Post by gollee on Feb 14, 2014 16:31:44 GMT
The taxi slowed to a stop outside the house. It was a large structure, built from large blocks of stone with deep-set windows. The house was at the end of a long garden, with a heavy cast iron gate at the front.
The taxi door swung open, and a pale, young woman stepped out, carrying a small shoulder bag. She wore a plain shirt and jean. She nodded to the taxi driver and dropped a handful of credits into his hand. The taxi door swung closed, and it pulled away, leaving the girl standing in front of the house.
She walked up to the gate, and pushed on it, it swung open easily at her touch, and she walked up to the house. The young woman had shoulder-length hair, of a vivid cyan colour, and dark purple eyes, she constantly glanced around herself as she walked up the path to the house, before pausing at the door.
The young woman raised a hand and rapped on the door, the sound echoing across the silent street. After a few moments, a voice could be heard through the door, “Just a minute!” A couple of seconds later, and the door opened, revealing an aging man with greying hair.
The man stared at the young woman, his eyes widening in alarm, “Inis…?”
The woman raised her head fractionally, revealing a long, deep and jagged scar across her neck, curling up towards her ears. “No.” She rasped, swallowing painfully, “Whisper. Unity.”
The man examined her more carefully; he had received a letter from one of Inis’ friends that someone important was coming to him, though he wasn’t expecting this. The resemblance to his niece was uncanny, “You had better come in,”
The two of them went into the sitting room, a large, warmly lit room, with old armchairs and wooden tables scattered randomly around it. Varan pointed to a chair, and Whisper sat down, then said, “Water.”
Varan frowned slightly, but went and collected a glass of water from the kitchen, pressing it into Whisper’s hand. She sipped at it, watching him while he sat down. Varan faced her, “Why are you here?”
Whisper took another sip before responding, “Jen.Niffer. Said. Look. Like. Friend. .From. Here. .She. Sent. Me.” Varan rubbed his cheek, “You do look like my niece…Astoundingly like my niece. But appearance isn’t everything,”
Whisper’s brow creased, and she pulled her feet up onto the chair with her, curling them under herself. Varan stood up and approached her. “Mind if I..?” He asked gesturing towards her face, Whisper rasped, “No.”
Varan nodded, and gently caught her chin with his hand, turning her head from side to side, examining it. The lines that were scattered across Inis’ skin were present, though her irises weren’t ragged, like Inis’ were. He let go of her chin, and stepped back, she looked up at him and took another sip of water. “You look like her…With a few minor differences… It is enough to get you a bed for the night, though I will want a blood test in the morning.”
Whisper nodded, “Can. Do.” Varan nodded as well, glancing around, “Follow me, I will take you to your room.”
Whisper uncurled from the chair, and followed Varan out of the room.
Varan lead her through the house, passing another young woman, this one had long red hair, and watched Whisper with surprise as they went past. They finally halted outside a door on the third story, Varan turned to Whisper, “You can stay in here, but, be warned, I will be locking the door, I don’t want you wandering at will,” Whisper nodded, and pushed open the door.
The room was well-furnished, with an ensuite bathroom, and a large bed. In the corner was a desk, piled high with paper, pens, pencils and paints. She wandered into the room, looking around at the rich decorations. She heard a click, and turned round to see that Varan had already locked the door.
In the morning, Varan approached the door, he couldn’t hear anything inside. He rapped his knuckle on the door, “Whisper?” There was no response. He sighed and unlocked the door, opening it quietly.
Inside, the lights were still on, Whisper was slumped, sleeping quietly, at the desk, her fingers stained grey with graphite. Varan approached the sleeping girl quietly. Very gently, he put an arm behind her neck, and another under her knees, and lifted her out of the chair. She didn’t wake up, her head lolled back against Varan’s shoulder.
Smiling slightly, Varan laid her down on the bed, placing the thick duvet over her, before turning back to the desk.
In the centre of the desk was a large piece of paper, surrounded with bunt pencils. Varan stepped closer to examine the paper.
