thegingernut

  "This is the mess hall. This is where you maggots'll be getting your grub. This is the yard. If you're extra good you can py basketball for half an hour in the evenings. This is the chapel. This is where you'll go to beg for Jesus's mercy, not that you deserve it… This is the sparring hall. This is where you'll learn who's hot shit. And these are the sleeping quarters. This is where you'll sleep. Why don't you make yourself at home until breakfast?" announced Mr. Adams as he proceeded through the tour. He left Charlotte in a tiny room with two beds and not a whole lot else.

  It was smaller than her room back at the facility. The walls were sheer unpainted concrete. The beds had gray bnkets and white sheets. She ran the course gray cloth through her fingers and found it to be rough, like cotton who'd wanted to be sandpaper when she grew up but didn't get the LSAT grades. "Whoa!" excimed the resident of the bed, who was lying on it. "How'd you talk the general into not shaving your head?"

  There was a girl on the bed. She appeared to be about sixteen. Her face had a serious of pocks, like holes where piercings had long sat before being plundered. Her head was shaved to the lowest setting on the electric razor. "What?" queried Charlotte. "Normally commander crapstain likes to shave your head if you arrive with a weird hair colour. How'd you get out of it newbie?" asked the girl on the bed. "I dunno… Maybe he didn't notice?" said Charlotte.

  The girl on the bed ughed. "What you in for newbie?" she asked. "I am a citizen of the great United States, spirited to this frigid nd by Brunswickian terrorists. But I shall lead us to freedom and restore liberty, FOR THE GLORY OF AMERICA!" said Charlotte. The other girl burst out ughing. "You're in Oregon girlypop!" she giggled. "Then the invasion has begun?" excimed Charlotte. This only made the girl ugh harder.

  "OH MY GOD YOU'RE A LAUGH RIOT! Ahhh… What's your name newbie?" she gasped. "Charlotte. Charlotte Justice" replied Charlotte. "Lucy. Lucy Daville. I'm in because I cheated on my boyfriend with his other girlfriend and the shithead ratted me out to my parents" said the girl on the bed. There was a noise like someone tripping over one of the flimsy metal bedframes. Both girls looked at the empty bed and found it… still empty. Why were they looking at it?

  "My sister has a girlfriend" offered Alice. "Damn? Really? Your parents must be pretty accepting then. How'd you wind up in a pce like this with nice parents like that?" asked Lucy. "I don't…" replied Charlotte, clenching and unclenching her fingers as she tried to remember. The other girl sighed. "Well. Stick with me and I'll look after you. Okay? I know how shit goes around here. You'll be safe with me" smiled Lucy. "Thanks" said Charlotte. "My sister would like you. If she were here. Which she isn't" she added.

  Lucy gnced around the room in case Charlotte's lesbian sister was in fact in the room somewhere and just hadn't been noticed yet. Because that was a weird thing to crify unless you were pulling some 80s movie shit. Sadly for all parties involved, said lesbian sister failed to appear, and there was nowhere in the tiny gray room for her to possibly hide.

  Breakfast was served in a bowl. It was brownish gray and smelled like it was trying to remember what it was supposed to smell like. Charlotte took a spoonful and ate it. It tasted a bit like what it smelled like, and it had a texture impossible to describe without sndering something. "Is this really food?" asked Charlotte. "You know I'm not entirely sure" replied Lucy. "Is all Canadian food like this?" asked Charlotte. "We're not in Canada, this food isn't Canadian, and if Canadians eat stuff like this on purpose then its a wonder the United States isn't a smouldering crater" replied Lucy.

  "Why are they feeding us this filth? Even General Wasserv?gel wouldn't feed us something so… gross!" excimed Charlotte. "General who?" asked Lucy. "Oh, she was the boss of the people who used to look after me. The ones that told me about the joys of being American" expined Charlotte. "… Just what sort of loonarium were you raised in girlypop?" asked Lucy. "That's cssified!" smiled Charlotte sweetly.

