bliss_immunity | (no subject)

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Friday morning meant clinic duty for Carolyn and clinic duty for Joshua later in the evening. He's had a house guest for a couple of days and he has been a most gracious host. After breakfast, Carolyn heads off for her shift and Joshua decides to stay in the Compound until his shift. He could find another book to peruse and avoid another lecture from Carolyn. Both good things as far as he is concerned.

After finding a particularly dry textbook, something right up his alley, Joshua settles down to read for a few hours. He doesn't realize how caught up he's gotten in it until something lands on the book. He looks around to find himself in the middle of the jungle. The thing that had landed on his book is a large raindrop. He's on his feet, surveying his surroundings. The rain and the jungle lead him to believe he hasn't left the island, but there's no way to confirm that. It doesn't take very long at all for Joshua to get soaked. The book is totally useless so he puts it aside.

The short sleeved green shirt with the blue gecko on it had seemed like a good idea when he'd been expecting to have clinic duty inside the dry clinic. Now he's wishing he'd at least brought his V medical coat or not left his rain coat by the door. He figures he should start walking, but he has no idea in which direction he should go or even where he is. He decides to bring the textbook just in case. At the very least, he can use it as a weapon. He looks around and all he sees is mist, rain and jungle. Finally he shrugs and sets off in one direction.

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At least Joshua is a little more prepared than Juliet. She's just out of the shower, wrapped in a towel. Her hair is dripping wet around her neck, and when she picks up her tank top and shorts she's suddenly in the jungle.

She blinks a little and turns around, clutching her clothes against her chest as she tries to figure out what happened. Backing up, she turns and has no damn idea where she is. She's only been on the island a few days but she tries to stay calm. Maybe she's not as far away from things as she thought.

"Hello? Anyone?" And she's still holding onto her clothes, hoping the huts are close.

I had been with Zell when it happened. One moment, I was taking a break from the Children's Office, the next I was out here. In the jungle. In the rain.

The rain suggested I was still on the Island. I'd simply shifted places. Hopefully not times. But where was I? And how would I get back to the Compound? Zell must be frantic by now! Poor Zell--

It dawns on me that this part of the jungle is wilder than what I'm used to. I see no paths, no lights, no callboxes. In fact, other the rain and the cries of animals, it's utterly silent--

"Hello? Anyone?"

I turn towards the voice. I have to admit that I'm spooked, and I can really use some human company, right now. "I'm here!" I shout. "I'm coming--"

I stumble upon a woman, wrapped in a towel, her clothes -- growing wet by the second -- limp in her hands.

For a moment, I gape. I suppose there are worse moments to be snatched in such fashion.

"Sorry," I said, pulling myself together. "Are you okay? The Island snatched me too."

Joshua hears what is either a bird or what he hopes are the sound of human voices. He turns in that direction and hopes it's not just a bird.

"Hello?" he calls out and then he sees two women coming into focus. One of them looks an awful lot like his house guest, Juliet. The other looks like a young woman that he may have seen around the compound. He jogs over, careful not to trip over all of the vegetation.

"Juliet?"

"I'm okay, just a little..." She blinks through the rain and down at her state of undress. "A little wet." Then she hears Joshua, and really it couldn't get any better.

"I'm okay," she says softly to him, swallowing a little with an embarrassed smile. "I'm just going to..." She clears her throat and turns away from the two of them to move behind a tree. Pulling the shorts on under the towel, it's a little hard because the clothes are wet and clinging, but she finally manages to get the tank top on, too.

Coming back out, she's still holding onto the towel as she looks at the two of them. "So. What happened?"

"The Island," I said, looking around, trying to orient myself. "It brought us here. Brought us together. It's another of its little games." But what game, I thought. What?

A nervous feeling grew in the pit of my stomach. I had a disturbing idea.

"Well at least we know we're all from the island. And it's a good guess that we're still there given this rain. Though I don't know how we'd be certain until we see something familiar."

"I'm Joshua, by the way," he says, realizing they should get introductions out of the way before some more island magic started up. "And this is Juliet."