Whisper had drawn a picture of a large room; the angle was strange, as though close to the ground. Filling the room were people, dozens, if not more, all around five or six years old. There was a large knot of them looking towards the viewer, with one stood out on front. This child was male, with longish, filthy hair, wearing rags. Varan noticed that many of the others were in a similar condition. Clasped between the boy’s small fingers was a large shard of glass, stained with a dark fluid. In his other hand was a small, flat loaf of bread, stained with the same fluid. The boy was biting a chunk out of the bread, while grinning victoriously.
Varan looked further down the picture, towards the viewer. His heart stopped for a moment. The lower half of the picture was floor, with a large pool of the dark fluid spreading across it, a child’s arm reached out from the picture, soaked in the fluid, into the large room, while another was pressed against something just lower than the viewer’s sight.
Varan stood, shocked at how real the picture looked, before a short moan woke him from his contemplation. He turned to see that Whisper had flipped herself over, and woken. Her large eyes were looking at him expectantly. Varan coughed, and then gestured at the picture, “What is this?” He asked, kindly, his eyes being drawn to the cut at Whisper’s neck.
Whisper slowly stood up, rubbing her eyes, then walked over to the picture and looked at it. She spoke quietly, “Me. .Big. Room. Lots. Child. Fights. Glass. Cut.” Varan nodded slowly, “Where did this happen?”
Whisper shrugged, “Don’t. Know. Not. Told. Lot. Fights. Plenty. Hurt.” Varan looked concernedly at the young woman, “You were hurt somewhere else? Can you show me?”
Whisper nodded, and took hold of the bottom of her shirt, and went to pull it over her head, “No!” Varan shouted, covering his eyes, Whisper stopped, confused. “Scars. Under. Shirt. How. Show?” Varan slowly uncovered his eyes; Whisper had smoothed her shirt back down. “Okay…Okay…You don’t do that, alright? That is wrong. People aren’t meant to do that.” Whisper frowned, and then nodded.
Varan stepped out of the room to let her get changed, then led her down to the kitchen. The red-haired woman and a Tajara were sat there, eating breakfast. They both looked up in surprise when Whisper entered the room. “Inis…?” asked the woman, turning to face her. Whisper looked at Varan, who said, “No, Amy, this isn’t Inis, this is Whisper Unity, she will be staying with us for a while,” Amy frowned slightly, and looked back at Whisper, “Why does she look so much like Inis?”
The Tajara nodded, “She looks like the Inis to Sel’tierrrr.” Varan sighed and rubbed his forehead, “According to a letter I received, she was created from Inis’ genetic information, and has somehow made her way to us,” He sat Whisper down at the table next to Amy, then started dishing up some breakfast for himself and her.
After a minute, he set down a steaming plate of sausages, mushrooms, eggs and beans in front of Whisper. “Eat,” He said, sitting down opposite her. Whisper nodded, and bit into one of the hot sausages, burning her gums. She dropped her fork immediately, clapping her hands to her mouth in surprise after spitting out the sausage.
Varan hurried over, pulling her hands away from her mouth, before taking hold of her chin and inspecting her gums. Amy brought over a glass of water. After Varan had let go, and she had taken a sip of water, Whisper said, “That. Hurt. Why?” “Because it is hot,” Sel’tier said, in an exasperated tone, “You have to blow on it firrrrst,” Whisper carefully picked up her fork and lifted up the sausage again. She blew air onto it, and then ate it carefully.
The meal continued in a pattern, Whisper lifting pieces of food to her lips, inspecting it, blowing on it, and then slowly eating it.
The rest of them finished long before Whisper, who was very careful about her food, there was a knock at the door, and Amy led in two people. An average sized man, with similar features to Varan, holding a small case, and a tall woman, easily half a foot taller than him, with long cyan hair reaching halfway down her back, she wore a pair of sunglasses.
