"Heh, though that'd be a twisted secret . . . " she said with a slightly hopeless chuckle, "If the same thing that affected our regeneration was retarding our aging, and every four years they brain wiped us, slapped up a new mental template, and enrolled us in a new school . . ." she covered her eyes with one arm, "Eternal Rape Mode, no one is safe, 90% of the student body are just on a recovery cycle, and Marian, Thomas, and Juniper are every bit as fake as Gigi . . . I'd almost prefer symbiot harvesting."

She sat there for a few long moments, just feeling Aegir's presence there, looming, looking down at her. She supposed he didn't really have anything else to do, if he was resolved to stay. As long as he didn't jerk his creepy alien dong over her while she was out, she guessed it was fine. Of course, now she'd had the thought, and was having considerable difficulty dislodging it from her mind. Along with the notion that Aegir was probably laughing his ass off at the way she imagined his undercarriage to look.

My head's a scary place anyway . . . don't know why you'd even want to poke around in there. . . she mused to herself. She closed her eyes and forced herself to breath deep. That deep, musky aroma was still stirring about the small confines of the shed. She could feel the brace tightly pressing at her leg from both sides and the tape pulling at her skin when she shifted unconsciously. The soft sound of her own breathing, and the slightly gooey sound of Aegir's respiration. Cold wall, hard floor, she counted off each sensation in her head, damp shirt, cold piercings, her heart beat slowed and her breathing found a rythm, the coveralls under here bare legs, her toes curling under socks . . .

-- -- --

Dimly, Juniper became aware of her surroundings again Everywhere around her way a pale gray mist, visibly rolling with the invisible currents and eddies of air around her. Her every step forward stirred the mist around her, but continuing to move forward did nothing to to dispel the damp and clammy feeling against her skin. She breathed in, and was rewarded with a cherry red beacon glowing merrily before her eyes, like an old and cherished friend, and when she breathed out again a long plume of smoke passed beyond her lips to roll and disappear into the fog bank. The long, mournful song of a tramp steamer called out from somewhere distant, giving warning to smaller vessels as it chugged along it's way.

She remembered this place . . . it was London. She hadn't been here since she was eight, an elementary school field trip. She glanced down and saw the broad paving stones of one of the old cobbled roads, and how she was garbed, all around her were dark storefronts in the old Victorian styling with their steepled roofs and quaint hanging signs. She looked up the road to see a single light, a beacon burning high above the surrounding streets. Taking another puff of her cigarette, smiling to herself, she tucked her hands into the pockets of a raincoat she was only dimly aware of and made her way forward, wondering what might be casting such a light.

Finally, she came to a stop in front of a brown stone building built in the facade of an old timey castle. She craned her neck and looked up at the light, making out the clock hands ticking down the hour. An imitation of Big Ben, huh? Curious, she ascended the stares, seeing a crack of yellow light spilling out over the stonework. Sure enough, the entrance was cracked, though as she looked around it didn't seem that anyone was around. She pulled the door open and stepped into the carpeted interior, leaving the fog behind.

Stepping into the lobby she looked around, a tall reception desk lay unmanned in front of her. At either side of the entrace she saw tall glass cases, each containing a man standing rigidly at attention, dressed in the style of the guards in front of Buckingham Palace. She smirked a bit, a wax museum, huh? She took another drag of her cigarette and blew a smoke ring at the case, watching it break over the guard's unmoving face. She was game. Looking around, she saw one of the hallways marked out with red ropes, and started walking along the path.

The place was laid out like a catacomb. The hallways itself was narrow and lined with a vivid red carpet, but it was dark, running lights traced out the edge of the walls to guide her forward. To one side, the wall was blank stonework, posters containing more information about the exhibit and the subjects on display were set out for the education of those interested. The other side, however, was marked out in a half dome, the arch framing a scene crafted out of wax. She got the idea, you kept walking down the hallway, and the building would loop around until you found yourself at the entrance again. Dimly, she realized that this was also the principle behind a haunted house.

