the great escape || OPEN (Prose)

[RIO PEYTON COLESON]

Granted another moment of freedom, another moment of sanity, she took advantage of it yet again. Grabbing her jacket from the ward that she was supposed to be staying in, she shrugged it on quickly, zipping the light brown coat up. Stepping from her room before she got called back because they had changed their minds, Rio hurried along the halls, needing fresh air, needing the outside air to calm her racing heart and the fear that was building within her.

She was not a person that feared very easily, but as she thought about the treatments that she had gone through the past couple of days, she realized that this was indeed her being afraid. She couldn't stay here or she was going to die. That letter she had gotten, it only showed that she had to try even harder to escape. They said that there was none, but Rio had to find it. Even though she had nothing to go home to, it had to be better than here.

Finally reaching the door, she nearly stumbled in her haste, not even bothering to be quiet about her actions at the moment. They had told her she was free to go, so she was taking that literally. Taking in large gulps of air, she kept along her path, nearly running, intent on getting to the very edges of this property. And what she saw once she got closer made her pull up in shock. There were gates, fences. Big fences, and from here, it sounded like they were charged with electricity. She had left one prison to come to another, innocent from the day that she was charged with murder. This couldn't be happening to her. This couldn't be real.

She dropped to her knees in that moment, the shock registering on her features. She wasn't ever getting out of here.

[driscoll luka renshaw]

Now when it came to freedom being granted in Driscoll's case, it was a very different kind then what a patient might expect to have. He had free time off work now and again, which he sorely needed after all the interesting new side effects from the injections needing to be documented. It was possibly the more tiresome task he had; writing it all down in those forms for the records. There was much to supervise and do while getting this whole project underway, but most of it had been done by now. Things were set it and it was mostly that time to sit back and watch what occured. So far some amusing things had cropped up. He wondered what another week would bring.

Yet there was always more to do, and the best part in that were the mutations he could start to figure out. Then it would all be tested and carried out on one of the patients at Chaspel Heights, and Driscoll could continue to study the effects of what he considered some very out there body modifications. It had always been something he was interested in; possibly why he'd become a tattoo artist on the side of plastic surgery. But this was much better then both of those things. This took it a few steps beyond the ordinary and droll of normal. He had no regrets in taking the job. Not even one.

Maybe he should be more concerned over the feelings of others, but they were making history, and that was quite an astounding thing! He'd do it himself if such a thing seemed plausable. As a doctor he couldn't go experimenting on himself though, so he made do with using patients. So many things ran through his mind as he wandered over the grounds, just looking around to watch any of his subjects interact outside of the hospital. It led him to observe a female -- not one of his patients -- having a bit of a meltdown after finding the gates. He moved closer, just a little. "It's certainly not all that bad." He pointed out, watching her. Never knew what one of them would do....

[RIO PEYTON COLESON]

She sat there, staring at the fence as it chirped happily away, the electrical ticking letting her know that she was indeed trapped here for as long as she would survive. The realization hit her like a smack in the face and she stayed there on her knees, swaying slightly as she began feeling extremely overwhelmed. She wasn't going to pass out, she wasn't going to be sick, but she could not believe her situation. How could she have been so stupid? How could she have agreed to this so willingly, without researching the entire facility?

She blamed her impulsiveness. It had gotten in the way of things so many times before and now she had screwed herself over royally. She had signed her death warrant when she hadn't even been on death row for her accused crimes.

What really upset her about this entire predicament was that she was innocent. She should have never been accused, she should have never been tried, she should have never been convicted. And now that she had been she was making stupid choices. But it was that right there that had gotten her attention. They had given her a choice. They had allowed her to pick where she wanted to go and because she was so suffocated in prison, she thought any place had to be better than there. It was true that she could stretch her legs here and venture out, but she would rather go back to prison then go through what she had been through in just a few short days. Trying to regain her composure, she shook her head, then suddenly became aware of footsteps behind her.

Hearing his voice, she felt as if he was mocking her. Pushing herself up quickly, the young brunette wheeled around on him, watching him warily. He didn't look like a patient and that could only mean one thing. He was one of those doctors that was responsible for her tests. "That's easy for you to say isn't, you miserable pig." She snapped viciously, her temper, her defiance obvious even in her moment of greatest despair. She wasn't going to succumb to their wants and their needs very easily.

[driscoll luka renshaw]

Driscoll did not think it was so bad here. It was an experience, it was different. It wasn't horrible unless someone made it that way, if someone tried to fight it without giving it a chance. That's how he saw it. It all needed to be given a chance, because there was just so much someone could learn here. So many opportunities one could have if only they reached for it. If they could just co-oporate. Why couldn't most of them see that? All that these new things could give them, all the ways that life could be better because of them? It didn't make sense to him. Maybe he was just too hopeful about everything he tried to do here.

