Day 14, almost halfway
We had a good write-in today. I'm learning where all the elusive coffe shops are around my town through this. It was exceedingly hard to write for some reason. My ML reassured me that all writers hit the wall at some point in their noveling. She said that after 25k, it's all downhill. Granted, after awhile it was a bit easier once I warmed up. I hope she's right about being downhill, I'd love to be able to just rattle it all off.
The man came closer into the light. He was dressed in the same mechanic one piece jumpsuit that the other underground people had been wearing. It was a bit dirty from being in the underground sewers but it was still intact. He had brown hair, a fair face, and eyes that said very little. It took Gen a second, but it came to her in a flash. She knew this person. "Adrian? Is that you?" His eyes went wide and he took a step back involuntarily. "How do you know my name?" he asked in a reserved tone, as if he wasn't about to take her word for anything yet. Gen couldn't believe it. Adrian was in her Physics class back home. He was that geeky kid that sat at the front of the class and answered all the questions. Drove Professor Truax nuts. And here he stood, quiet and with more confidence than she'd ever seen in him. She'd tried to make conversation with him a couple of times, but he never could bring himself to talk back to her. Gen always felt that she intimidated him. Now she felt like the intimidated one as he walked forward towards her. "Answer me, where did you learn my name?!" He brought his fist down next to her head, hitting the mattress beneath her. Gen jumped involuntarily at that, accidentally waking up Kit. He didn't get his balance in time and slid to the floor. "Ow," his voice carried from underneath the cot. Gen couldn't look to see if he was ok, she was trying to think of a good answer for Adrian. "Um...well...you were..." she decided the truth was probably the best at this point. "You were in my physics class at Bedford College. At least, that's what I remember." Adrian's frown deepened along with the troubled lines around his face. Gen couldn't understand why he kept looking at her that way. Kit was getting up off the floor, happy that Gen was finally awake but not brave enough to talk when such a commanding person was in the room with them. "So, we went to school together, you say," Adrian walked out of view and returned with a handheld scanner tube. "What else do you remember?" he asked. Gen wasn't sure what he meant. "About what specifically? About you or about school?" Adrian was managing to keep his eyes on her and the scanner at the same time. "How about homecoming? Anything ring a bell there?" Gen thought for a second, confused. "No, I haven't been to homecoming yet, I'm only a sophomore. Come to think of it, you haven't been to homecoming either unless I missed something."
"Adrian?" It was Jim coming into the room, a tone of worry in his voice. "I told you not to come see her, it's not good for you, man."
"Oh, can it, Jim. You know I couldn't just leave it. I had to see for myself." Gen could now see Jim in the light and she realized it was Jim Wazowski, one of the basketball coaches for the college's basketball team. "Coach Wazowski?" she blurted out without thinking about it. Jim stopped in his tracks. "Coach? What's she talking about?"
"It's not her," Adrian's voice was cold and dark as the tunnels themselves. "I'd know."
"Um, hi," Gen began, trying to get their attention for a second. "Who do you think I am exactly?" Jim cleared his throat to see where to begin, but Adrian cut him off. "It doesn't matter, you're nothing but a Quatrix and that's it. End of story."
Gen was getting quite frustrated with everyone talking about her and not to her. And she was really wanting to know what was bugging Adrian. It was the first time she'd seen a familiar face and it was turning out to be a not-so-friendly one. She wanted to know why. "Ok, look," she sat up a bit, directing her words mostly at Adrian. "It's been a bit of a trying day for everyone, I know. I really don't know what answer you are looking for Adrian, but I don't know what a quatrix is and I don't know who you want me to be, but as far as I know, I'm still Geneivive Wellside and I'm fed up with being talked to as if I was a machine." She looked with definace at the two men to see if they were listening at all for once to her. It was then that she saw Adrian's face change. Were those tears in his eyes, she thought to herself. Her voice got softer, wondering if she had hurt him somehow. "Adrian? You ok?" she asked. Before she knew what he was doing, he grabbed her in an embrace and kissed her full on the lips. Everyone was surprised by the display, none more so than Gen. She really didn't have the resolve to break the kiss as Adrian was hugging her, still tearing up. When he stopped, she blurted out, "Whoa..." more to herself than anyone. Adrian was now hugging her as if he'd finally found what he was looking for. "Please say it's you, Gen. I can't...it..." He was too overcome for words. Gen was feeling very awkward but couldn't leave him doing a onesided hug with him being that emotional. She returned the hug as best as she could, looking over her shoulder at Kit. He was looking a bit confused and Gen shrugged her shoulders a bit to say, I have no idea what's going on either. She looked over at Jim, who looked sad. Sad and older than he was. He reached out to put a hand on Adrian's shoulder. "I know you want it to be her, Adrian."
