forum Amnesiac Project (discontinued. if interested, check for the reboot]

Started December 12, 2023 by @Serenity88 group

tune

Quinn looked out the window of his room, watching Rio run down the hall. "Risi (ree-see, nickname for his sister), They're gonna wipe her again" He looked to Iris and walked away from the window. He shook his head tentatively as he looked back.
"Who?" Iris asked calmly. Eight years. She'd been here since she was nine years old. She'd seen so many people get "cleansed" that she couldn't bring herself to care for fear she'd care too much.
"Rio- I think. I think that's her name" He walked away from the window and sat at his "desk". It wasn't a desk. It was a slab of marble attached to the wall near his bed, which was bolted to the floor. He's grown used to this, though he never really knew why. Maybe they used to keep someone aggressive in here. He never was like that though. He began to sketch with his crayons- the only writing utensil he was allowed. He talked calmly with Iris as he drew… A flower? He thinks it's a flower, though he doesn't think he's ever seen one.
Iris stopped messing with the water she had, it falling with a barely controlled splash back into her cup. Rio was one of the people she liked, she got ready to stand to do something. She wasn't quite sure what, especially since her door was locked from the outside.
"Sit. There's nothing you can do. I just thought I'd tell you so when she doesn't remember you know when it happened" Quinn said sadly. This happened all the time. He finished his drawing and went to tape it to the plain sky-blue wall with the rest of his art, and ripped his hand back when he felt a shock on his fingertips. "This always happens!" he said exasperatedly.
There was a soft knock on the door as a caretaker stepped into the room. A tall, lanky man in simple scrubs. "Iris, Quinn, Meds." He stood at the door while he waited for the two to slide on their slippers and set down their occupations. They both walked past him and into the hallway, seeing Belladonna very briefly before ze shuffled into their room. They followed the procedure. Quinn took his usual small blue pill, and Iris her green and orange capsule before they went with the standard process. Jelly pill, injection, vitals, the works. They shuffled off to their room and went to bed

Juniper watched from her bed as Rio passed a few steps behind the caretaker. She caught sight of her figure– the top of her head, really; her friend was short– just as she turned away. She lifted her chin from her chest to watch her mane of raven hair go by. I guess today is the day. Again.
Rio didn't remember, of course, and the others had been forbidden from telling her lest they be punished. But she had been wiped once before. This was highly unusual, considering how the standard procedure was to be trained up, wiped once, put back into the program for a couple months, then vanishing without a trace. Juniper had tried to hint at something being off, knowing her friend could figure it out, but she had been punished.
She lifted a hand to her temple, rubbing in slow, gentle circles. It wouldn't do to think of those things, of what they had done.
She was sitting cross-legged on her bed, hands in her lap, her chin resting limply on her chest. She was meditating, focusing on her breathing until all thoughts drifted away and there was only the soft rushing of air in and out of her lungs and through her nose.
Then the visions came.
Just flashes of light and feeling, glimpses of emotion and memory.
A hand, raised to strike.
A bright tile floor, streaked with blood.
A soft, comforting hug.
The scent of alcohol and mold.
Fear, pain.
A shout of warning, a scream of anguish.
Promises of safety and something like home.
Deafening silence that felt threatening.
Juniper never knew what they were from; her past that had been cleansed away, dreams or nightmares, peeks of the future. She knew some of the kids here had special things they could do; Quinn's sister could talk to the water, ask it to move. Rio was an athlete. Maybe Juniper could sense time. But she never mentioned the visions to anyone, not even Rio. Thus, she had no real solid idea of what the visions were.
Slapping feet. Shouts. For an instant, she thought it was more visions. But it sounded different; more real, less fuzzy.
The footsteps drew nearer. Juniper rose, lurching to the window in her plain, silvery door. Her friend sped by, fleeing as if from rabid beasts. Her name burst uncontrollably from Juniper's mouth, her hand whaled on the door. But Rio continued without looking, which was probably for the best; if she were distracted, the things chasing her might catch up. As she disappeared from Juniper's view, the caretaker Rio had been following tore after her, yelling into his radio.
Oh no… She had done the same thing the first time she was cleansed, but they had caught her before she could get any headway. Now, she was ten yards ahead of her pursuer, who was so not in shape for a high-speed chase of a teenager with experience and endurance in her pocket.
Just a few moments later, sounds of scuffle and shouts of indignation erupted from the hall. Then two more caretakers were helping the first one haul Rio back toward the room she had tried so hard to flee.
Juniper watched, aching with desire to help her, to set her loose from her captors. But she stood. She watched. And She let her best friend get erased again.
She couldn't get back to her meditative state. Her mind was too busy with many things at once. So she sat and sketched with graphite and pencil, sketched until the side of her hand of the tips of her fingers were dark and shiny with lead and her muscles were cramping and her head was a bit less scrambled.
Then the caretakers came in with her medication and the needles, and sleep welcomed her into its dark, soft arms. Her dreams were blissfully forgettable.