Juliet gives a little bit of a wave, very glad that Joshua is there now. And she's starting to feel just as uncomfortable as the other woman looked.

"We're in the middle of nowhere - I think. Which direction is the Compound?"

"I'm Polly," I said, with a brief wave. "Polly O'Keefe." I looked around, fighting the panic that is rapidly rising. "I can't figure out where the Compound is. We can't see anything in all this mist and rain."

"Look," I said, turning to the others, "I've heard stories. The Island has done this before. A few years ago, my Daddy got snatched from the Compound, along with others." I swallowed, hard. "They were dropped in Dinosaur territory and forced to make their own way back."

Edited 2010-07-24 05:07 (UTC)

Carolyn had just leaned over in order to examine someones cut in the clinic when suddenly she was outside, being rained on and surrounded by trees, bushes and other plants. Eyes widening she straightened and looked around. "What the...." she muttered and quickly snapped off the latex gloves, shoving them into her back pocket as she took a step forward.

She had no idea what was going on, but she already knew she wasn't going to like it. Her lips press together and she turns around slowly trying to figure out just where she was. She'd been all over the island and she didn't remember anything like this... Was she even on the island anymore? She didn't even know.

Sucking in a deep breath she moved forward, pushing through the foliage as she did so. "Damn it!" she cried as a branch thwapped her in the face. "Hello?" she called out, reaching up to rub her now sore cheek. "Is anyone there?"

Joshua understands the severity of the situation of being in Dinosaur territory. And somewhere in the back of his mind, he registers the funny, funny joke of a former V being stuck in Dinosaur territory.

He's about to suggest they form a plan to get out of here, if it is Dinosaur Territory, when he hears something. "Did you hear that?" he asks, turning in the direction of the sound as he can best estimate it with all this jungle. It would have been easier if he were still a V, but life isn't always easy.

He motions for them to follow cautiously. If they are in Dinosaur Territory, they don't need to walk right into one mistaking it for a person. But he's certain he's heard words and that he recognizes the voice.

Juliet's still staring at Polly like she's crazy because she just mentioned the word 'dinosaur'. Dinosaurs. Of course. Because being suck on this island isn't bad enough, now she's been relocated into potential dinosaur territory.

She's about to make a comment on that when she hears the voice too, so she turns and looks at Joshua before following him carefully. "It sounded like a woman," she whispers.

I followed the other two closely. I didn't want to lose them in this jungle. "It's probably somebody else who got snatched and dropped. We should call out to her."

Carolyn growled under her breath as she continued to push her way through the foliage. This kind of stuff really wasn't her thing. At all. While she didn't mind going on the occasional mission, she'd always been more comfortable in the actual medical lab.

Almost tripping over a root, she cursed loudly. "OK..." she muttered, pausing to try to once again figure where she was. First thing she needed to do was find a path of sorts, right? Sounded like a plan to her. And so that's exactly what she started to do.

She hadn't moved far when she heard a rustling off to her right. Oh great... "Please don't be some hungry animal..." she whispered to herself and cautiusly began to edge toward the sound. "Hello?" she called out again.

He does recognize the voice and with a quick glance behind him to make sure he hasn't lost the other two, he moves forward and calls out. "Carolyn?"

Hopefully nothing else has heard her.

Juliet's fully surprised when she sees the familiar woman, though she has no idea why since that's just what the island does, apparently. Pick up and drop off people as it sees fit.

"Carolyn," she says in relief, glad it's not a damn dinosaur. "Are you okay?"

Great, I thought: all three knew each other. I was a stranger here. Now I know how Squall felt.

"I'm Polly," I said, waving at Carolyn. "Does anybody have any idea which way gets us back to civilization?"

Hearing Joshua, Carolyn pushed through the last of the foliage and flashed him a grateful smile. "Boy am I glad to see you," she stated before looking around him to both Juliet and the girl who introduced herself as Polly.

"I don't even know where I am," Carolyn admitted with an annoyed sigh. "But.. We're obviously still on the island, right?"