She reached the first display and blanched, freezing in her steps. In front of her was some kind of creature, a scaly upper body rippled with features like an oiled body builder, it's head back and roaring ferociously at the cieling. Below the waste is broke apart into a series of black tentacles, which grasped a panicked woman tightly in their coils, holding her beneath the surface of frantically churning waters. Juni winced a bit, looking at the carefully sculpted face on the woman, terrified as a black tendril stretched her mouth wide and plunged down her throat as others coiled around her and tore at her clothes. She moved on.

There was a faint, electric buzzing in the air as she approached the next exhibit. The back wall was covered in radio dials and gauges with vibrating needles. On a raised metal platform, she saw the boxy form of a mechanical man with an impassive face made up of blinking diodes. His arms were long stretches of cable tipped by powerful clamps, clamps which were currently locked securely around the wrists of a small redhead, tears running down her cheeks. Juniper took a few steps to the side to see around the creature and cringed. Her muscles were taut, pulled to the breaking point, and it only took a moment to realize why. In place of genitals, the machine-man was packing a broad iron bar covered in coils of copper conductor, a tesla coil-like contraption that was not only pumping her vigorously, but running electrical current into her most delicate places.

Juniper became vaguely aware of a faint, musty smell as she kept moving forward. At the next exhibit, she saw the woman first this time, hovering suspended in the air. Her eyes refocused after a moment, though, and she saw that the woman was not hovering at all, instead, encased within a spherical monstrosity of clear fluid, her eyes closed but her limbs were bent at awkward angles as if she were gripped rather than floating, and where one leg had not been engulfed she could see the fabric of a sock implying that the creature's touch was corrosive to fabric. This one wasn't holding back at all, someone had rendered in distressing detail every fold of the woman's insides as this transparent beast forced it's way into every available orifice. Juniper picked up the pace slightly, no longer wanting to dwell in this place, but compelled by dream logic to move forward rather than back.

A lumpy green giant held a woman by her waist in one giant hand, pulling her onto his enormous cock and visibily stretching her out as he pushed into her belly, using her like a cock sleeve while her back was arched and tongue lolled out, struggling to break the grip of his fingers. A svelte woman with skin like chrome stood in a dark stone room, a girl before her strapped tightly against a leather padded cross, stinging welts bleeding openly where a lash had tasted the younger girls' flesh. Serpents wound their way around a small Indian girl, coiling tightly around her and sliding inquisitively inside as she struggled in vain. Juniper slowed as she passed this last exhibit. Something was off. The smell was only intensifying as she moved forward. . .and. . .did it seem warmer in here?

She came to a stop in front of the next exhibit. A man in dark voluminous robes sat impassively upon a throne, red LED eyes burning balefully from behind a faceless mask as he boredly regarded the scene in front of him. A girl struggling and twisting on the floor before the throne, a half dozen impish creatures crawling over her, tugging her hair as they forced her to choke on their anatomy, claws cutting into pale skin as they scrambled for purchase to thrust from, but there was something. A white substance, beading on the skin of the woman. At first, she thought it was just a part of the exhibit, another example of the creepy level of detail in this place, but then a bead gained enough weight to roll over the woman's side. Juniper swept one leg over the rope, put in place to keep visitors from interacting with the exhibits, and ran a finger over her cold, bare curves. Sure enough, it left a streak of white on the figure, and a bit of wax on her finger. She tried to roll it between her fingers, to make a little ball, but it only seemed to smear across her skin . . . perhaps it wasn't wax at all.