(darn, I keep writing more than I mean too! hey how's it looking? like does it sound like a lil 5yr old stringing syllables together or is it passable writing material? ive never written so much at one time for a RP and it feels good!)

Belladonna's life had always been split into 2 parts. Life before the program. And life during it.

Now Donna's life had been split once again. Before the cleansing. And after.

Before the cleansing ze never drempt. But now their dreams were full of life and vibrant color. They were memories, but ze didn't know this.

Some, on horrible horrible nights, were nightmares of that fight. Some were memories of reading for long hours.

Belladonna loved the reading dreams. Where the squiggles on the paper became letters and then the letters became words. No longer was ze confined to zir limited knowledge.

Tonight was one of the better nights. They had been reading a book of fairytales. If only ze could remember the words they read. Or how to read.

Maybe they could ask a caregiver to teach them?

The white metal door clicked open and a caregiver walked in. A woman with black straight hair and light blue scrubs.

"Hello Belladonna. You need to head down to breakfast." She handed Donna another set of papery clothes, pink like the last ones.

Ze quickly changed. "Miss?" Ze said as she heald the door open.

The caretaker didn't awnser. Only lead Donna down to the dining hall for breakfast.

The dining hall was heavily monitored, no private conversations would be happening easily. Donna was one of the first in there. Only a few of the stronger caretakers being in there along the walls.

So they sat down at a circular table in the middle of the room.

Quinn lay in his bed, thin blankets covering his body. She turned on his side and looked over at his sister. She slept soundly. "How?" he wondered. How could she sleep so peacefully, snore so softly, and not seem to worry?
He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. He could feel his blood coursing through his veins like an electrical current. He reached his hand up towards the ceiling, grasping at nothing, and wondered. He flexed his fingers, closed his eyes, and focused on his hand. He felt a warm buzzing and opened his eyes, slight electricity linking all his fingers, flowing around them in a bright white stream, crackling and buzzing in a warm but not unpleasant way. He smiled and clenched his hand into a fist. He felt powerful.

Just then, he heard the lock on his door click and he dropped his arm immediately. His sister stirred slightly and sat with a start when the woman who came in flicked on the bright fluorescent lights without warning.
"Good morning kids. Time for breakfast." She handed them both papery outfits, Quinn's a light blue and Iris's green in the same shade. Iris went into the bathroom to change and the woman stepped out so Quinn could follow suit.
The siblings both converged in the middle of the room and followed the "caregiver" through the halls toward the dining hall.

When they entered, only Belladonna was in the room, aside from the stronger guards and a few caretakers. Quinn plopped himself down beside her, and Iris on her other side.
"Good morning Donna" his sister chimed. He didn't understand how she could be so unbothered

(whoopsies, I forgot I started writing a reply but got sidetracked and didnt post it.)
(one more Juniper, then I'll start mixing in Rio. Hey, do either of you know how to do that thing, where you make a line in the text? Like, it divides the thing?)