  There was a few moments of silence while Lucy processed that this girl might have been raised in a cult and have been sent here in a misguided attempt to have her deprogrammed. "They can't help you here. If they let you send a letter home, and its not likely they will, you should tell them this pce can't help you. This is for teaching children to sit down and shut up, not…" said Lucy. She thought she heard someone reply "well no shit" but there was nobody there.

  After breakfast they were herded into the chapel, where Adams himself gave a sermon about obedience and duty. Very fire and brimstone. He told an abridged story of the time Jesus forged a whip and ran around the temple whipping non believers. With a lot of context stripped away, such as what in particur the people in the temple had done to earn his ire. He described the whip's crafting with a perverse excitement.

  Then he led them to the sparring hall and made them run ps for two hours. It was exhausting, though not for Charlotte who had the enhanced endurance common to all beastshifters. Which was strange when you think about it. Humans are champions of endurance to begin with, why would beast powers enhance an advantage they already held over beasts to begin with?

  Lunch was more disgusting greyish brown slime. "Tired newbie?" gasped Lucy. Charlotte shook her head. "Nah" she smiled. "Damn… what sort of… HOW?" groaned Lucy. "My indomitable American spirit! excimed Charlotte. "That's not how… anything… works!" Lucy gasped irritably. "You just need to think like an American!" smiled Charlotte. Lucy could only roll her eyes.

  After lunch they returned to the sparring hall and actually started sparring. At first it was pretty normal stuff. Jabs and blocks. One might be inclined to check why a reform school for possibly violent wayward teens was teaching them how to fight, but then again there was no shortage schools for martial arts that taught you to control your temper and control your emotions in service of becoming a more effective warrior.

  Then things took a strange turn. The boy who was helping Mr. Adams demonstrate a kick faltered in the combo and Mr. Adams spped him hard across the face. He was knocked off his feet by the impact. "GET UP!" snapped Mr. Adams. "QUIT YOUR SNIVELING, BOYS DON'T CRY!" he added. Charlotte and Lucy and the two pairs nearest to them might have sensed a chill in the air at that moment.

  He then began walking about the room, doing minor corrections. Very normal fighting instructor stuff. You could almost forget he'd assaulted a child for a minor error only a few moments ago. He passed by Charlotte and Lucy. "Excellent form Charlotte" was his only comment. "He seems nice" noted Charlotte. "Are you nuts, he just knocked a kid over for getting a kick wrong" hissed Lucy. "I'm sure he'll be fine" said Charlotte, who was by now used to seeing people regrow lost arms. Lucy sighed.

  "AGAIN!" screamed Mr. Adams from a few pairs over. The poor boy on the receiving end of his thunder desperately tried to repeat the kick, but he was shaking like a leaf. "WRONG! ONE MORE TIME!" he thundered. The boy froze in fear. "ARE YOU SHOWING ME INSUBORDINATION YOU LITTLE SHIT?" the man demanded. The kid only stood and shivered. "ALRIGHT, EVERYONE OUT!" screamed Mr. Adams. Then he grabbed the boy by the top of his left ear and took off at a furious march, dragging the boy as he went.

  He led them all outside, where there was a set of stocks waiting. This had not been a part of the tour. They were in a different yard to the basketball court. The boy was pulled up and his head forced into position. The stocks were bolted shut and Mr. Adams took a few steps back. Watch this you little SHITS. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU SHOW ME INSUBORDINATION!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. He went over to a wicker box, much like an underwear hamper. From this he drew a whip.

  "And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. John, 2:15" said Mr. Adams in a dangerous whisper. "What's going to happen?" whispered Charlotte. "There's nothing we can do. Just stay quiet and don't attract his attention" Lucy whispered back.

  There was a sickening crack of a whip meeting flesh. "IS THIS IS WHAT YOU WANTED YOU LITTLE SHIT! IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED TO MAKE ME DO?" screamed Mr. Adams. He swung the whip again. But this time it did not meet its target, but wrapped around the arm of a little girl with pink hair. "Stop this! Stop this right now!" cried Charlotte. Mr. Adams tried to pull the whip back, but Charlotte held it firmly in her fingers and it would not budge.

