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Jayce sat there lost in thought, her face looked tired as if she had not been sleeping well. Her eyes bore shadows underneath them and she had been looking at the cocktail of pills for several minutes.
Jayce
JAYCE!
She looked up and stared at her best friend, Ginny with confusion in her ruby eyes. Then this confusion turned into a sheepish one as she took the pills one by one and swallowed them with her coffee. It took some time for her to finish them despite having done this for a few years. Since the incident at Gambino's mansion she had never been the same and even when she had thought that she had won, Gambino had cleverly thrown a wrench into the works. In exchange for the lifetime of medical treatment he would provide, he would keep her as a living experiment.
She was not the last grombie in Gaia however many did not like them, considered them infected as if it would be passed on through the air itself. No human other than Ginny had entered her bar and grill out of fear, half truths, and disgust. Jayce took it in stride however and even made jokes but inside all of the humans looking down on her had hurt her deeply. In fact most of the non humans came to her place because it was in a way a sanctuary. She even had a hidden escape route just in case. A nudge from Ginny shook her out of these memories and encouraged her to take the last of the medication. It was 11am and she would not have to open for another hour but it was difficult not to feel like such an infirm with all the damn medicine she had to day every single day just to stay alive.
She held her head in her hand and sighed, the quality of her life had taken a nosedive but she was a fighter and the others who came into her place did see her as an inspiration to overcome their own trials. Well, some of them at least or so she would like to think. She could not feel her left hand and she was starting to feel the usual nausea that accompanied her "cocktails"
Work was going to be a complete b***h tonight.
The next morning she left the bar closed and went for a walk, donning that ridiculous tophat she had grown so fond of. She was headed to grab a few supplies and maybe get some food she did not have to cook. Coffee, drink straws, fresh fruit, and BBQ seasonings were only a few of the things that she needed. She stopped by a corner shop to grab a quick sandwich and felt all eyes on her as soon as she stepped foot in the door. She ignored them and ordered her food and the man behind the counter claimed that they were "All out of bread" Jayce looked him straight in the eye and then asked for the manager. Looking relieved to leave, the young man went into the back and soon she was face to face with who she requested to see.
Look, as soon as I get a measly sandwich, I plan to leave. I have money, see! She replied, showing him the gold pieces that she had.
Five minutes later she had a sandwich. It would have been better with some tomato slices but she did not want to push it further. It was even just little things like that to make her feel and stand a little taller however basic. On the way back she looked through the window in Ian's shop, He was not open yet however that only meant she could look at the clothes she could not afford. There was a tan coat just behind the second rack and it looked warm. She tore her eyes away and told herself it was probably made of wool anyway and wool made her skin itch terribly. Once she reached the door of her bar and heard someone calling her so turning her head to look behind, realized it was Ian.
Ian? . . . .um Hi?
Ian smiled at her and handed her a half eaten sandwich and apologized. It seems Rufus stole your tuna sandwich, I am really sorry about this. He said it would have been better if there were tomato slices in it and he will pay you back for it. Jayce did a double take and then returned the smile.
I did not even realize it was missing but tell Rufus not to worry about it. I'm glad he enjoyed the food. Oh wow, your wearing a Top hat also?
Ian threw her a meek look. "Rufus said since we updated the shop that its a better look for me." Jayce grinned "I agree, you look very nice. Hows business been?" Ian nodded and replied "Its been slowly picking up actually."
"Thats great!, I hope it continues." All of a sudden the conversation turned awkward and neither one seemed to know what else to say. Then Jayce spoke up and replied " Well, I have some things I need to do so. . . ." Ian nodded at this and took the unintentional hint. "I should head back as well, It was great talking to you, See you around!"
Jayce watched as Ian left and rolled her eyes at herself. She mentally asked herself if she possibly could have handled that any worse than she already had. *Nice way to talk to someone you've had a crush on for just about forever.* Then she turned to go inside and get things ready for tonight. She never knew Ian thought she was rolling her eyes at him and his smile seemed forced as a reaction.
The next day, Jayce was in the back of her place wrestling with an old decrepit shed. Though there was barely any room to walk inside, it would have to do for she had in mind for it. It was rusty and looked as if it had been there since a hundred years ago but it was hers. The backyard wasn't much to talk about either but it was at least a backyard and that was a little unusual for a bar and grill. She had fallen in love with the building anyway. It's rustic old world charm had just seemed perfect and she loved the fact that it needed a lot of work. As long as she paced herself, she would still feel the satisfaction of having done it on her own. That was a continued source of pride for her. Since she had been able to help Cresento from time to time with his mechanical problems she wanted to see just how far she could take it. Being treated like a disease did not even matter to her, she felt all the more driven to prove she could contribute something fantastic to the only place she had ever known.
It was her way of sticking it to all the people who had no hope at all in her and wanted nothing more than for her to just disappear. It was not at all easy to move all the scrap metal and assorted doo dads but after a couple of hours she was more than halfway done. She did not own any real welding equipment however that was only a temporary problem. Jayce was sure the dump in Akea had a ton of things she could use or repair in order to rig up some workable things. Unfortunately she did not have time to spend all day on this project. Jayce finished up as best as she could and then left to travel to her weekly treatment. The one day of the week she sorely hated with a passion.
Sooner than she would have liked she was in front of the gates and swiped the keycard she had to use to get in. The very last place she wanted to be. Once inside she stepped up to the clerk behind the counter and signed in. The lady informed her it would be 20 minutes or so and she sat down to read some old magazines before her doctor saw her. She listened to some music on her ipod to try and calm herself down and not be as nervous as she usually was. After a few songs a guy with a clipboard came out and called her name. At first she did not hear but on seeing him she pulled the earphones out of her ears and followed him into the lab.
She was weighed, prodded, and had the injections that she needed. Now it was time for the main part and several assistants strapped her to the table so she wouldn't move. It slowly glided up on its tracks toward the chamber. Over a loudspeaker the voice of one of the techs called out to her "How are you doing Ms. Reinhardt?" It was meant to calm her but in reality it only made her all the more apprehensive. "I"m ok, lets just get this over with"
The tube she was encased in slowly filled with a foul smelling greenish gas and with each breath it found it's way into her lungs. Though she would not be in there for very long, each minute seemed like an hour and all of a sudden she realized she was thrashing against her restraints like a madwomen. It was as if she had no real control over her own body and the restraints felt looser and looser. Next thing she knew she was out and headed straight toward Mr. Gambino himself and her hands were around his neck. While her body moved on its own her mind was elsewhere as if she were a marionette.
Before she blacked out her last thought was of Johnny K. Gambino's face change from that usual smug son of a b***h look he usually had into panic. Deep inside this pleased the hell out of her however if she had a choice in this she would have never hurt anyone on her own volition. However she could have sworn she heard her own voice screaming in a tone she knew she never in a million years would have used. Unbeknownst to her, the ipod continued to play on.
"This little puppet's about to get rough.
You can't hide but you're laughing it up
it's a marionette.
Marionette.
Marionette."
 Jayce Reinhardt · Mon Aug 24, 2009 @ 03:59pm · 0 Comments |
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