The man and woman stopped dead as she saw Whisper, “Who is that?” She asked loudly, pointing towards her, Varan grimaced, “That is what we are going to find out,” He gestured towards the man, who unfroze, and placed the case on the table. Varan turned to Whisper, “Savar is going to take a blood sample, do not resist,” Whisper nodded, and held out her arm, wincing slightly as Savar drew a sample. He quickly placed the sample into a dish, and then turned to Inis.
“I need a sample from you too, dear,” He said, holding a second needle, Inis sighed and held out her arm, still watching Whisper. Savar took a sample from Inis, and then placed it into a second dish.
Taking out a very fine needle, Savar drew a tiny amount from each sample, before placing them into a small handheld scanner.
The scanner buzzed, and the screen flashed green, Savar’s eyes widened, “No…” he said quietly. Inis stepped closer to him, “What is it? What is it telling you?” He turned slowly to look at her, “It is telling me, that you two have the same DNA, the same genes.”
Inis looked dumbstruck for a moment, then said, “That. Is not possible,”
Varan rubbed his forehead, “Well, apparently it is, you have what can only be described as a twin sister, Inis,”
Inis spoke loudly and clearly, “This…This abomination, is not me, is not related to me, it can’t happen, it just can’t.” Whisper looked at Inis, then rasped, “You. Are. Who. They. Made. Me. From?”
Inis balled her hands into fists and shouted, “No!” Whisper looked at Varan, confused. Varan stepped forwards and placed one of his hands heavily on Inis’ shoulder, and spoke quietly and calmly, “Inis, like it or not, she exists, and from what I can see, and have been told, she has had it a hell of a lot worse than you. Now act your age, she is barely an adult, and is going to need a lot of help. I will not tolerate you treating her like this, is that clear? You won't have to deal with her, Jennifer has volunteered to care for her.” Inis stared at Varan, shocked. He looked steadily back at her, while Whisper watched the pair of them. Inis sighed and chewed her lip, “Fine. Do you have a name?” Whisper nodded, glancing between the two of them, “Name. Whisper. From. Life. .Name. Unity. From. Sit.Up. Yor.Rick. .Name. Is. Whisper. Unity.”
The taxi door swung open, and a pale, young woman stepped out, carrying a small shoulder bag. She wore a plain shirt and jean. She nodded to the taxi driver and dropped a handful of credits into his hand. The taxi door swung closed, and it pulled away, leaving the girl standing in front of the house.
She walked up to the gate, and pushed on it, it swung open easily at her touch, and she walked up to the house. The young woman had shoulder-length hair, of a vivid cyan colour, and dark purple eyes, she constantly glanced around herself as she walked up the path to the house, before pausing at the door.
The young woman raised a hand and rapped on the door, the sound echoing across the silent street. After a few moments, a voice could be heard through the door, “Just a minute!” A couple of seconds later, and the door opened, revealing an aging man with greying hair.
The man stared at the young woman, his eyes widening in alarm, “Inis…?”
The woman raised her head fractionally, revealing a long, deep and jagged scar across her neck, curling up towards her ears. “No.” She rasped, swallowing painfully, “Whisper. Unity.”
The man examined her more carefully; he had received a letter from one of Inis’ friends that someone important was coming to him, though he wasn’t expecting this. The resemblance to his niece was uncanny, “You had better come in,”
The two of them went into the sitting room, a large, warmly lit room, with old armchairs and wooden tables scattered randomly around it. Varan pointed to a chair, and Whisper sat down, then said, “Water.”
Varan frowned slightly, but went and collected a glass of water from the kitchen, pressing it into Whisper’s hand. She sipped at it, watching him while he sat down. Varan faced her, “Why are you here?”
Whisper took another sip before responding, “Jen.Niffer. Said. Look. Like. Friend. .From. Here. .She. Sent. Me.” Varan rubbed his cheek, “You do look like my niece…Astoundingly like my niece. But appearance isn’t everything,”
Whisper’s brow creased, and she pulled her feet up onto the chair with her, curling them under herself. Varan stood up and approached her. “Mind if I..?” He asked gesturing towards her face, Whisper rasped, “No.”