He glances over at Polly as it's sinking in that he's the only male in this group. "We think we're still on the island, but in dinosaur territory. Polly's dad had the something similar happen. We were just deciding on a plan when we heard you."

"You've all seen the map of the island. There's a call box to the South and one to the North. I don't know how we'll find them though. How do you navigate in this?" Even though he sounds concerned and the whole situation is disconcerting, he's composed. He works best under pressure. After all, it's been a way of life for him.

Juliet pushes wet hair out of her face and looks up at the sky. There won't be any navigating through this. "Since we appeared here there won't be any kind of trail," she realizes.

Squatting, she looks at a few rocks, sliding her hand over moss. "This direction is east," she points as she looks back at the group.

"Can we be sure about that?" I asked. The rules of wilderness training might not apply on the Island.

"I think we should head towards the beach," I said. "If we strike out in one direction, we'll either hit water or the electric fence. If we get to the beach, we can see the dinosaurs coming, take cover in the waves, and walk back to civilization. It would be easier to get our bearings there."

Carolyn had to agree with Polly - did anything work the same here as it did back home? Would they be able to tell their location by using simple things like moss or even by looking up at the stars... if it was dark, and if they were able to even see them...

Glancing around, she shrugged, because she didn't know which way was what. "I think heading to the beach would be a good idea myself," she offered. "I'd rather be able to see any dinosaurs coming that might decide to make us their snacks..."

Joshua glances in all directions, taking a moment to really study what terrain he can see. It's all just a gamble at this point. "How about this way then?" he says, pointing in a direction.

"We'll make for the fence or the beach." He's anxious about Juliet's lack of shoes, but at the moment, there's not a lot to be done unless either he carries her or offers her his shoes. Neither seem to be a great idea. The shoe idea particularly as she'd be tripping the whole time.

She accepts the fact that she knows the least out of anyone, so she lets them make the decision as she stands, quietly. When he makes a suggestion she nods. "Alright." And she hangs back a little to let them go ahead of her.

She hates this already, and she's concerned for her own lack of shoes but figures there's nothing she can do about it now.

I nodded, working hard to keep it together. I can tell that we're in big trouble, but at least we're together, and we can all help. "Lead the way," I say to Joshua.

Carolyn's just glad that someone is willing to take charge. Medical stuff she could do, but the whole surviving in wild? She'd kind of skipped that course growing up.

"How far do you think it is possibily?" she asked, pushing what appeared to be a big fern leaf out of her way.

"We need to look out for each other," he says as he commits to the direction he'd suggested. "Make sure we don't lose anyone and that no one gets left behind."

The nice thing about being a rebel leader, in addition to Lead Medical Officer, is that he has both leadership skills and a determination to do whatever needs to get done to accomplish the mission. In this case, it means stepping up and guiding this group even though he's as lost as anyone else.

"I don't know," he says quietly. "But based on the map I saw, Dinosaur Territory is about as big as the area we've populated with paths, electricity and call boxes. Several miles across at its widest." He doesn't give voice to some of his concerns and he doesn't let his concern show. The truth is that if they appeared right in the middle, it's maybe a mile's walk to the call box if they walk to the South West. And a mile, maybe a mile and a half, if they walk to the North East. The trouble is that they have no idea in which direction they're walking. They could just as easily walk the longest section of dinosaur territory and be just feet from the fence line and never know it. It's something they don't need to worry about so he doesn't bring it up. It's best to just pick a direction and go until they find a landmark. There will be plenty of other things about which to worry, he's certain of that.

All of this is translating into being completely screwed in her head, but she doesn't say anything. She watches all of her companions closely, and she can't say that she's every taken a trek through a jungle before, but she's trying to stay calm. If only because there's nothing to panic about just yet. Not really.

She starts following behind Joshua, glad that it's muddy so that her feet have some give. She wishes she had something to contribute, but she doesn't. So, she just walks.

The rain is intense. I'm sure it has picked up just for the occasion. The ground is slick with mud. On even a slight slope, it's hard to keep my footing. Mud sucks at my shoes. But I press on, keeping an eye out for the ocean, recognizable landmarks or, most importantly, carnivorous dinosaurs.

