The Story of a NOT Mentally Deranged Girl

Chapter 11- Living Life

Guys, this is probably the last chapter for awhile, as I have school... as most everyone else does.

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Kat looked on with astonishment.  Jasmine wasn't one to cry.  Granted, she had only known her a few days and didn't know her personality well, but it still troubled Kat that she was crying.   It took him a few moments, but the boy eventually calmed Jasmine down. She stopped crying, but wouldn't let go.  He gently pried her off of him, studying the blood on her face. 

Jasmine wiped the tears off her face and turned to everyone else.  "Guys, meet Matt.  Matt, meet... everyone else."  

Muttered hellos were exchanged.  Kat shot a glance at Reyna, who was looking at her.  She knew they were thinking the same thing.  This was Jasmine's long-lost-presumed-dead-best friend/brother.  Interesting... 

Matt turned to Jasmine and said something, but Kat didn't pick it up.  She realized the reason for this when Jasmine replied.  They were speaking in a different language.  Jasmine said something else then stopped, glared at Jeremy and asked him a question in a harsh tone, who started shuffling.  She said something to him, a long something, and he replied in the same language. 

Jeremy turned to the group, and said, in a normal tongue, "Um, let's go away for a few minutes."  The group shifted and ended up on the other side of the room, looking at the two on the other side.

  They sat down and  Ande voiced the question, "Who is that guy?"  Most of they guys in the room were wondering that. 

"Well... um, I'm not sure how much of this to tell you, but I only know a bit.  Jasmine knows him, you can see that.  He was basically her brother.  She thought he was dead, that's all I know."  Kat explained.  "Anymore more questions, or can we move on to a different subject?" 

"Why is he here?  Why  did he not come before?" asked Brendon. 

Ok, apparently we are not done.  "Um, Reyna, you want to answer that one?"

Reyna explained about the burned out cell, which made the boys closest to her, Daniel and Ande scoot away a little, as if she would spontaneously combust. 

"Well why bring him in now?" 

"Thank you for asking us a question we can't answer.  I have no clue."   Zoe answered.  "Anyone else?  Kat?"

"Nope, no idea.  Lia?"

"Reyna?"

"I don't know, but I can give an educated guess.  They, whoever governs our existence right now, probably wants to make us mad.  Matt, most likely, has not lived on the food we have for the past few days, nor has he had the time to get to know us."

Reyna looked over at Matt and Jasmine, who were deep in conversation.  Kat  followed her gaze. 

Matt, noticing the lull in conversation abruptly stopped and both looked over to the larger group.  Matt said something to Jasmine and she nodded.  They got up and walked towards the group of ten. 

As they approached, Kat observed her friend's only family.  He was tall , blond with blue eyes, just as Jasmine had told them. 

It was surprising, really, how similar the two outcasts looked.  Both had light blond hair, same eye shape.  The nose though, those were completely different.  And the height difference!  Matt was a good foot taller than Jasmine's slight five foot figure.

Upon closer inspection, Kat saw that he was physically fit, not like someone who had been in prison for four or five years of their life.  She'd have to ask about that later. 

Jasmine and Matt sat down with the group and were immediately pelted with questions, all from the boys, who wanted first hand explanations of what was going on.  There was a cacophony of 'who are you?' where were you before now?'  'Why are you here now?'  'why didn't you come earlier?', as well as the odd question from Ande of 'Is she your girlfriend?' amidst the noise. 

"Ok, could you slow down a bit?"  came the quiet reply, which made the noise end.

"Alright, who are you and why are you here now, not before?"  Brendon asked first.

"I don't know why, I'm just here.  I'm Matt, if you didn't get the memo earlier." 

"That's not what I meant."

"That's what you asked.  Any serious questions? Jasmine told me to trust you all, so I will tell you just about anything."

Kat decided to ask her question then.  "How long have you been a prisoner?"

"Four years."

"Then why are you so healthy?  Most of us have been 'guests' of the government for less than a year, with a few exceptions."  At this point, some eyes turned to Ande, who had been a 'guest' of the government for going on five years, and his shrimpy form proved it. 

"Well, they made me a part of the army for two and a half years, which kept me pretty healthy.  I... can anyone hear what I am saying?"

"No, they only see.  Continue please."  Kat said

"I eventually got kicked out because I was 'accidentally' ruining too many things, emphasis on accidentally."   Matt explained.  "That and a few other things that I don;t want to explain."  he said, while pointing with his left towards Jasmine on the right, who couldn't see the action.

Those who saw understood. 

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"Really?  Whoever got them running again is a genius!"

Ahh...  Things can go forward as planned.  Cicero thought as he took out his earpiece.  He found that while he was doing this that  he was smiling and tapping his fingers, something he was doing a lot of lately.  Funny the trivial things the mind notices after receiving good news. 

Picking up his earpiece, he pushed one of the array of buttons on his desk in the control room.

"James, you're going in."

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Talking had a positive effect on Jasmine.  She no longer had to wonder what had happened to her friend, think about the possibility of him being dead, or a prisoner in a horrible place.  Well, he was a prisioner, but this was definatly better than some places.

An unnoticed though of "He's safe"  went through her mind while sitting next to Matt and listening to him tell his "accident"  stories.  Some were funny, which made the group laugh. 

This was welcome, as it was needed.  Nothing fun had really happened in any of their lives before coming there.  The stories cheered them up, but not for long. 

Sections of the wall exploded, throwing pieces of comcrete everywhere.  Kat, if she wasn't already injured enough, caught a fist sized stone with her forehead, as did many other stones did.  Several other places got hit, including Mike's nose.  It's already an unplesant day, go ahead and make it more so...   Jasmine had no idea how much worse things were going to get.

Guards swarmed the room through the holes in the wall.  There were two of them for every groggy prisoner.  Each grabbed an unresisting arm.  A synchronized blow to the head sent them all hurdling into blackness. 

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Ok, NOW, I am done. 

<3 ya!

Annabeth