As stepped back onto the carpet, pausing as she heard a soft >splish< accompany her footfall. She looked down, and sure enough, a river of white stuff was running through the hall. A steady flow of the stuff was running from the exhibits behind her. She picked her foot up and took the next step, though the tred of her shoe stuck like to a movie theater floor. She picked up the pace, running further along now, only glimpsing the exhibits as she moved along now. A woman wailed in protest, held in the arms of some blue-skinned monster as another girl hungrily bucked in the embrace of tendrils that ran back to the same creature along the floor. Two hulking beasts took a woman from either side, thrusting deeply into her in time as cum ran from her sex and dribbled from her nose. The next exhibit was already sagging and melted, leaning forward. She heard it crash as she ran by, the splatter as it fell into the rivulets catching the backs of her legs.

She could hear it building up speed behind her now. It didn't sound like a trickling anymore, it was a river. A wave surged forward as something else behind her fell, and suddenly she was knee deep in the stuff. Far ahead, she could see the green glow of an exit sign, but the higher the stuff got, the harder it was for her to move. Suddenly, something caught hold of her ankle and jerked hard, sending her sprawling face first, though she managed to catch herself with her elbow at the last moment. She struggled to get back to her feet, but something was holding her, ass in the air as she struggled to keep her head above water. Another wave rolled passed her, and as it receded two baleful yellow eyes looked smugly up at her from the milky surface. A bubble of air resolved itself into a pair of creamy lips.

"Welcome to the show, Dearie."

She tried to pull back, but the stuff was alive, pseudo pods reaching up and grabbing hold of her shoulders and neck. She opened her mouth to scream, and it pulled her forward hard, like plunging into a warm salty ocean. She twisted and fought, but the stuff was thick, she couldn't clear her throat, she was drowning --

-- -- --

"AUGH!" she suddenly jerked forward from the wall, gasping for air, clutching at the shelving in front of her. She shuddered involuntarily, closing her eyes and shaking.

"Fuck . . ." she muttered, "God dammit" she cursed, looking around, trying to gauge the time.

That is an interesting theory, one I am sure that does not appeal to you if that is the case. I do not know if that is the case or not, perhaps the 90% that isn't selected here are moved to another school to reevaluated. He shrugged not really knowing. He did now about the fate of the students though he implied that he knew altough he did not say allowing her to do her work. He was certain that in time if she kept digging she would come up with something that was close enough to the truth. He had not encountered someone so dedicated to the pursuit of truth and figured that she would acquire it in time.

Outwardly he sais nothing as she wrestled with how he looked, how creepy things could be if he did something throughout the night. He had considered calming her nerves somewhat but knew that issues of trust were strong with her, she did not trust easily and would she believe him that she had nothing to worry about? Probably not, not until nothing occurred a few times at least. Yes, she could look at this as a form of desperation and not commardie. He allowed her to come to grips with that in her own way, whatever made her sleep better at night he supposed.

She may have thought that her mind was a scary place but as a telepath he had connected with a great deal of minds that had been worse. In fact, hers had not truly been indoctrined into the way of life here on the island. Close but not quiet …

He even considered altering a dream or even bestowing a dreamless sleep upon her but he refrained. He had to get use to not altering her perceptions for their agreement, and a pretty lie would not appeal to her as much as a darker truth.

But he felt her entering REM sleep and watched her dream unfold. He did not alter it, just watched as he was aware of what cast into her mind … London, he could smell the scent of the cigareete, the aroma of chill dampness that the fog brought with it on the night. With his senses he would have been able to see clearer, further but he had been tapped into her senses for this and was thus limited to what she perceived, what her mind created. It was a vivid dram to be certain, yes her dream was as clear as any he would have conjured up. He figured that this was going to be a darker dream considering what had transpired to her this night, almost happened …

A wax museum, huh? That was never good, not as obvious as a haunted house but the creepiness factor was higher in a way. Wax figures of celebrities, serial killers, infamous figures. It was cooler here so the figures would not melt added to the atmosphere, that creepiness that set into matters at the back of Juni's mind. No one up front, was she alone here? Was this the metaphor of her life on the island that she was alone here? That perhaps the other students were like the wax models, so transparent, each with their own appeal to a monster in a way. The tough girl type, the demure one, the flamboyant …

The sketches played a part here as she traveled from exhibit to exhibit. As expected the displays showed monsters of all types. Tin Man was there in the second display, yes, he had used actual monsters in his illusionary display and now Juni was draming about them, her mind filling in the blanks about them in one fashion or another, sometimes right, sometimes missing the mark but Aegir was a silent observer her and let the dream play out. He had his suspions on how it would end though.