"Maybe the dinosaurs have all taken shelter," I said, trying to make light of the whole thing.

Edited 2010-07-25 02:11 (UTC)

Carolyn couldn't help but be glad that she'd actually worn her boots to work that morning, though she couldn't help but wish they didn't have heels on them. Reaching out, she steadied herself by grabbing onto a wine as she climbed the slope behind the others.

"Hopefully... Have you ever seen any of the dinosaurs, Polly?" she asked. She knew she hadn't and since both Joshua and Juliet were new it was doubtful.

Of course, they have no such luck when it comes to the dinosaurs. As they walk over a small rise, they can see below them a herd of various herbivores peacefully grazing in a clearing.

Joshua stops abruptly, raising his hand to signal everyone to stop. He hopes they get it because the last thing they need is to spook just one of those creatures.

Juliet does stop as soon as he raises his hand, and she stares in absolute complete shock. She's struggling to figure out what she wants to say, and she swallows heavily.

"I can't..." She can't believe what she's seeing. And the scientist in her (medical though her degree is) can't help but want to know more about how this is even possible. Then again, she wonders how anything on this island is possible.

"I came out to the electric fence, once," I started to say. "I saw a T... Rex..."

The sight that greets me stops me cold and makes my jaw drop. Seeing a T-Rex up close was terrifying. This was awe inspiring. And also terrifying. A whole herd.

"Okay," I said, lowering my voice. "Definitely in Dinosaur Territory. Anybody see the ocean?"

Coming up behind the others, Carolyn sighed hating the rain and mud more and more. Of course now of all times is when the mud starts trying to suck her boots off of her feet.

Frowning, Carolyn pulled up hard on her leg and after a few moments of trying to free herself, the mud releases her foot with a loud slurping sound. But the momentum of the release causes Carolyn to lurch backward and the next thing she knew she was tumbling backward back down the hill.

She cursed loudly as she rolled down, and when her leg smashed against a large rock - she cried out in pain. Though on a small upside, the rock had in fact stopped her downward descent.

Joshua is too focused on the moving herd to notice Carolyn's initial distress with the mud. But the shout is enough to make him start. With one last glance at the large creatures who as a whole ignore the sound, though two or three stop eating for a moment to look up before returning to their previous activity, Joshua is back on the other side of the hill.

He can easily see what happened so he doesn't ask. He's a doctor so he can't just ask the simple question of 'Are you okay?' and leave it that. He assumes the worst and hopes for the best, but in this case, it involves examining her leg. And upon visual inspection alone, it looks a little wrong. He makes eye contact with her for a brief moment. It's not quite an apology or even empathy. It's closer to a nod and a warning of what they both know will happen next.

"It's broken," he says quietly without looking back at her. Diagnosis given, he's already running through what's going to have to happen next. It's going to have to be set. They're going to need a branch to serve as a split and it will probably have to be pulled from a tree because everything on the ground is going to be terribly wet and rotting from all the rain. And he's very likely losing both his socks and his shirt.

First, however, it's going to have to be realigned. "Polly," he starts, looking at the young woman. "Can you find me a tree branch, not too thick, but not too flexible and about three to three and a half feet long? You may have to look on the trees if there's nothing suitable on the ground."

There's a tense moment in which Joshua doesn't say anything, but he's still clearly communicating what's going to happen next to Carolyn. He motions for Juliet to hold Carolyn's upper leg steady. He's got an idea of what he needs to do to move the bones back into proper alignment and once Juliet is ready, he wastes no further time in setting the leg.

By the time, Polly has returned, he's looking for a clear puddle or stream of water to wash his socks and shirt. Idly he wonders what size shoe Juliet wears because it's not going to do a lot of good on Carolyn's foot any more.

Juliet's kneeling next to Joshua, and she can tell as well as he can what's happened. And she's trying to figure out how they're going to carry Carolyn however far they need to carry her.

Nodding at Joshua's direction, she holds onto Carolyn, trying to soothe her because she knows it hurts like hell. And then she's stepping back to unfold the towel she'd kept for some reason. It's a beach towel, so it's big, and she looks at Joshua.