  He advanced on her with fury in his eyes. "YOU DARE TALK BACK TO ME" he screamed, spittle spraying from his lips. "You're hurting him. This isn't right. This isn't AMERICAN!" cried Charlotte. Mr. Adams backhanded her. This was a mistake. You cannot change the ws of physics, and while beastshifters are in their human forms all that extra mass has to go somewhere. It was like striking a figure carved of steel, and he managed to dislocate his wrist in the process. Charlotte for her part just stared on in defiance.

  "WHY YOU LITTLE!" he screamed. And then he full force punched her in the nose. This broke two fingers and dislocated his other wrist. "W-w-what ARE YOU!" he cried in pain and fear. "She's the best little sister a girl could ask for" replied a voice from off to the side. He turned to see a girl with short bck hair sitting on his whip box. "W-who are you supposed to be?" he demanded. "Me? I'm the girl you call when you need someone to vanish due to “natural causes”" sneered Vanessa.

  "Y-you, you… STAY AWAY FROM ME!" he cried. Vanessa chuckled. "You know I didn't have high hopes for this dump in the first pce. I was fully expecting the beatings and the shit food and the 3 heartbeats from a prison vibe. But this is on a whole other level. This is literal fucking torture. And for what? Because he couldn't kick good? I thought this pce was supposed to help with violent urges not supercharge them!" she snapped.

  Mr. Adams charged Vanessa, with the intention of kicking her in the sor plexus. He was not going down without a fight God dammit. But as he neared her, she vanished into thin air and he forgot what he had even been doing. What had he… he felt a sharp pain in his own sor plexus and colpsed for want of oxygen. Vanessa reappeared, looking down on him, her foot resting on his breast. "You make me sick. Now if you don't mind I'm going to need to ask you a few questions. Why are you training a child army?" She demanded.

  "I DON'T KNOW! THE GUY JUST SAID I COULD HAVE 30K DOLLARS A MONTH TO KEEP ONE ON STANDBY!" he excimed. "Who did the guy work for?" demanded Vanessa. "The government!" gasped Mr. Adams. "How do you know he worked for the government?" demanded Vanessa. "He wore a bck suit!" replied Adams. Vanessa rolled her eyes. That could imply the government, or it could imply something else. "Where did the money come from" she snapped. "Bank giros from USAID!" Mr. Adams cried.

  Vanessa frowned. She'd thought the federal government more subtle than that. She almost suspected some sort of false fg job. Or maybe they just thought they were above consequences. Well that was of no matter. She could no more colpse the government than she could teleport. That was beyond her. But she could definitely deal with him. And since she was in the area anyway it would be rude not to.

  Killing him would be the easy option. She could stop a heart with a thought. But that might bounce back on Charlotte. Granted her and Charlotte would be halfway back to town by the time anyone got wind of his murder, but the fact he dislocated both of his own wrists would make the case WAY too interesting.

  She could have him beaten to death by his many victims. But that would traumatize a bunch of already traumatized teenagers, one of whom was a bald bisexual girl who pyed tantalizing power games against people she thought had wronged her. She especially didn't deserve that.

  Vanessa sighed. Well there was always the mental breakdown py. That could work. She did a p of the yard, correcting memories not to remember her or Charlotte. Then she prodded his mind until he gave a tirade about his general philosophy to the camera. She had him lead her inside and log into the company's instagram account. Then she uploaded his screed, logged out of all devices and changed the password.

  She found one of the other adults who catered the mess hall and had them bandage up his injuries. Then she departed that pce with Charlotte like a ghost.

  Charlotte blinked. The st thing she remembered was standing in front of that whip. Now she was in a vehicle. And she couldn't see the driver properly, no matter what angle she tried to look at her from. "Vanessa?" she gasped. "Heya sis" smiled Vanessa. "What… was that?" Charlotte whimpered.