"Who, her, Coach...er...I mean, Jim? Who does he think I am?" Gen asked, Adrian still having his head on her shoulder in an embrace. He seemed like he didn't want to let go yet. She could feel the back of her shirt getting slightly soggy from his tears. Jim rubbed the back of his neck while he was thinking what to say. He finally shrugged and gave it to her straight. "Genevive Wellside was his girlfriend. She...died or is presumed dead in a recent battle with the Enforcers. I'm afraid, you're the spitting image of her and...Adrian took it very hard." Now Gen understood why this once confident person was now a crushed man hung on her shoulder. "I see," was all she could think to say. "But you can't be her. We're pretty sure that you are a bungled job of Truax's to infiltrate the Underground Scientists."
"Underground Scientists?" Gen asked. "Is that what you all are?" Jim nodded and smiled. "I know we don't look like much but we're all that stands in the way of Truax enslaving the whole earth."
"Wow," Gen said, flashing back to when the professor was ranting about owning the whole world, building it all himself. "He can really do that?"
"As long as he has quatrixes, he can pretty much do anything he wants."
"What is a quatrix? I keep hearing that word," Gen asked. Jim took the scanning tube from Adrian's hand that was still holding to Gen and scanned her up and down for a second. He showed her the readout, saying "You're a quatrix." At first, Gen didn't get it. But then she realized...
The liquid energy...the phasing through things...her being able to absorb electricity right out of it's source without dying...
"...oh..." Gen said with realization. "I think I get it." Adrian let go of her once she said that, backing up while keeping his eyes on her in case this meant she was going to do something violent or drastic. Gen was starting to put the pieces together. "So, Truax makes quatrixes...that's what he meant by he made me, that's what he was trying to make me into that night he..."
Jim was listening intently to her story she was rattling off. "What? He what?" he prodded her on. Gen realized he was looking intently at her and swung her legs over to the side to sit on the edge of the bed. "Um, ok...here's the story." She launched into that night that she had been kidnapped and dragged away by the stranger working for Truax. when she reached the part about the dead looking eyes, Adrian's voice came from the side where he was leaning against a chair, looking like he didn't care to listen. "That was a quatrix. I've seen it many times before." Gen described the transformation process as much as she could remember but when she got to the end of it, there was still a bit of a blank residual. "Next thing I knew, I was in Maine. A fisherman found me spit up out of the ocean. And..." she unbuttoned the workshirt that she was wearing to show the black suit underneath. "...I was wearing this. And it won't come off."
"It can't come off," Kit chimed in, joining in on the story to add his expertise. "It's actually part of you now. Part of your skin and body as it were."
"That makes sense," Gen said. "I've found that I can actually mimic different clothes with it. But since then, things just haven't been making much sense till now." She sighed. "I still wish I knew what happened to home. All this time travel stuff is really confusing me to pieces." The words time travel perked up both Jim's and Adrian's ears. They leaned in, Jim asking, "Time travel, you say? Please explain?"
Gen related the fact that Maine had been in the 50's and after that she'd been able to go to the 60's through the strange sort of vortex outside of time and space. At first, she thought it sounded really dumb coming out of her mouth but the two scientists didn't laugh. They were genuinely interested in her story. "You don't think I'm crazy, do you?" Jim shook his head. "No, not necessarily."
