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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sniktch" data-source="post: 1394744" data-attributes="member: 7704">Breakfast was subdued, to say the least.  None of the kids were feeling particularly well, and they picked at their food listlessly and discussed their situation in low, hushed voices.  Jimmy and Jeff found places to sit with Eddy, his roommates Bobby and Deacon, and Kate and Roxy.  Eddy seemed to be one of the few kids who hadn’t suffered from headaches or bad dreams, and packed away breakfast with great gusto, pausing only to introduce his roommates when Jimmy sat down.  Jimmy recognized Bobby as the kid he’d seen tuning a guitar the previous evening, and Deacon, who sat a few feet apart and hardly spoke, was the gloomy goth from the bunk.After breakfast the students were taken to a large gymnasium and instructed to sit on the floor.  Jimmy felt a sense of trepidation – by this point he did not expect their “keepers” to tell them anything about what was happening, but he still found himself afraid of what they would say.The door slid open and a stranger walked in. He was tall and well muscled, dressed in a skin-tight bodysuit of black and violet. A golden metal plate covered one eye and half of his face, puckered scar tissue surrounding it where it met and fused with his flesh. He was otherwise a good looking young man with blonde hair and (one) blue eye, perhaps twenty years old. However, the cold, cruel sneer on his face made him appear much older.  He strutted out to the middle of the gymnasium and began to speak.“Greetings, one and all, and welcome to Project Genesys.  My name is Stephen, but should one of you find the need to address me, you will refer to me as ‘Sir.’“I understand that you have been promised answers at this meeting; answers which unfortunately I am not fully at liberty to give.  What I can say is that you are all now involved in a government project which concerns a vital matter of national security, and I must ask that you cooperate fully with any instructions that you are given in the course of the project.  I apologize for the deceptions which were used to lure you here, but rest assured that when the project is finished six weeks from now, you will all be returned home safe and sound.“Today you will be engaged in a variety of tests both physical and mental to establish your effective limits in each area.  Tomorrow you will return here and I will begin your… training.  Again, I must stress that cooperation is critical and that the fate of your country could rest in the balance.  Any questions?” Without pausing, he continued, “Good,” and departed the room, ignoring the few hands that were waved in his direction.Jimmy and his friends spent the rest of the day being herded from one test to the next, being pushed to their absolute limits.  First came a series of physical tests – treadmills, obstacle courses, weight rooms, etc. – accompanied by another physical and another round of shots.  This was followed by a short break for lunch and then a series of written and mental tests, on everything from math to puzzle solving skills.  Some of the kids put up some resistance to the constant stream of orders, but most of them just went with the flow.  The few troublemakers were taken aside and brought back a little later, pale-faced and cooperative.By the end of dinner Jimmy was so tired he returned to his room and passed out immediately, without even taking the time to practice his forms or undress.  And as soon as he was asleep he began to dream…*****He awoke some time later covered in a cold sweat, his temples throbbing faintly and the acrid taste of copper in his mouth.  Jeff whimpered nearby and rolled over in his sleep, and in the bunk above him Wade snored contentedly.  The bathroom door was closed and light shone from the crack under the door, and a quick glance verified that Alan was not in his bed.Jimmy rose, groaning from the pain in his head, and knocked on the bathroom door.“Go away,” came the feeble reply.“Alan, you all right, man?  Headaches again?”“Yeah, headache… Be alright, don’t worry about it…”“Can I get you anything?  Some aspirin or anything at all?”“’Sup to you… I’ll… be OK.”“Alright, man,” Jimmy said, “I’ll see what I can find.”  He fumbled for his pack of cigarettes and stuck one between his lips, lighting it as he opened his door and stumbled into the hallway.Jimmy had expected to find a guard on duty or something.  There was supposedly a curfew, after all.  But the hallway was deserted, silent save for the sound of laughter coming from Eddy’s room.  Jimmy padded silently past their room and continued on until he came to Roxy’s.  He was about to knock when the door opened and Roxy came out, also smoking a cigarette.  She jumped when she saw him.“Yikes, Jimmy!  Try not to sneak up on me like that.”“Sorry, just good timing I guess.  What are you doing up?”She sighed and took a long drag, “It’ll sound stupid, but I’m just sooo tired from today that I… I just can’t sleep.”Jimmy shook his head, “Doesn’t sound stupid at all to me.  I’ve been there before.  Go for a walk?”She nodded and smiled at him and he felt his knees go weak.  Then she took his hand and he felt like his heart would burst.  Jimmy floated down the hallway beside her, feeling like he’d achieved heaven on earth…Next: A fine and private place… Eddy and Jimmy make a bet…*****Sniktch says:  Hmm, my brain is mush.  Hopefully this update isn't as clumsy as it feels to me right now, but I wanted to get something up before the weekend.  Still, we now have the majority of the PCs introduced, although for now the story still centers on Jimmy, and we're fast approaching the point of no return, aka when all hell breaks loose.  Bear with me a little bit longer as I try to reconstruct the events leading up to the real start of the action; the payoff should be worth it (I hope)</blockquote>

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