She picked up the pace after seeing Blob and imagining what he was capable of. Aegir found that she was spot on here as far as determining his corrossive qualties to clothing.

She had seen the giant Thudd and the woman with the snakes, Mercury. She soon noticed that it was growing warmer here as she went on, the exhibit starting off as cool but transgressing to a warmer state. Aegir knew what that implied and at the back of her mind he knew that Juni knew the implications behind why it was warmer here and not cooler …

Interesting … at first he assumed that her mind was going to generate something out of the Twilight Zone with the wax figures coming to life or that she discoved the exhibits were more than exhibits and by the end she might join them but her mind was running over events of the night, events from the sketches and her own imagination.

As she was held down by this thing, close to joining those scenes or rather what they had displayed she woke with a start.

Good morning ... Aegir was still present sitting opposite of her. Some of the guards returned to the area after the suggestion wore off, they were no longer looking for you at this stage. It is still early but you should be able to get to your dorm and get cleaned up before class. I have some codes to procure and will transmit them by noon today. I only have to get in close proximity of your mind to do this so if you get them while in class there is no need to be alarmed ...

She jerked slightly when her eyes came upon the sight of him sitting on the floor across from her, and as he bid her a cordial good morning her face screwed up in irritation. She wasn't angry at him, exactly, it was the same distaste she'd experience if anyone had seen her in that brief state of waking panic. Intellectually, she knew he had a ringside seat to her emotional state, and that he'd seen a lot worse form her last night. The fact that she'd given that out freely in a state of relief and gratitude twisted in her guts as well.

"Good morning, Dear." she said, putting on a smile, though she couldn't keep the acid from dripping into her voice. She swore there was something about his face that looked bemused . . . but, then, she got that kind of impression from him a lot, and quickly tucked it away as being unable to read his face.

"It sounds like everything is going according to plan, then." she said with a nod, lightly running her fingertips over the wound length of tape, looking for the tab she'd left herself last night, "For a damn change, anyway. If the guards aren't looking for me, Rena's probably already working her way through the channels for her data-mining project." she smirked a bit to herself, imagining the creature shouting and pounding the desk as it made demands of her higher ups, completely losing composure. It wasn't likely, but the notion that she'd thrown a branch in her spokes did give Juniper a warm, fuzzy feeling. Which lasted about as long as it took her to start unwinding that tape, when it was replaced by the sharp discomfort of tugging skin and pulled hair.

"I'd better get going if I'm going to finish up in the shower before the other girls get there. The less people asking questions, the better." she said, climbing to her feet without the benefit of the shelves this time. She took a few steps towards the door, her eyes hard but her gait straight. For a moment, it seemed as though she was going to leave without even the politeness of a proper farewell, but as her hand rested on the doorknob, she hesitated.

" . . . Listen . . . " she said lowly, grimacing slightly, "Thanks. For all your help. Even if you're not exactly doing it out of the goodness of your heart, I don't imagine most of you things take the time to even treat us like people. So, thanks, for that. Good luck."

He sensed the acid in her words but seemed to pay it no attention. In his time on the island he had heard much worse accenuated comments with actual thoughts behind them too so It seemed as if this was an old song and dance he had gotten use to.

Aegir accepted her excuses for wishing to part company. It made sense and he had wondered what his exact move would be if he were in her situation, if he was unfortunate enough to be born a human that was.

It was an entertaining thought for the three seconds or so that it lasted. He eyed her as she unwound the tape from her leg and got to her feet preparing to go.