"I have no idea what we can use this for. Could we carry her like a hammock?"

"Oh, my God!" I exclaimed as I saw Carolyn fall, and heard the sickening crack. I started forward, but stopped when Joshua got there first. Then he looked up at me and gave me an order.

I pulled myself together, then. I wasn't going to panic. Yes, we were in trouble, but we were all going to get out alive, and I had a job to do. I nodded at Joshua and ran back, looking for suitable branches. It was a hard search, but I found a good candidate. I jumped up and grabbed hold, using my whole weight to break it off, grunting only slightly when the thing snapped and I landed on it.

I snapped off the extra twigs. It was thick enough to be a splint, but too thick to break on my own. I'd need help here. I brought it back to Joshua. "Here," I said. Then, seeing the beach towel, I ask, "Could we improvise a stretcher if I get more branches?"

Gritting her teeth, Carolyn twisted and pushed herself up so she was propped against the very rock which had broken her leg. Pain was radiating up her leg, but as long as she didn't move it, well she supposed it didn't hurt as much as it could have. She groaned and reached up, wiping the mud from her face.

She shot Joshua a grateful look, glad that he was taking control of the situation. But at the mention of a hammock and stretcher her eyes widened and she shook her head. "I broke my leg, not my back! I'll be fine once it's splinted," she protested and then pointed at her leg, obviously figuring that was all that needed to be said on that subject. "Can someone please take my boot off for me?"

Joshua tries not to smile at her resistance. It's a very vague, nearly imperceptible movement of his features that would have been missed if one wasn't looking at the precise moment it happens.

The towel, however, means he can keep his shirt especially since there's no luck that she'll let them carry her on it. He's quick to get to work on making her splint, wrapping the towel around the branch.

"Polly, Juliet, do you think you could find a sturdy branch? It's doubtful we'll be able to find anything sturdy enough to serve as crutches, but we can certainly manage a walking stick," he asks as he's making the splint. The towel is going to soak up more rain than he'd liked and he frowns, thinking he may need to lose his shirt after all. It won't soak up as much water as the towel. With a sigh, he's unwrapping the towel again and taking off his shirt. Then doing the same with his shirt as he had done with the towel.

By the time, Juliet and Polly return, he's got Carolyn all patched up. Hopefully the stick will support her, either way he's keeping an eye on her because falling with a broken a leg is the last thing they need to have happen.

As soon as she's ready, they're off again, trying to keep quiet so they're not victims of a stampede, among the many other things of which they are victims.

As a doctor, Juliet hates feeling helpless even when she knows that she's doing everything she can to help. If getting a stick is all that she can do, then she'll find a stick, so she goes off in search of one, wandering away from the group a bit. It gives her time to think about everything, about this place and what she thinks about the dinosaurs and being stuck. She hates it, even if she's met a few nice people.

When she makes her way back it's with the sturdiest stick she could find, and when they're walking again she's trying to concentrate on not shivering in the rain and her shorts and tank top. She's gotten used to the feeling of walking over things that hurt the bottoms of her feet and she just walks, figuring that the further they go, the sooner they'll be home. Whatever meaning that word has left.

I didn't object as Juliet sent me back to help with setting Carolyn's leg. I'd already gotten a good stick for a splint, so she didn't have to go far to get another one. It seemed safe enough and, if she got in trouble, I figured we could hear her. I helped split the branch for the splint and helped hold things as Joshua worked away. Seeing him work gave me some comfort. At least I was with experts. Now, if only we could get out of here.

"You're going to be okay," I said to Carolyn. Truthfully, I was comforting myself as much as her. Then, when it seemed like we were ready, I said, "You lead the way."

Edited 2010-08-01 22:08 (UTC)

Carolyn could hardly believe the pain that had washed through her when Joshua had pulled off her boot and set her break. It had left her pale and feeling a little woozy, but she'd been determined not to be a burden on the others and had managed to get to her feet and hobble along with the others with the aid of the stick Juliet had found for her.

