noise screeched, enough to hurt, not satisfying like using my real voice but just enough to distract. See, whistling's more . . . prideful, in a way. They all sound about the same, so you don't give whoever's hurting you the satisfaction of hearing you.

Mr.Face:

She had been planning to scream. I had heard her planning to scream. And then, at the last moment, after a single word question, she changed her mind to some hideous... whistling noise. I hated that noise. Screaming... yes. Wonderful. Lit up the room with vibrations in a way that nothing else really could. But this whistling... simply grated and rang like a bad case of tinnitus.

"Yes, alone. I thought that had been made clear." I stated irritably with a hand to one ear. "And if I hear that any more of that infernal whistling out of you ever again.... I'm going to have to puncture your lung or something." I added. And then I left so as to not prolong my ears' exposure to that hideous noise.

Back to...Paperwork. I hated the stuff. Perhaps I would just go downstairs and see what I could do on cellblock five. Yes. Much better idea. I will do that.

Bells

I quieted myself a tad, but couldn't keep soft whistles from escaping. Bullets, knives, punches . . . acid was worse, by far. And after I was able to bite down the pain, there were the bodies to worry about. It was one spreading pond of blood underneath a tangle of underfed limbs.

"Shit." I muttered, sinking lower into my corner. Skelet always lit something after people died, to keep the spirits from getting to him. There wasn't any smoke in sight.

Holy fuck, I was done for . . . I'd heard quite a few stories about ghosts . . . quite a few people had been found dead or worse. Heads ripped off, flesh torn apart into strange designs, bodies vanishing completely, people gone mad . . . all by odd paranormal things. My heart thumped, and then it thumped some more when I remembered what I'd heard: some ghosts were attracted to paranoia.

Perhaps they were friendly.

I tucked my face tight into my knees and didn't dare to look up again.

T.Mor:

...I've probably already said that I hate my job... But... I hate my job. In case you didn't know. So... The thirty two hour shifts really suck. A lot. At least I was on time today so nothing was bleeding down my arm.

Though... The crematoriums were out...so... lots of corpse hauling... to keep the place from smelling too badly.

So... by the end of my shift... I was really...REALLY... like... tired. As much as I hated to admit it. Even though I'd only been awake for like...two and a half days.

I left my cellblock and went upstairs to where I had told Bells to wait for me, spattered in blood that didn't belong to me. Only... she wasn't there. She wasn't... Where could she... how could...

What if she got in trouble?

Oh no... how.. but she was only on cellblock one...what could have...?

Expletives...

I turned around and went back downstairs to the cellblocks. Start in one and ask the head. That was my plan. So I walked into the block and straight up to the desk and asked the head of the block.

"...hi... erm... there was some blonde. Here... Earlier..." I started. He looked at me with a blank face. ...Well... No duh. The masks make everyone look like a blank face. "She...She had an accent? Uhm..." I asked further.

"Oh yeah, Her. She was being all... non compliant so I took her downstairs. Mr.Face took care of it I think." He replied casually.

I must have just stood there for a moment registering that. Mr.Face... had... had... erm... Bells. Mr.Face... had probably hurt Bells. Bells...was...probably hurt. By Mr.Face.

Expletives. So. Many. Expletives.

"Uhm...How...How far...downstairs...?" I asked finally, after figuring out how does words.

"Er... Just to two." He said. "Why? She yours?" He asked.

"...Sort of...uh... I mean.... er... Not your problem." I stated, before turning to go downstairs.

I went downstairs and walked right up to the guy behind that desk too. "I am looking for some blonde ...with an accent...uhm... I was told... that she was...here..." I kind of asked or stated or whatever.

"Cell three." He said disinterestedly.

I walked over there and threw open the door. The first thing that I noticed were the bodies. Oh Internet... bodies.

Please... please.... don't let this be... you know...

I didn't want... nononono....

I really hesitantly said "...Hello?" Not saying her name because we could get in trouble for giving away our names.

Please answer...someone... Bells... Please...Please. Please...Please...

Bells

And then there was a voice. One of those things that startled me out of my skin, but then, I figured it had just been my imagination.

But perhaps it wasn't.

But what if I looked up and the voice was coming from someone or something I didn't want to see? Then what?

. . .

Screw it.

I hugged my arms tighter and slowly peeked up from my knees. It was a guard. ". . . . . . 'ello?" I whispered.

T.Mor:

WORDS.

OH THANK CEILINGCATWORDS.

"...hi... uhm... erm... Come on... we should... uhm... go home..." I walked over to her and got lower to be at eye level... Not that it mattered with both of us in masks... but still.

And we would go home and I'd wrap her up in socks and then everything would be ok... only...erm... not really because we both had to like...go back to work in a few hours... but... yeah.

Bells

T.Mor. Thank you, thank you, thank you, it was T.Mor.

I looked there, at him, suddenly whistling and murmering at once. "Thank you thank you thank you..." My arms flew around his shoulders, and then I drew back with a wince.

T.Mor:

She hugged me fast and then her hands were gone...

Probably hurting from... cuts...and acid...and...bad things.

"Erm... come on... Let's... let's go home..." I started to get up waiting for her to follow. I would have offered her a hand, but... knowing how much the acid kind of messed with being able to like... use hands... I figured that it would have been kind of... it wouldn't have worked all that well.

Bells

I peeked around, then let my hair slip over my mask a bit. Just enough so I didn't see the bodies in the corner of my vision. Then, I stood up . . . I felt myself shaking a tad. "...Are there ghosts in Auda?"

T.Mor:

"Erm... Just zombie goast pants... but... most of them have been shot so many times... It's like... they couldn't keep living in their houses anyway...so... Don't worry..." I told her uncertain whether that was what she meant or not.

I walked out of the cell and waited for her to follow me so that we could get out of there... and get home to...er... wrap her in socks.

See... usually I'm ok when this kind of thing happens... because... it's just me... and... and I...erm... deserve it for...something... but... this... this was Bells. And that's different.

Bells

I scurried after him, not caring about carrying myself proudly. I wanted to get. The fuck. Out of there.

As a side note, I had no idea what a zombie goast pants was, but . . . I didn't want to ask. "You're sure that's all there is?"

T.Mor:

"...yeah... uhm... Yeah, probably..." I didn't really know about anything but the zombie goast pants... so... No need to worry her about things that I didn't know either.

I started up the stairs back towards home and kind of wanted to put an arm around her as we left for the day... or night...or...erm... whatever time it was, My work schedule kind of screwed up night and day for me a bit, along with all the coffee... But...Anyway... I kind of wanted to put my arm around her... but that would have kind of given us away a bit... so...erm... I didn't. There would be time at home.

Yeah.

Bells

The walk home seemed to last forever. It was better that he was there with me, but it's not like it was natural. We couldn't even hold hands or anything out on the street, aye? It felt forced. A facade.

T.Mor:

As soon as we got through the door and had it shut behind us I was halfway upstairs to find cleaner socks for her. Health first....and then...erm... stuff.

I then remembered something and stopped and walked back downstairs and asked her, because it was kind of important to her getting better-ness.

"Uhm... Just to make sure... there's... You have acid in your arms...right?" Because if so then we had to clean the acid out, and I had to go see if the water in the tub had been boiled or not and... no, wait, I had boiled it last week it was fine...

I mean... I was pretty sure he'd probably use the acid because he always did... but... had to check because otherwise cleaning those out hurt a lot for no reason and... I ...I don't like to see her in pain so... erm...yeah...