She let him know that she appreciated this though he knew he liked the fact that she was confessing this. Of course he had his own interests in all this but she had been different from the hysterical students he so often encountered, searching for answers he admired that even if he realized that would get her in trouble, even if she had assumed it would there was something remarkable about perserving in this matter.

She turned towards the door, her gait better than yesterday.

You are most welcome Juniper. And it is hearts, I have two. You will find that I am unlike most other beings on this island but before you go I could do something about that leg … it does require me in pressing into your mind a bit though. But I leave that decision up to you of course.

Perhaps the offer to assist her was to make it more likely that his whims were completed, perhaps not …

"That's most gracious of you." she said, pushing that fake smile again and hoping it reached her voice, "But it'll all be taken care of when we settle up anyway. I can persevere that long." at least, that's what her lips said. However, her shoulders drew tense and her lips pressed hard together after she was finished in a way that clearly revealed her mind even if he weren't a telepath, I'd rather suffer.

She imagined it wouldn't keep him from responding in her mind, but she pushed her way through the door to indicate she wasn't open to discussion on the matter. She ran her fingers through her hair, brushing leaves out of her hair and knocking dirt from her clothes as she walked. She wouldn't be doing any running, trying to force herself had been how she'd done so damage last night after all. Instead, she moved with purpose. Back straight, shoulders back, chest out, eyes straight ahead, her steps came quickly but they weren't overly long, doing her best impression of one of the Headgirls she'd seen prowling the halls on her first day.

She glanced back and forth down the hall as she moved out of the main thoroughfares, hoping to reduce the odds of running into anyone as she zeroed in on the dorms. Her thoughts drifted back to Aegir. His telepathic abilities were . . . frustrating. In her pursuit of the truth, she'd actually gotten quite used to employing deception herself. Showing someone what they expected to see, while pursuing her own goals under the surface of that act. But that smokescreen was useless around him, he could flawlessly pinpoint the motives behind every gesture. The way she'd curbed her cursing to try and appear more reasonable, more amiable. Whether her irritation was with him or herself. Exactly how hurt she was. Even politeness seemed redundant when you knew the other party could gauge for themselves exactly how grateful or reluctant you were.

"Shit. . ." the notion that, in some ways, he was an evolved version of herself stung. Portraying what people expected with mental images as one hid the truth about themselves. The truth would come easily to him, who merely needed some time in close proximity to someone to pry loose whatever secrets interested them, I am not jealous of that thing! she thought heatedly.

She swallowed something down outside of her dorm, rubbing her thumb across her fore- and middle fingers so she could make sure the grip was right. Then, she gingerly grabbed hold of the doorknob, silently opening it. She held her breath, the hinges glided silently as she pulled the door open and slipped in. She grabbed her clothes and pulled them off roughly, heedless of the lump under her roomie's blanket as she tossed them roughly to one corner of the room, grabbing a towel and her night clothes from off the foot of her bed.

Just a day like any other. she thought, breathing out through her nose, Try not to focus on the monsters . . . and for God's sake, if you run into the bitch, stay calm. She can probably smell fear.

She was a stubborn one. Though he could have dulled her perceptions to the pain and thus allow her better movement with it, unrestricted even there was still the possibility that she would press herself too much not having the pain as a guide line.

Very well ...

She had thought over how similar she was to the telepath and wrestled with some thoughts there. She analyzed him and how they had been similar in a way, could she have been like him if she possessed those sorts of abilities?

Juni soon found herself back at the dorms, no security, no head girls, she had been lucky to get back to her dorm room. Luckier not to wake her room mate as she rummaged around for clothes and avoided all those tell tale questions at what was to come.

Luckier still that she avoided the notorious “shower beast” that the other student encountered. Perhaps it was not expecting one to shower this early.

So it was early morning during another boring class when the announcement was made over the intercom.

Physicals will be conducted for first and second year students tomrorrow at noon students with last names beginning in A through M in the first year class will report to the nurses office. N though Z at 2 o'clock. The following day will be sophmores, A to M at noon and again N through Z at 2.

