A quick one (plus some more!)
I got some more done, about 1,000 words before dinner word warring with another person on the nanowrimo site. Hopefully I'll hit 22k before the night is done. And thanks everybody who's reading, you guys rock!
Wordcount: 21,017 22,139
EDIT: I added a bit more, I finally reached my goal of 22k for tonight, huzzah!
"That was close," James said, shutting the book. He cracked it open again for a second, looking at a picture. "There is some weird pictures in here, look at this." He showed Mark a couple of blurry photos. "You'd think with all the digital cameras and stuff they'd get better pictures."
"Yeah, well, most of those are supposed to be fake anyway," Mark said, watching his dad talking to the other kids about the campfire.
James switched books back for the journal. "Ok, back to it. It was just getting good."
I don't really know how to explain how scary it was. Imagine waking up from one nightmare to find yourself trapped in another. You'd almost want to go back to the original nightmare, it seemed safer in there. I was inside of a machine, strapped down into it like I was part of it. After my initial freaking out and yelling, I had to stop and try to calm down...
Mara was working on slowing her ragged breathing down. She didn't want to hyperventilate on top of everything else. She shut her eyes for a few minutes, letting herself try to adjust to the situation. I wonder if I could just keep my eyes shut forever, Mara asked herself. No, I'm going to have to face it eventually. She slowly opened her eyes again.
She was standing up, sort of, attached to machinery all around her. It was as if she was a part of the machine, just another thing plugged into it. Her arms were not able to move at her sides and she had even less luck with moving her legs. It was a bit cold with all of the metal around her. It almost made sense now, she had been feeling cold and trapped ever since she'd been abducted. This place felt a whole lot more real than the other place.
Mara tried to turn her head and found she could move about an inch or so in each direction. That was something at least. There was a cool strip of something across her forehead. It felt somewhat metallic but of course, Mara couldn't reach up to see what it was.
There was a space in front of her that looked like a hallway between the computers and machinery that ran lengthwise in front of her. So far nobody had come along to check on the yelling human.
Mara fought down the idea that nobody would come...ever...
No, I must not think of that, she told herself and started working on her bonds again. She could almost turn her head enough to see where her arm was out of the corner of her eye. She couldn't really tell what was holding her down, if it was metal or fabric or what.
Mara seemed to be in a slot in the machinery. It was like someone had built the computer to have a human sized hole in it. She struggled and pulled back and forth but her hands still would not come loose. She was starting to feel a bit ill again. The cold was seeping in and she was starting to shiver. Panicky, she called out again.
"Someone! Anyone out there?! Please?!"
A tear was threatening to spill over and down her cheek. Mara wished she could wipe it away. Suddenly, her ears perked up.
There was somebody coming. She could hear the soft pad of feet walking towards her. That strengthened her resolve and she pulled against her bonds once more. "Over here!" she called, not caring who it might be. Anyone would be a welcome sight.
The feet were moving a bit faster now and Mara called again, shivering all the more against the cold. An alien ran past and then came back as it realized it had gone too far. It peered in at the shivering human in the machine.
Mara could see, it was exactly the same as the aliens in the previous world she'd been in, whether that was real or not. "Please," she tried to talk through her chattering teeth. "Please let me out."
The alien put his hands up and seemed to be climbing in towards her. Mara saw on the back of his hand a familiar tatoo. "Yuyu?" she asked as he reached her.
"You do know me," he said, or rather the computer translated. It was a bit sharper and more metallic voice as if it was more real here than it had been previously. Yuyu climbed around the machinery like he did this all the time. He reached her and balanced on his toes to look at her. Mara looked back, remembering what had happened before. "I'm sorry we kidnapped you," she said. "B-b-but I would l-l-love to gg-get a blanket or s-s-something..." She was having trouble talking at this point. Yuyu produced a tool from his belt. "I may be in trouble for this," he said. "But you do not seem to be well right now."
He did something to her wrists and they came free from the computer. Yuyu jumped back as Mara brought her hands up to rub them together. Oh, it felt so good to be able to move something again. She knew Yuyu was worried she’d try and grab for him again. She reached up, finally able to touch whatever was on her forehead.
"Careful," Yuyu said as she ran her fingers over the smooth cool strip of metal around her head. "You may injure yourself if you pull that off outright." He was watching her hands carefully, keeping himself a good distance away.
