PSYC Ward: Explorer

World 1: Dumbvillie

GENERAL LAB LOG #01:

I decided to mark the beginning of a new General Log considering the new state of things. Operation ENFORCE is on, so at this point there's really no further reason to object. A war is a great place for bodies to disappear without a trace, and for nobody to sincerely ask questions about why. I see great opportunities ahead, though I'm worried about the sustainability. Our planet doesn't have infinite resources, and while war is a great place to recycle goods, I'm not a fan of turning books into bombs. I'm not entirely sure how Dr. Yuki-Onna plans to keep this train rolling – her only comment was that sustainable technologies would be developed as a necessity - but for as long as we can continue to fund the military efforts of the various warring factions, we can make some good money – and even better science - off of this world wide tragedy.

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The chill of fresh winter air rushed past the boy as he walked down the alleyway. It was a big city, and dangerous for any 12 year old, but Michael had two distinct advantages. The first of which was he was aware of this area and had been down it many times before. It was nestled neatly between being creepy enough that normal people didn't venture down here and obscure enough that creepy people wouldn't bother with it. The second was that he, in no simple manner of speaking, gave zero shits if he did happen to get hurt tonight. He had a bad day. A very bad day. After a very bad month. After a very bad year. His dark skinned hand pressed gently against the concrete of the building next to him as he hung his head. He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes. He struggled to hold them back, with all manner of physical scrunching and emotional cheering, but his muscles were just too tired from practice, and his will just too exhausted.

It was all that man's fault. He had ruined everything. He slid down. All he had time for was finding ways out of his situation. He was certain his parents had been called after his tantrum. And he should have been home by now, they were probably worried sick. But if we went home, he'd have to answer to them about what had happened. If he went back to school, it meant facing the coach. He was fairly sure which one was the lesser of two evils, but he wasn't eager to face either.

Suddenly, something caught his attention. He heard a few footsteps coming his way. Gentle, slow, but somehow...stern footsteps. Something about them made him uneasy.

This was the first time anyone else had ever come down this alleyway while he had been there. To be fair, it was also one of the first times he had spent more than the 5-minute period of time it took to pass through. It was a teenaged girl, about 16 years old, being followed by two cats.

The girl was of middling height but thin build. Her hair was very obviously uncombed, but behaved enough that she didn't look like a mess. The most noticeable thing about it was the weird cowlick in the center of her forehead that made a bunch of the strands just jut in the opposite direction of the rest of her hair. She wore a white jacket with black spirals coming from the back, and whose shoulder seams were sewn in an unearthly purple. She wore a simple pair of black jeans, and a single black fingerless glove on her right hand, but her most striking accessory was a cloth tied around her waist in a hanging knot. There was something otherworldly about her. Most people would wear something heavier for the cold, and the clothing itself...he had never seen anything like it. The jacket in particular almost looked custom made to fit. Regardless of any of it, she looked - and felt - out of place to him.

"You look upset." She said.

Her voice was...lower than he was expecting.

"...yeah...I've had a really bad day."

He turned his head away from his questioner for a moment, but heard a jostling in her pocket. He tensed up, with the possibility that this would be a weapon was enough to get him to peak.