The announcement repeated one finally time and before she could even consider it words were pressing into her mind.

User name Rennie, password Hunter7. No space between Hunter and seven, captial H.

Getting through the day had been a little easier than she'd thought it would be. The routine helped to ground her, looking in the mirror as she drew the red tie close around her neck. The stockings did their job, and had the pleasant side effect of making her feel less like a stiff breeze was going to be the end of her modesty. It was a bit ostentatious though, she had to admit, pulling out her oft-ignored makeup kit, she'd just have to pass it off as indulging herself a bit. She touched herself up with a tastefully minimalist approach to her makeup, a light pink lipstick, a bit of foundation to make her look better rested than she was, and a pale blue eyeliner. She rummaged around in her drawer for a moment before finding her old hair clips, the fact that the faux blue stones matched up with her uniform only helped.

She didn't have access to the kinds of resources the drama department had, and trying to break in there would've just added unnecessary risk to the enterprise. Anonymity was the best disguise she could ask for, and fortunately she was quite practiced at donning it. She hadn't made any friends since coming to the new school, so there was no one to question the wardrobe change. She affected boredom in her classes, though she paid attention enough to answer correctly when called upon by the instructor. Just another student, falling seamlessly back into the illusion of normalcy that the school used as it's cover.

Heh, still too slow, Darling she thought smugly to herself, though outwardly she joined the rest of the class in grumbling about the intrusion into their lunch period. Then, the growingly familiar presence of Aegir pressed what she needed into her mind. She kept a straight face, glancing up at the clock.

Got it she thought, writing the information onto one corner of the page and then erasing it. It was a pneumonic, perhaps an unnecessary one considering it was being stamped directly onto her gray matter, but she found it always helped to write these kinds of things out, I'll hit the computer lab during lunch break.

And, indeed, that was exactly what she did. She kept to her schedule, attending each course, keeping herself surrounded by students as much as possible. It was convenient in a way, when she was in class she could sit and rest her leg, and when she was walking the halls they were packed densely enough that she couldn't have moved quickly even if she were so inclined. During their free period, instead of heading towards the cafeteria directly, Juniper fell in with some of the other students who were running behind on research projects and were looking to make up lost time in the lab. A group of them were apparently discussing the finer points of the same assignment, and she kept close in their wake, giving the appearance to outsiders that she was one of them while staying silent to avoid drawing attention from the inner circle itself. As she reached the front desk, she flashed her student ID a bit too quickly for the receptionist to notice anything more than the matching face, and then jotted "Gigi Adams" down in the register.

Finding an open machine, she set her satchel on the desk to one side of her to block the view, then took out one of her text books and set it on the other side with the cover open as if she was going to be referencing it or copying from it, though in reality it was all pretext to blocking her screen from outside observers. She opened a tin of mints and tossed one into her mouth as she looked at the log-in screen, rolling it over with her tongue, not for the first time missing the familiar feeling of a cigarette in her lips.

I guess now we see how good your word is... she ruminated to herself, plugging Rennie / Hunter7 into the computer and quickly hammering out a command to check the permissions on the account. She didn't want to spend longer doing this than she had to.

A sneer stretched across her features as she flopped down another application to the school on the desk. She was frustrated of course and slammed her fist down on the desk making a sicking noise. Rena glared at Gus who had been busy thumbing through file after file, looking at the pictures of applicants before discarding it.

Shoshuku did have an odd application process, some of the questions seemed outrageous and a little too personel but he wasn't in administeration, he was in security so that was not his problem.

His attention was cast back to the nurse. “I'm sure she's here somewere.”

“SHE'S NOT! I'VE BEEN OVER THE FILES A DOZEN TIMES NOW!”

Gus shrank in his seat a little. “Maybe she's been here awhile ...”

“Gus, you are an idiot. A fat, bald idiot at that who probably hasn't gotten lucky in what, six years.”