Doesn't matter, he isn't giving up. He will do his best with all that he has, and he will reach for the stars. So much good could come out of these things, these differences caused in people that came here. Driscoll would keep pushing that thought. He depended on it in so many ways. And he'd seen patients able to be happy, okay with what had been done. The new injections were a little much, but that wasn't something Driscoll had wanted, nor did he much care for. It had nothing to do with his field of work at all. It was all internal. For him it was just something he did because the boss said to. Nothing more to it, and he found it a bit of a bore.

Okay, so most people that came here or were sent here had no idea what it actually entailed. It was a closely guarded type of secret, and Driscoll could see why. Most of this wasn't something the public could legally get away with. Which was why no one ever left this place when they were changed. No one really left at all unless they were in body bags. And even then the chances weren't perfectly great. More so for his patients then the others. But cremation was a valid choice for those who wanted remains of patients... Yeah, that was a bit morbid, but practical.

Impulse had been a major factor in Driscoll being here though. The mere idea of having the chance of doing this, of working here was something he had jumped at. The more he knew the more he wanted to be here, to do these things. And now he was, and settled in quite comfortably. He enjoyed most of it. Not all, but most. It was enough. There was no change in expression when the female pushed herself up and wheeled on him. Nothing for a change at her words, even. He was a doctor here. He'd been called much worse. "On the contrary, miss. I am not miserable. I'm quite content with my lot." He responded back at her. "And by the looks of it, you seem to be better off then quite a few residents here. Consider yourself lucky for that." He adds after a second.

[RIO PEYTON COLESON]

She knew, in her heart, that her stay here was not going to be pleasant. She was too much of a fighter to be compliant and she knew what happened to those who didn't comply. However, despite knowing the consequences of acting out of turn, she could not prevent herself from doing so. She had always had a fighter's spirit from the time that she was ten and had actually shot a man out of self defense. She hadn't been charged with that, obviously, but it didn't make things easy for her as she grew up, especially as she was accused for the murder that she was wrongly convicted for.

However, that wasn't the point. The point was, she had basically been a prisoner to the system all of her life. She had been shuffled from foster home to foster home as a child, and when she was old enough to have her first taste of freedom, she had been convicted of murder and thrown behind bars. Now, she was here. For a young woman who never knew what living really felt like, this was basically a death sentence to her. She wouldn't expect the staff here to understand that. They didn't have to go through the pain and the torment of these endless experiments.

In her short stay here so far, she had done a lot of wandering herself. And in those wanderings she had seen people that were simply shells. They weren't even responsive enough to be considered living. It was disgusting and painful to see and Rio refused to imagine herself like that. She was determined to find a way out of here. She couldn't stay here and become a vegetable or remain a lab rat. Hearing his words, she narrowed her eyes, her anger mounting. If she had something to throw at him, she would. "You're only quite content because you do the testing. If roles were reversed, I'd bet you would have a different tune." She accused him nastily, testily. She wasn't making things easy for herself, that was for sure.

"Lucky? It's only a matter of time before I become like that. I'm not sorry for not wanting that for my outcome, you piece of trash." At least she wasn't cursing yet. That was always a good sign when it came to Rio. It meant that she still had her mind about her. Once she lost it, there was no going back.

[driscoll luka renshaw]

Driscoll wanted to believe that things were what you made of it. There was always going to be the good and the bad, and if you let the bad drag you down, then getting up was going to become a very difficult task. So he looked on the bright sides instead of all the little hiccups in life that could make an outlook seem worse then it had to be. Driscoll wasn't letting that get to him. Not the lottle mistakes in experiements or the ones that didn't work. He would brush himself off and try, try again. He wasn't going to stop until he got it right. Breaks here and there to get a fresh mindset, but he wasn't going to give up. There was so much more to reach for.

There were deaths here. Patients who got out of hand and had to be put down, staff and other patients who ended up dead at the hands of others. That was how Driscoll got his job, as it so happened. One of the patients had killed the last mutation ward doctor. It was a blessing for him, but it was terribly twisted. Messed up that not only had his attentions been drawn to this place because of that very patient -- paid to keep an eye out and all by the clan -- but Driscoll was actually on good terms with said patient. Even did a few tattoos on his time off as a doctor for him. What was the saying? Keep enemies closer? It was sort of like that, he supposed. Not that the patient had any idea...

Life continued for some. That's just the way it is. Being here did not have to be that bad of a thing. It simply didn't. And there were many here that probably didn't 'deserve' to be. Those that should have been elsewhere, that seemed to be here in a more accidental sense then not. Probably had to do with the fact that this place came off to the general public as something it wasn't. A cover. It drew in an interesting crowd. Just more to observe and learn from, in Driscoll's opinion. He did not think he would ever learn enough to become content. He would always want to know more.