Looking over at Pilly, she smiled slightly and nodded her head. "Yeah, I know. Thanks for helping find the stick for the splint," she said. She paused suddenly and was still. "I could have sworn the ground just vibrated...."

They hadn't resumed walking for very long when Carolyn is pausing, talking about vibrations. He ignores it for the moment because there's a very faint salty fragrance in the air. He hopes that means the ocean isn't too much further ahead.

Something makes him look down at a puddle of water. While they have been following the variety of herbivores, the herd has moved off some distance ahead. And the puddle of water indicates something large is coming and confirms the ground is vibrating. A quick glance up at the herd confirms it is not the dinosaurs ahead of them. Something large is coming and it's going to ambush them from behind.

"We need to move. Now!" he says, trying to stay calm while still expressing the urgency of the matter. There's a lull as though time stands still or slows down. In actuality, it's simply quiet as all life has moved out of the way of the incoming creature.

They have just enough time to react before the Tyrannosaurus Rex that's been trailing the herd, runs out from a group of trees maybe one hundred yards behind them.

Juliet's momentarily frozen to her spot, but then she's running, even in her bare feet. She can hear the roar of the dinosaur and she slips once, picks herself up and keeps going.

It's only when she can't hear the dinosaurs anymore that she stops, pushing herself against a tree and panting heavily in the room. And then she realizes she can't hear anyone and she blinks a little, looking around, scared and now completely alone in dinosaur territory.

They say time seems to slow in situations like these. I didn't feel it. All I felt was a rush of realizations: that there was a tyrannosaurus rushing towards us, that Juliet had run off and was now alone, and that Carolyn wasn't able to run, and that Joshua wasn't going to run nearly as fast while he helped Carolyn escape the charging dinosaur.

I hesitated barely a moment as I looked from Juliet to Carolyn, trying to decide which one needed help, and I settled on Carolyn. I slipped my head under her free arm and helped propel her to safety.

No one had to urge Carolyn to move faster - not when there was now a T-Rex right behind them. Luckily for her Polly decided to help her, otherwise she might have been an early snack for the large dinosaur. She'd never been so scared in her life. It seemed that with each step they took, the T-Rex took several. She tried to keep from looking over her shoulder, she really did... But she had to know where the creature was.

Hobbling along next to Polly, she glanced over her shoulder and her eyes widened. "Ohmygod," she rambled just as the T-Rex let out an ear splitting roar.

It seems as though mass chaos erupts and the group moves into different directions. He hates to leave Juliet, but Carolyn has no chance with her leg like that even with Polly's help.

"Alright, ladies," he says, somehow able to remain calm, if not determined, despite feeling just as nervous as the rest of them. He figures he either holds it together or they all die. An inevitability that he may not be able to avoid either way. "That direction." He supports Carolyn's other side and points in the direction of what he's hoping is the beach. Just over that horizon, he hopes.

There is a lot of open territory around us. I suppose there'd have to be for terrible lizards to walk these paths. The direction Joshua has pointed at offers the cover of trees, but it's a long way, and we're pretty slow, and I think the Tyrannosaurus Rex is about to charge.

A very crazy and very stupid idea pops into my head at this point, possibly via the dinosaur's roar and stomp. I'm uninjured. I can run. If I charge off at a right angle from Carolyn and Joshua, maybe I can draw the Tyrannosaurus Rex away, and make it to the cover of trees on the other side of the wide path. Without further thought, I hoisted Carolyn onto Joshua and ran for it. In the middle of the wide path, I stopped, and waved my hands wildly, shouting. "Hey! Over here!"

The Tyrannosaurus Rex had been peering hungrily at Carolyn and Joshua, but at the sound of my voice and the waving of my hands, it swung its giant head around at me. Then it roared. Then it charged.

Oh. Crap.

I turned and bolted for the cover of the trees, only to feel my feet slip out from under me. I fell on the spongy, muddy ground and rolled. When I stopped myself, I was on my back, staring as the Tyrannosaurus narrowed the distance between us rapidly.

I didn't even have time to scream.

Edited 2010-08-12 02:02 (UTC)

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