Varan nodded, and gently caught her chin with his hand, turning her head from side to side, examining it. The lines that were scattered across Inis’ skin were present, though her irises weren’t ragged, like Inis’ were. He let go of her chin, and stepped back, she looked up at him and took another sip of water. “You look like her…With a few minor differences… It is enough to get you a bed for the night, though I will want a blood test in the morning.”
Whisper nodded, “Can. Do.” Varan nodded as well, glancing around, “Follow me, I will take you to your room.”
Whisper uncurled from the chair, and followed Varan out of the room.
Varan lead her through the house, passing another young woman, this one had long red hair, and watched Whisper with surprise as they went past. They finally halted outside a door on the third story, Varan turned to Whisper, “You can stay in here, but, be warned, I will be locking the door, I don’t want you wandering at will,” Whisper nodded, and pushed open the door.
The room was well-furnished, with an ensuite bathroom, and a large bed. In the corner was a desk, piled high with paper, pens, pencils and paints. She wandered into the room, looking around at the rich decorations. She heard a click, and turned round to see that Varan had already locked the door.
In the morning, Varan approached the door, he couldn’t hear anything inside. He rapped his knuckle on the door, “Whisper?” There was no response. He sighed and unlocked the door, opening it quietly.
Inside, the lights were still on, Whisper was slumped, sleeping quietly, at the desk, her fingers stained grey with graphite. Varan approached the sleeping girl quietly. Very gently, he put an arm behind her neck, and another under her knees, and lifted her out of the chair. She didn’t wake up, her head lolled back against Varan’s shoulder.
Smiling slightly, Varan laid her down on the bed, placing the thick duvet over her, before turning back to the desk.
In the centre of the desk was a large piece of paper, surrounded with bunt pencils. Varan stepped closer to examine the paper.
Whisper had drawn a picture of a large room; the angle was strange, as though close to the ground. Filling the room were people, dozens, if not more, all around five or six years old. There was a large knot of them looking towards the viewer, with one stood out on front. This child was male, with longish, filthy hair, wearing rags. Varan noticed that many of the others were in a similar condition. Clasped between the boy’s small fingers was a large shard of glass, stained with a dark fluid. In his other hand was a small, flat loaf of bread, stained with the same fluid. The boy was biting a chunk out of the bread, while grinning victoriously.
Varan looked further down the picture, towards the viewer. His heart stopped for a moment. The lower half of the picture was floor, with a large pool of the dark fluid spreading across it, a child’s arm reached out from the picture, soaked in the fluid, into the large room, while another was pressed against something just lower than the viewer’s sight.
Varan stood, shocked at how real the picture looked, before a short moan woke him from his contemplation. He turned to see that Whisper had flipped herself over, and woken. Her large eyes were looking at him expectantly. Varan coughed, and then gestured at the picture, “What is this?” He asked, kindly, his eyes being drawn to the cut at Whisper’s neck.
Whisper slowly stood up, rubbing her eyes, then walked over to the picture and looked at it. She spoke quietly, “Me. .Big. Room. Lots. Child. Fights. Glass. Cut.” Varan nodded slowly, “Where did this happen?”
Whisper shrugged, “Don’t. Know. Not. Told. Lot. Fights. Plenty. Hurt.” Varan looked concernedly at the young woman, “You were hurt somewhere else? Can you show me?”
Whisper nodded, and took hold of the bottom of her shirt, and went to pull it over her head, “No!” Varan shouted, covering his eyes, Whisper stopped, confused. “Scars. Under. Shirt. How. Show?” Varan slowly uncovered his eyes; Whisper had smoothed her shirt back down. “Okay…Okay…You don’t do that, alright? That is wrong. People aren’t meant to do that.” Whisper frowned, and then nodded.