Adrian cut in. "It still doesn't explain why you look like Gen. I want to know why Truax has the gall to make an Enforcer that looks like my..." he stopped there, not wanting to continue. "So the Enforcers are quatrixes?" Gen asked. "Yes, Truax set them up as a sort of police once he took control of the Earth's weapon's systems in WWIII.”
I'll write more tonight later.
The man came closer into the light. He was dressed in the same mechanic one piece jumpsuit that the other underground people had been wearing. It was a bit dirty from being in the underground sewers but it was still intact. He had brown hair, a fair face, and eyes that said very little. It took Gen a second, but it came to her in a flash. She knew this person. "Adrian? Is that you?" His eyes went wide and he took a step back involuntarily. "How do you know my name?" he asked in a reserved tone, as if he wasn't about to take her word for anything yet. Gen couldn't believe it. Adrian was in her Physics class back home. He was that geeky kid that sat at the front of the class and answered all the questions. Drove Professor Truax nuts. And here he stood, quiet and with more confidence than she'd ever seen in him. She'd tried to make conversation with him a couple of times, but he never could bring himself to talk back to her. Gen always felt that she intimidated him. Now she felt like the intimidated one as he walked forward towards her. "Answer me, where did you learn my name?!" He brought his fist down next to her head, hitting the mattress beneath her. Gen jumped involuntarily at that, accidentally waking up Kit. He didn't get his balance in time and slid to the floor. "Ow," his voice carried from underneath the cot. Gen couldn't look to see if he was ok, she was trying to think of a good answer for Adrian. "Um...well...you were..." she decided the truth was probably the best at this point. "You were in my physics class at Bedford College. At least, that's what I remember." Adrian's frown deepened along with the troubled lines around his face. Gen couldn't understand why he kept looking at her that way. Kit was getting up off the floor, happy that Gen was finally awake but not brave enough to talk when such a commanding person was in the room with them. "So, we went to school together, you say," Adrian walked out of view and returned with a handheld scanner tube. "What else do you remember?" he asked. Gen wasn't sure what he meant. "About what specifically? About you or about school?" Adrian was managing to keep his eyes on her and the scanner at the same time. "How about homecoming? Anything ring a bell there?" Gen thought for a second, confused. "No, I haven't been to homecoming yet, I'm only a sophomore. Come to think of it, you haven't been to homecoming either unless I missed something."
"Adrian?" It was Jim coming into the room, a tone of worry in his voice. "I told you not to come see her, it's not good for you, man."
"Oh, can it, Jim. You know I couldn't just leave it. I had to see for myself." Gen could now see Jim in the light and she realized it was Jim Wazowski, one of the basketball coaches for the college's basketball team. "Coach Wazowski?" she blurted out without thinking about it. Jim stopped in his tracks. "Coach? What's she talking about?"
"It's not her," Adrian's voice was cold and dark as the tunnels themselves. "I'd know."
"Um, hi," Gen began, trying to get their attention for a second. "Who do you think I am exactly?" Jim cleared his throat to see where to begin, but Adrian cut him off. "It doesn't matter, you're nothing but a Quatrix and that's it. End of story."
Gen was getting quite frustrated with everyone talking about her and not to her. And she was really wanting to know what was bugging Adrian. It was the first time she'd seen a familiar face and it was turning out to be a not-so-friendly one. She wanted to know why. "Ok, look," she sat up a bit, directing her words mostly at Adrian. "It's been a bit of a trying day for everyone, I know. I really don't know what answer you are looking for Adrian, but I don't know what a quatrix is and I don't know who you want me to be, but as far as I know, I'm still Geneivive Wellside and I'm fed up with being talked to as if I was a machine." She looked with definace at the two men to see if they were listening at all for once to her. It was then that she saw Adrian's face change. Were those tears in his eyes, she thought to herself. Her voice got softer, wondering if she had hurt him somehow. "Adrian? You ok?" she asked. Before she knew what he was doing, he grabbed her in an embrace and kissed her full on the lips. Everyone was surprised by the display, none more so than Gen. She really didn't have the resolve to break the kiss as Adrian was hugging her, still tearing up. When he stopped, she blurted out, "Whoa..." more to herself than anyone. Adrian was now hugging her as if he'd finally found what he was looking for. "Please say it's you, Gen. I can't...it..." He was too overcome for words. Gen was feeling very awkward but couldn't leave him doing a onesided hug with him being that emotional. She returned the hug as best as she could, looking over her shoulder at Kit. He was looking a bit confused and Gen shrugged her shoulders a bit to say, I have no idea what's going on either. She looked over at Jim, who looked sad. Sad and older than he was. He reached out to put a hand on Adrian's shoulder. "I know you want it to be her, Adrian."