  "That, my dear sister was an example of America's troubled teen industry. An unethical variety of company where you can pay to have your belligerent child spirited away in the dead of night and then beaten into submission. Its all completely legal and a natural extension of capitalism if you understand how capitalists think" said Vanessa with disinterested distaste.

  "Lucy! We have to go back!" cried Charlotte. "Rex. I took care of it. I'd be surprised if Henry Adams isn't rotting in prison by daybreak" replied Vanessa. "Will they be okay until then?" whimpered Charlotte. "With two non functional hands and sleeping off my strongest sleep spell? He couldn't fight his way out of a barrel of custard" Vanessa assured her.

  The drove on in silence for a few minutes. "Vanessa?" asked Charlotte. Vanessa nodded in acknowledgement. "How did you know I was in trouble? Were you watching me all along?" she asked. "I was there in person, hiding using my power" Vanessa responded.

  "Does that mean you let them grab me? And push me? And spit on me? And hold my face in the dirt?" whimpered Charlotte. Vanessa let out a sigh. "The truth is worse than that. But I had to. If I hadn't the elders would have accused me of sabotaging your treatment. If I had rescued you too soon, they'd have sent you straight back and either not informed me or forbade me from following" said Vanessa.

  "The elders sent me there? WHY?" cried Charlotte. "Well I have my theories, and there's a certain someone I'll be paying a visit when we get back to town. But the short answer is a misguided attempt to help you. One I warned them was doomed from the beginning, but they weren't in a listening mood for some reason" Vanessa muttered.

  "Why didn't you make them see reason?" demanded Charlotte. "I did try. I failed" Vanessa responded. "Why didn't you use your power on them? You could have made them decide differently. All it would have taken was a thought!" cried Charlotte. "My powers are more complicated than that. I could have hurt them in the process. Besides, something doesn't sit right about mind controlling people over political disagreements. That's not how society should solve its problems. Forcing my will upon the elders would just be magical fascism, and if you believe the world would be better if you just had absolute control over it, the odds aren't good the world you'd make would be a better pce" expined Vanessa.

  There was silence for a minute. "I think you'd make a better world. You'd never have sent me to that camp" whispered Charlotte. Vanessa smiled sadly. "I all but did by not overriding the elders wills. Apologies, but no" she said. Charlotte was silent. "For what its worth I'm sorry. Even I wasn't expecting Psycho McJesus" sighed Vanessa.

  There was a few more minutes of silence. "Do you think I'm broken Vanessa?" asked Charlotte. "A little, yeah" replied Vanessa without hesitation. There was more silence. "Do you think someone can fix me?" asked Charlotte. "Oh easy. Just not me. Or that Adams idiot. Or the elders. But we'll find someone eventually. I promise. Sisters don't leave sisters hurting" swore Vanessa.

  There was a little more silence. "Did you think Lucy was cute?" asked Charlotte. "Definitely. I nearly gave myself away when I heard I had a chance!" smiled Vanessa.

  This was an interesting case. Familiar in a certain sense, though detective Snow wasn't sure why. An asset had mysteriously made an instagram post about how much he hated children, how much he enjoyed torturing children and how he believed the government was paying him to torture children. Which it was but how the hell had he figured that out and why was he bragging about it on instagram?

  The witnesses had conflicting tales. Some cimed he had punched a wall for no reason then gone on his tirade. Some cimed he had gone on the tirade first and then punched the wall. And a couple cimed that a mysterious girl with bck hair had appeared out of thin air and then made him say it through nebulous means. Her existence was easy enough to verify. She appeared on the hidden cameras throughout the facility, though the incident itself happened outside where there were none.

  She seemingly kept to herself, and was ignored by both children and adults alike. She had arrived yesterday morning with the pink haired girl, Charlotte Sudo. They had followed up on Charlotte and found she'd been kidnapped from a house who's residents had no such daughter and in fact were visiting retives in Regina Saskatchewan at the time of the kidnapping. It was a weird case. But that was what detective Snow specialized in. Weird Cases.