He stands there, unruffled by the female's stance and biting words. She doesn't know him, and he doesn't know her. Her words tell him quite a few things about her, and they will give her a little insight about him. But only because he will give it. "I would if I could, but it's simply not permitted. Otherwise I'd be quite the spectical around here." It's the response to the accusation, and he really does mean it. He wouldn't be doing this as a job if he wasn't one of the people who wanted to be in the situation. But they wouldn't allow it, and he understood why. He accepted it. For now. Someday, maybe, if he retired. But who knew where life would take him? And Driscoll doesn't even give words for her last comment. His own reply should have been enough of a response to both things on how he viewed it.

[RIO PEYTON COLESON]

This man, whoever he was, didn't seem to understand that she had no interest in conversing with him. He was the enemy and always would be in her mind, no matter how many times he tried to preach kindly to her. She didn't care. He was wasting his breath, wasting his time, and certainly wasting hers. She wanted nothing to do with him and she didn't know how to make that quite obvious without being more rude. She didn't know what a person had to do to get sent to the torture chamber that her newly acquired friend Colton had mentioned, but she certainly didn't want to push it.

She had been in solitary during her stay in the prison more times than she could count and she had thought that it couldn't get worse than that. A person could literally go insane in there and she was usually there for about a week. However, it always felt longer because you were never told the time, you couldn't see the sun. She shuddered even now thinking about it. Trying to ignore those memories, she gazed spitefully at the man in front of her, her spirit not broken even though her mind was starting to question everything here.

Hearing his next words, Rio did all she could not to roll her eyes. He wished that he could be experimented on? She was certain he would change his mind if he could feel the pain of the injections, if he was held under water to see if his newly acquired inhuman skills allowed him to breathe underwater. Still remembering Colton's story, she shook her head in frustration and anger, taking a step back from the man that seemed to have nothing better to do than to talk to her. "Well aren't you something special then." She snapped sarcastically, her uncontrollable temper getting the better of her. She really did need to watch her mouth. She didn't need to find out what they did to punish patients here.

In her opinion, they had no right to punish the people that they had tricked into coming here. The experiments were punishment enough. The torture of not knowing what they had decided to do to her was punishment enough, and she wondered if they were doing it on purpose. Maybe this man could give her answers. He had to be useful for something other than making her annoyed, right? "So, you're a doctor. You can tell me things. When do I find out what I'm being made into against my will?" She demanded of him, wanting answers. She deserved them. After all, this was her body still. They couldn't take that ownership from her. Not without a fight.

[driscoll luka renshaw]

The female was talking, even if not in the nicest of ways to him. That told him that she wanted a conversation, at least enough to say something, to get a few things off her chest. Otherwise, wouldn't she ignore him now or go away? If there was no more for her to want to say, then Driscoll figured those two things would have happened. That, or she would have told him that the conversation was over. That he could take as it was and leave her be. He wasn't getting anything out of this whole thing with her, she wasn't one of his patients and there was no reason for him to waste anymore time except that there were days company was a nice touch. Even less then happy company.

Driscoll liked things being spoken outright. Why bother beating around the bush? If she held in the whole rude thing, then how was he to know precisely what she was thinking? That she wanted him away from her this instant? It wasn't rude, it was true. That was overlooked, and he could accept such a thing. But to be rude for the sake of being rude, that was different. Driscoll did not take hints. He took facts. It was how he did things here, and he had settled into that kind of thoughtpattern while being a doctor here. There wasn't time for all the other nonsense. Things had to be said and done; not skipped around with hesitation. No one had time for that.

There was nothing good that came without a little pain. It didn't always have to be physical, but it was still real. The road that led up to something good in one's life wasn't going to be all rainbows and puppies. That just wasn't a realistic thought to have. So yes, he was very much aware that the mutations caused pain. It was an alteration on the body or within. How could that not be painful? Some people thought that piercings and tattoos were painful, and some of them were, even if just briefly. And yet when they were done, there was art and beauty and something meaningful. Driscoll felt that way about most of the work he did here. At least in the way of the mutations he created.

And of course Driscoll wouldn't need to be held underwater or in any other manner unless he had no mental stability over what was going on. Who would better understand why these tests were needed but him? He would go through them and all the hardships if that was what it took, certainly. He understood and accepted why they were done. Why would he be doing all of this, the job, if he did not believe they were needed things? But a new patient who did not want it couldn't understand and he wasn't going to expect her to. She looked younger anyway, and they were usually the most difficult because they still thought life could be roses and a party. Driscoll had been there too, once.

Driscoll takes no offense to her words, and he does not respond. He sees nothing particularly special about himself. He doesn't get to be one of them, doesn't get to be something new and interesting. Just human and looking in. At least he got to be some part of it, someone who could create all of this. That made things better. Gave him a drive and purpose to his work that overstepped the fact that he enjoyed all the artistic aspects of what he did, all the differences he could make to the human body. More words and he looked at her with a thoughtful expression. "When your ward doctor decides to let you know, I suppose. We do not all work the same. Some of us has specifications before we start, and some of us do not." He replies honestly, shrugging.