Mara hugged herself, rubbing her arms and trying to warm up. The small alien had gone around behind her head where she couldn't see and seemed to be working on the machinery that had her head fixed to the computer behind her. It took a minute but soon, the strip of metal slid off and away into the computer itself and Mara was able to sit up slightly. Now she could see a little bit better. Her legs were stuck in openings that looked like they were designed for them specifically. There was a seethrough plastic-like covering over them and over that was the metal strips similar to the one that had been over her forehead. Every inch of her felt tired and cold, like she had been there forever without moving.
Yuyu seemed to hesitate as he came to her legs. Mara got worried that he might decide to stick her back in or leave her like that, stuck and alone in a computer maze. "I am not to release you unless there is a problem," he said to explain. "I don't mind if you don't," Mara said, still shivering. Yuyu had to reach inside and around the back of her knees to get to the release switch. The whole plastic section loosened with a hiss of release and then opened outwards like two doors. Mara stepped out quickly but found that was a mistake. Her legs buckled under her and she fell to her knees on the cold smooth floor in the hallway. She managed to grab some sort of handhold on the way down so she didn't fall down completely. "Wow, I'm weak as a kitten," she said, sitting down for a second.
It was then that she looked down the hallway. It was all the same, dark gray computer parts lining both sides like a giant game of tetris. There wasn't any wires that she could see but it still looked like a giant computer. Even up to the ceiling, it was all the same as the walls. The floor beneath her was a dark amber and shiny like it had been polished.
She still felt a bit shaky but better for being out of that technological cage. Yuyu had gotten himself out of the section she'd been in and was approaching very slowly. Mara gave him a relieved smile. "Thank you," she said with the most feeling she could muster.
"You are welcome," he said. Mara could barely believe her ears. He was catching on somehow. "Clever alien," she said, shifting positions a bit against the wall. "Wonder if you're clever enough to get us out of there..." She stopped for a second. Her head had been feeling a bit odd but she'd just figured out why. As her fingers reached behind her neck, she found something metal. And this wasn't just on her neck....
"Oh boy," she breathed, realizing this was the translating computer they had put into her. It had to be, she was free of the other computer and she could still hear it translating for Yuyu. The unnatural ridges of metal just under her hair gave her an uneasy feeling. "That is the translator," Yuyu said in explanation. He had seen her feeling around the back of her head. "Only the scientists know how it fits, I do not have clearance to touch it."
"I see," Mara said with a sigh.
"I keep hearing them say it does not work." Yuyu paused with his all white eyes looking up and down the hallways. "The scientists have not been wrong before."
Mara nodded. "Yeah, that would be hard to argue against. I'm the experiment and they didn't even believe me when I told them." She got to her feet carefully. Yuyu backed off involuntarilly. "Oh, no, no. I won't hurt you." Mara said, holding out a hand. "Friend, see? Friend."
Yuyu looked from her hand to her face and back. "There is also a saying with the scientists. Never touch a human. It is too dangerous."
"Hm," said Mara, letting her hand drop. "That explains a lot." Suddenly, she remembered something. "Chris! Oh dear, we've got to find Chris!" She started off at a slow pace down the corridor, hugging her arms to herself to keep warm. Yuyu followed calling after her, "No, they will find us for sure. We should not go around the ship together."
Mara didn't pay any attention. If Chris was in this place, she was going to try and find him and get him out. He must be worried sick by now, she thought.
None of the computer parts and things she passed looked even remotely familiar. They were all labeled with the funny alien box writing and symbols. Mara pointed to a couple of them and Yuyu managed to get that she was asking about them. He explained a couple of things about the ship but most of it was beyond Mara's knowledge, even with the translator. She was starting to warm up though as they walked.
Finally, she came to another hallway that looked similar to her own, but it was off in a different direction. She could just make out a person in the workings of the computer the same as she was earlier. Mara ran up to them.
It was Chris, strapped down in standing position like she had been. His eyes were closed and the strip of metal was glowing and pulsating over his forehead. Mara could see his eyes were moving underneath his closed eyelids.
“It’s some sort of virtual reality,” Mara said aloud. “That’s why everything seemed so clean and straight and….not realistic. It’s all a computer program.” She leaned in, looking around for some way to free Chris or wake him up. She touched his arm which felt just about as cold as she did. “Chris, can you hear me?”
He didn’t respond. “Is this the one you were placed with? The one with the short hair?” Yuyu asked. Mara nodded. The small maintenance alien was starting to pick up that a nod meant yes. “Such strange movements you have,” he said, tilting his head to the side. Mara motioned for him to try and free her friend.
“I am in trouble perhaps for taking you from the computer,” he said. “He is adjusted to the program, I cannot remove him.”