Varan stepped out of the room to let her get changed, then led her down to the kitchen. The red-haired woman and a Tajara were sat there, eating breakfast. They both looked up in surprise when Whisper entered the room. “Inis…?” asked the woman, turning to face her. Whisper looked at Varan, who said, “No, Amy, this isn’t Inis, this is Whisper Unity, she will be staying with us for a while,” Amy frowned slightly, and looked back at Whisper, “Why does she look so much like Inis?”
The Tajara nodded, “She looks like the Inis to Sel’tierrrr.” Varan sighed and rubbed his forehead, “According to a letter I received, she was created from Inis’ genetic information, and has somehow made her way to us,” He sat Whisper down at the table next to Amy, then started dishing up some breakfast for himself and her.
After a minute, he set down a steaming plate of sausages, mushrooms, eggs and beans in front of Whisper. “Eat,” He said, sitting down opposite her. Whisper nodded, and bit into one of the hot sausages, burning her gums. She dropped her fork immediately, clapping her hands to her mouth in surprise after spitting out the sausage.
Varan hurried over, pulling her hands away from her mouth, before taking hold of her chin and inspecting her gums. Amy brought over a glass of water. After Varan had let go, and she had taken a sip of water, Whisper said, “That. Hurt. Why?” “Because it is hot,” Sel’tier said, in an exasperated tone, “You have to blow on it firrrrst,” Whisper carefully picked up her fork and lifted up the sausage again. She blew air onto it, and then ate it carefully.
The meal continued in a pattern, Whisper lifting pieces of food to her lips, inspecting it, blowing on it, and then slowly eating it.
The rest of them finished long before Whisper, who was very careful about her food, there was a knock at the door, and Amy led in two people. An average sized man, with similar features to Varan, holding a small case, and a tall woman, easily half a foot taller than him, with long cyan hair reaching halfway down her back, she wore a pair of sunglasses.
The man and woman stopped dead as she saw Whisper, “Who is that?” She asked loudly, pointing towards her, Varan grimaced, “That is what we are going to find out,” He gestured towards the man, who unfroze, and placed the case on the table. Varan turned to Whisper, “Savar is going to take a blood sample, do not resist,” Whisper nodded, and held out her arm, wincing slightly as Savar drew a sample. He quickly placed the sample into a dish, and then turned to Inis.
“I need a sample from you too, dear,” He said, holding a second needle, Inis sighed and held out her arm, still watching Whisper. Savar took a sample from Inis, and then placed it into a second dish.
Taking out a very fine needle, Savar drew a tiny amount from each sample, before placing them into a small handheld scanner.
The scanner buzzed, and the screen flashed green, Savar’s eyes widened, “No…” he said quietly. Inis stepped closer to him, “What is it? What is it telling you?” He turned slowly to look at her, “It is telling me, that you two have the same DNA, the same genes.”
Inis looked dumbstruck for a moment, then said, “That. Is not possible,”
Varan rubbed his forehead, “Well, apparently it is, you have what can only be described as a twin sister, Inis,”
Inis spoke loudly and clearly, “This…This abomination, is not me, is not related to me, it can’t happen, it just can’t.” Whisper looked at Inis, then rasped, “You. Are. Who. They. Made. Me. From?”
Inis balled her hands into fists and shouted, “No!” Whisper looked at Varan, confused. Varan stepped forwards and placed one of his hands heavily on Inis’ shoulder, and spoke quietly and calmly, “Inis, like it or not, she exists, and from what I can see, and have been told, she has had it a hell of a lot worse than you. Now act your age, she is barely an adult, and is going to need a lot of help. I will not tolerate you treating her like this, is that clear? You won't have to deal with her, Jennifer has volunteered to care for her.” Inis stared at Varan, shocked. He looked steadily back at her, while Whisper watched the pair of them. Inis sighed and chewed her lip, “Fine. Do you have a name?” Whisper nodded, glancing between the two of them, “Name. Whisper. From. Life. .Name. Unity. From. Sit.Up. Yor.Rick. .Name. Is. Whisper. Unity.”