"Who, her, Coach...er...I mean, Jim? Who does he think I am?" Gen asked, Adrian still having his head on her shoulder in an embrace. He seemed like he didn't want to let go yet. She could feel the back of her shirt getting slightly soggy from his tears. Jim rubbed the back of his neck while he was thinking what to say. He finally shrugged and gave it to her straight. "Genevive Wellside was his girlfriend. She...died or is presumed dead in a recent battle with the Enforcers. I'm afraid, you're the spitting image of her and...Adrian took it very hard." Now Gen understood why this once confident person was now a crushed man hung on her shoulder. "I see," was all she could think to say. "But you can't be her. We're pretty sure that you are a bungled job of Truax's to infiltrate the Underground Scientists."
"Underground Scientists?" Gen asked. "Is that what you all are?" Jim nodded and smiled. "I know we don't look like much but we're all that stands in the way of Truax enslaving the whole earth."
"Wow," Gen said, flashing back to when the professor was ranting about owning the whole world, building it all himself. "He can really do that?"
"As long as he has quatrixes, he can pretty much do anything he wants."
"What is a quatrix? I keep hearing that word," Gen asked. Jim took the scanning tube from Adrian's hand that was still holding to Gen and scanned her up and down for a second. He showed her the readout, saying "You're a quatrix." At first, Gen didn't get it. But then she realized...
The liquid energy...the phasing through things...her being able to absorb electricity right out of it's source without dying...
"...oh..." Gen said with realization. "I think I get it." Adrian let go of her once she said that, backing up while keeping his eyes on her in case this meant she was going to do something violent or drastic. Gen was starting to put the pieces together. "So, Truax makes quatrixes...that's what he meant by he made me, that's what he was trying to make me into that night he..."
Jim was listening intently to her story she was rattling off. "What? He what?" he prodded her on. Gen realized he was looking intently at her and swung her legs over to the side to sit on the edge of the bed. "Um, ok...here's the story." She launched into that night that she had been kidnapped and dragged away by the stranger working for Truax. when she reached the part about the dead looking eyes, Adrian's voice came from the side where he was leaning against a chair, looking like he didn't care to listen. "That was a quatrix. I've seen it many times before." Gen described the transformation process as much as she could remember but when she got to the end of it, there was still a bit of a blank residual. "Next thing I knew, I was in Maine. A fisherman found me spit up out of the ocean. And..." she unbuttoned the workshirt that she was wearing to show the black suit underneath. "...I was wearing this. And it won't come off."
"It can't come off," Kit chimed in, joining in on the story to add his expertise. "It's actually part of you now. Part of your skin and body as it were."
"That makes sense," Gen said. "I've found that I can actually mimic different clothes with it. But since then, things just haven't been making much sense till now." She sighed. "I still wish I knew what happened to home. All this time travel stuff is really confusing me to pieces." The words time travel perked up both Jim's and Adrian's ears. They leaned in, Jim asking, "Time travel, you say? Please explain?"
Gen related the fact that Maine had been in the 50's and after that she'd been able to go to the 60's through the strange sort of vortex outside of time and space. At first, she thought it sounded really dumb coming out of her mouth but the two scientists didn't laugh. They were genuinely interested in her story. "You don't think I'm crazy, do you?" Jim shook his head. "No, not necessarily."
Adrian cut in. "It still doesn't explain why you look like Gen. I want to know why Truax has the gall to make an Enforcer that looks like my..." he stopped there, not wanting to continue. "So the Enforcers are quatrixes?" Gen asked. "Yes, Truax set them up as a sort of police once he took control of the Earth's weapon's systems in WWIII.”
I'll write more tonight later.