“Adjusted, my foot. Get him out of there,” Mara said, snatching his tool and pointing the handle at him meaningfully.
Wordcount: 21,017 22,139
EDIT: I added a bit more, I finally reached my goal of 22k for tonight, huzzah!
"That was close," James said, shutting the book. He cracked it open again for a second, looking at a picture. "There is some weird pictures in here, look at this." He showed Mark a couple of blurry photos. "You'd think with all the digital cameras and stuff they'd get better pictures."
"Yeah, well, most of those are supposed to be fake anyway," Mark said, watching his dad talking to the other kids about the campfire.
James switched books back for the journal. "Ok, back to it. It was just getting good."
I don't really know how to explain how scary it was. Imagine waking up from one nightmare to find yourself trapped in another. You'd almost want to go back to the original nightmare, it seemed safer in there. I was inside of a machine, strapped down into it like I was part of it. After my initial freaking out and yelling, I had to stop and try to calm down...
Mara was working on slowing her ragged breathing down. She didn't want to hyperventilate on top of everything else. She shut her eyes for a few minutes, letting herself try to adjust to the situation. I wonder if I could just keep my eyes shut forever, Mara asked herself. No, I'm going to have to face it eventually. She slowly opened her eyes again.
She was standing up, sort of, attached to machinery all around her. It was as if she was a part of the machine, just another thing plugged into it. Her arms were not able to move at her sides and she had even less luck with moving her legs. It was a bit cold with all of the metal around her. It almost made sense now, she had been feeling cold and trapped ever since she'd been abducted. This place felt a whole lot more real than the other place.
Mara tried to turn her head and found she could move about an inch or so in each direction. That was something at least. There was a cool strip of something across her forehead. It felt somewhat metallic but of course, Mara couldn't reach up to see what it was.
There was a space in front of her that looked like a hallway between the computers and machinery that ran lengthwise in front of her. So far nobody had come along to check on the yelling human.
Mara fought down the idea that nobody would come...ever...
No, I must not think of that, she told herself and started working on her bonds again. She could almost turn her head enough to see where her arm was out of the corner of her eye. She couldn't really tell what was holding her down, if it was metal or fabric or what.
Mara seemed to be in a slot in the machinery. It was like someone had built the computer to have a human sized hole in it. She struggled and pulled back and forth but her hands still would not come loose. She was starting to feel a bit ill again. The cold was seeping in and she was starting to shiver. Panicky, she called out again.
"Someone! Anyone out there?! Please?!"
A tear was threatening to spill over and down her cheek. Mara wished she could wipe it away. Suddenly, her ears perked up.
There was somebody coming. She could hear the soft pad of feet walking towards her. That strengthened her resolve and she pulled against her bonds once more. "Over here!" she called, not caring who it might be. Anyone would be a welcome sight.
The feet were moving a bit faster now and Mara called again, shivering all the more against the cold. An alien ran past and then came back as it realized it had gone too far. It peered in at the shivering human in the machine.
Mara could see, it was exactly the same as the aliens in the previous world she'd been in, whether that was real or not. "Please," she tried to talk through her chattering teeth. "Please let me out."
The alien put his hands up and seemed to be climbing in towards her. Mara saw on the back of his hand a familiar tatoo. "Yuyu?" she asked as he reached her.
"You do know me," he said, or rather the computer translated. It was a bit sharper and more metallic voice as if it was more real here than it had been previously. Yuyu climbed around the machinery like he did this all the time. He reached her and balanced on his toes to look at her. Mara looked back, remembering what had happened before. "I'm sorry we kidnapped you," she said. "B-b-but I would l-l-love to gg-get a blanket or s-s-something..." She was having trouble talking at this point. Yuyu produced a tool from his belt. "I may be in trouble for this," he said. "But you do not seem to be well right now."
He did something to her wrists and they came free from the computer. Yuyu jumped back as Mara brought her hands up to rub them together. Oh, it felt so good to be able to move something again. She knew Yuyu was worried she’d try and grab for him again. She reached up, finally able to touch whatever was on her forehead.
"Careful," Yuyu said as she ran her fingers over the smooth cool strip of metal around her head. "You may injure yourself if you pull that off outright." He was watching her hands carefully, keeping himself a good distance away.
Mara hugged herself, rubbing her arms and trying to warm up. The small alien had gone around behind her head where she couldn't see and seemed to be working on the machinery that had her head fixed to the computer behind her. It took a minute but soon, the strip of metal slid off and away into the computer itself and Mara was able to sit up slightly. Now she could see a little bit better. Her legs were stuck in openings that looked like they were designed for them specifically. There was a seethrough plastic-like covering over them and over that was the metal strips similar to the one that had been over her forehead. Every inch of her felt tired and cold, like she had been there forever without moving.