A sharp knock on the door. It swung open without waiting for a response. A caretaker, one with dark hair and small eyes, entered Juniper's room bearing folded clothes; they were pastel green-grey. "Come on, then." She tossed them onto the bed. "Time to start the day. The others are already eating breakfast."
Taking the clothes into her minute bathroom, Juniper took her time changing. She had already brushed out her short, dark hair and put some product in the dyed ends, and brushed her teeth with the flavorless toothpaste. Her shoes were getting tight, the soft fabric constricting her foot and squeezing her toes.
Exiting, she lifted her chin to the woman. "My shoes are too small."
"I'll get some new ones sent to your room by this evening." Her voice was cold and lifeless, perfectly uncaring and detached. But Juniper could see the flickering motions of her eyes and the tiny tilts of her head; she was gently concerned and genuinely would try to get Juniper the shoes because she didn't want her to hurt. Good.

At the dining room, Juniper sat with half her butt in her usual seat and half in Rio's. She might be allowed to eat with us, so I'll save her seat.
She didnt partake in the conversation with the others, but watched them. She watched their eyes, their hands, their mouths. She saw every slight exaggeration of story, all the times a detail was withheld. She watched the caretakers who were eating, too. They sat at blue tables while the children sat at yellow ones.
She waited for Rio to show, but she didn't.
"Did you see Rio last night?" She asked no one in particular. Her quiet yet tense voice cut easily through the little chatting noises of the dining room, from both children and caretakers.

(hmm? okay imma try)

(did that do the thing)
(yes it did the thing YAYYYYY)
(thanks Clover-Tastic!)

Belladonna put their spoon down when Juniper spoke. They had been chatting and eating like there was no before or after. Like they were simply a kid at summer camp. Only they didn't know the cups song, anymore atleast.

"I saw them running last night." They were the first to speak again. "Through my window." Ze grabbed the hem of zir shirt and begun running their finger along it. To calm themselves.

Donna had always been rather weird when speaking. They had no problem making eye contact, in fact they often stared too much. But it was the way they said things, and the way ze fidgeted, that made zir stick out.

As soon as the other children started chatting again at other tables from other floors (different parts of the program), ze shifted in their seat.

(IM SORRY THIS IS SO SMALL IM SO UN MOTIVATED RIGHT NOW)

Quinn stopped eating his mushy, plain oatmeal and looked over at Juniper. "She's most likely asleep" He offered. They all would know why. When someone got wiped, they would be extremely sleepy for 12-24 hours, depending on the person and dose. Rio had definitely gotten a heavy dose, and she was a small girl. She'd end up asleep for quite a bit. And the caretakers were allowed to offer that one kindness. Not forcing the children out of bed while sluggish from medication was a small godsend. Iris also stopped. She looked tensely at the others at the table. Rio was her friend, and she shared Juniper's concern. "I wish they would let us check on her" she muttered, moving her spoon in her uneaten food and gazing like it contained the answers she needed.

(apologies for the length. I'm in school, and life has been smacking me so hard. I just wanted to give y'all something to go from)

Juniper bobbed her head in a small nod. "Hope she gave 'em lots of trouble." Her voice carried more than might be expected, and several caretakers looked over at her.
Her cheek twitched. They only wanted to know who had spoken, labeling her as 'might be an issue'. In case they ever had orders to get her, they'd know which one she was.
Juniper downed the rest of her food with more fervor than she usually exhibited; she was anxious to get to training.
Lifting her head high as she swallowed the last bit of food, she brushed the short purple ends of her hair out of her face. She slipped out of her seat and stood in place, waiting for a caretaker to lead her to her lessons for the day.

(I dont know what she'd be doing, actually😅. so, my next turn will skip over to Rio waking and stuff. I'll just time-skip Juniper's lessons)

Belladonna finished their food, or what they wanted of it, soon after Juniper was led to lessons. They threw the paper bowl, still filled halfway with cherrios and milk, into the trash. But they pocketed the plastic spoon. The straw that they hadn't bothered to use for their milk or their juice was also in the papery pocket.

To the wall by the door they went. Quietly standing with their eyes unfocused. When a caretaker, tall, blonde, with honey colored scrubs, put their hand infront of their face Donna didn't notice.

Only when the caretaker grabbed Belladonna by the wrist did they snap back to reality.

"I want to learn how to read." Ze said, following the blonde woman down multiple halls to the elevator.

The woman nodded and lead Belladonna down more hallways. Past more doors. Past more too small windows. Past places Donna once knew.