Yuyu seemed to hesitate as he came to her legs. Mara got worried that he might decide to stick her back in or leave her like that, stuck and alone in a computer maze. "I am not to release you unless there is a problem," he said to explain. "I don't mind if you don't," Mara said, still shivering. Yuyu had to reach inside and around the back of her knees to get to the release switch. The whole plastic section loosened with a hiss of release and then opened outwards like two doors. Mara stepped out quickly but found that was a mistake. Her legs buckled under her and she fell to her knees on the cold smooth floor in the hallway. She managed to grab some sort of handhold on the way down so she didn't fall down completely. "Wow, I'm weak as a kitten," she said, sitting down for a second.
It was then that she looked down the hallway. It was all the same, dark gray computer parts lining both sides like a giant game of tetris. There wasn't any wires that she could see but it still looked like a giant computer. Even up to the ceiling, it was all the same as the walls. The floor beneath her was a dark amber and shiny like it had been polished.
She still felt a bit shaky but better for being out of that technological cage. Yuyu had gotten himself out of the section she'd been in and was approaching very slowly. Mara gave him a relieved smile. "Thank you," she said with the most feeling she could muster.
"You are welcome," he said. Mara could barely believe her ears. He was catching on somehow. "Clever alien," she said, shifting positions a bit against the wall. "Wonder if you're clever enough to get us out of there..." She stopped for a second. Her head had been feeling a bit odd but she'd just figured out why. As her fingers reached behind her neck, she found something metal. And this wasn't just on her neck....
"Oh boy," she breathed, realizing this was the translating computer they had put into her. It had to be, she was free of the other computer and she could still hear it translating for Yuyu. The unnatural ridges of metal just under her hair gave her an uneasy feeling. "That is the translator," Yuyu said in explanation. He had seen her feeling around the back of her head. "Only the scientists know how it fits, I do not have clearance to touch it."
"I see," Mara said with a sigh.
"I keep hearing them say it does not work." Yuyu paused with his all white eyes looking up and down the hallways. "The scientists have not been wrong before."
Mara nodded. "Yeah, that would be hard to argue against. I'm the experiment and they didn't even believe me when I told them." She got to her feet carefully. Yuyu backed off involuntarilly. "Oh, no, no. I won't hurt you." Mara said, holding out a hand. "Friend, see? Friend."
Yuyu looked from her hand to her face and back. "There is also a saying with the scientists. Never touch a human. It is too dangerous."
"Hm," said Mara, letting her hand drop. "That explains a lot." Suddenly, she remembered something. "Chris! Oh dear, we've got to find Chris!" She started off at a slow pace down the corridor, hugging her arms to herself to keep warm. Yuyu followed calling after her, "No, they will find us for sure. We should not go around the ship together."
Mara didn't pay any attention. If Chris was in this place, she was going to try and find him and get him out. He must be worried sick by now, she thought.
None of the computer parts and things she passed looked even remotely familiar. They were all labeled with the funny alien box writing and symbols. Mara pointed to a couple of them and Yuyu managed to get that she was asking about them. He explained a couple of things about the ship but most of it was beyond Mara's knowledge, even with the translator. She was starting to warm up though as they walked.
Finally, she came to another hallway that looked similar to her own, but it was off in a different direction. She could just make out a person in the workings of the computer the same as she was earlier. Mara ran up to them.
It was Chris, strapped down in standing position like she had been. His eyes were closed and the strip of metal was glowing and pulsating over his forehead. Mara could see his eyes were moving underneath his closed eyelids.
“It’s some sort of virtual reality,” Mara said aloud. “That’s why everything seemed so clean and straight and….not realistic. It’s all a computer program.” She leaned in, looking around for some way to free Chris or wake him up. She touched his arm which felt just about as cold as she did. “Chris, can you hear me?”
He didn’t respond. “Is this the one you were placed with? The one with the short hair?” Yuyu asked. Mara nodded. The small maintenance alien was starting to pick up that a nod meant yes. “Such strange movements you have,” he said, tilting his head to the side. Mara motioned for him to try and free her friend.
“I am in trouble perhaps for taking you from the computer,” he said. “He is adjusted to the program, I cannot remove him.”
“Adjusted, my foot. Get him out of there,” Mara said, snatching his tool and pointing the handle at him meaningfully.