“Seven.” The drone aswered his queen honestly.

“If she were an old student I would have already known about her. Keep looking for her, you got a look at her.”


“It was pretty dark.” He got the look of his queen and gulped. “Yes, I got a good enough look at her.”

“Break time for you is nearly over now go, find her and report to me when you do.”

“Yes, your highness.” Ang Gus left her in her cluttered office as she knocked the stack of folders off her desk to the floor out of frustration.





Juniper made it through the day without too much fuss though occassional she glimpses a security guard in the hall searching the sea of faces but hers had not seemed to stick out, probably because these guys had not seen her and had to go off a description. She could only hope that the bald one steered them wrong though.

Gving her name as the fictious Gigi Adams she took her seat then began to barracade her screen from being viewed before setting in the user name and pass word though the little hour glass logo appeared and it took a moment but a page loaded, the icon Shokushu at the top. She was connected to a mainframe it seemed, there were three files listed; Hunters, Prey, Tests.

No one seemed to be paying attention to her at the moment as the three files appeareed there on the screen.

Good, good Juniper thought as the hourglass faded and she crossed the first hurdle into the computer's mainframe. She raised an eyebrow at the main directories, how conveniently straight forward. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard for a moment . . . with a few keystrokes she could wipe out the registry of prey, how much suffering could she prevent with such a maneuver? But she shrugged off the temptation, she couldn't afford to give away the only edge she had so frivolously, they would simply restore from backups or choose new prey in retaliation. Better to stick to the plan, she pressed two keys, bringing up the administrative commands.

Okay, here we go. New account type, "rat". Permissions . . . full security access . . . full read/write . . . do not enable randomization cipher . . . good. Move to a new directory, deeper, deeper, okay they shouldn't trip over that. Do it again, new account type, "doll" . . . new account type "worm" . . . new account type "hope" she worked furiously through the system. Each account type spawned four accounts like "Allusion2Odin / 1I4DWell" or "GigiAdams /Keep,D.Faith!", or occasionally a barb like "KeepitPG13 / F'UDad>:P". If even one slipped the net, she could use it to create a whole new host of entries, ah, the glory of computers. Now she just had to make sure that even if none of them slipped the net, she could make her way back in, though she couldn't make it too easy.

She backed up to the main directory, tapped a few keys, a list of IP Addresses staring back at her. Keeping the smirk off her face, she moved into a few secure directories and installed new protocols. If you knew where to look, for ten minutes every two weeks, you could bypass the network security and get inside. She hammered a few more similar time sensitive windows into the coding for good measure. She secreted a few permanent mouse holes into the firewall for good measure as well, disguised as permissions for networked games that didn't exist.

Taking a deep breath, she logged out of the mainframe, before signing in as "Rattrap / Recon&Demo" . From there, she pulled up the logs of "Rennie / Hunter7", a text file detailing every command she'd input since logging in under the name. With a flick of her wrist, she highlighted all of it, from log-in to log-out and hit the delete key. And it was like she'd never been there. Oh, the damage was still done, but there were no fingerprints left to trace the actions to that account . . . which meant that the only way anyone could find anything she'd tucked away was to manually explore the entire intranet and notice the harmless little files that were out of place.

No need for you to suffer on my account, 'Rennie' she thought, Even if you are probably a race traitor. she made her way over to the student files, switching the picture of her face in the computer for that of the most plain and generic looking graduate she could find in short order. One of the blessed 90%, someone who hadn't caught the attention of any of the creatures when she'd been here, and thus someone unlikely to catch their attention now. She logged out with a deep sigh, closing the book on her desk and tucking it into the satchel.

Log-in confirmed, and mission accomplished. she thought, making her way out of the Lab, even pausing to sign herself out in the registry. She crushed the mint between her teeth, smiling a bit as she entered the hallway. She had questions, of course, she wanted nothing less but to crack open those databases and start sucking the information out of them, but that would have to wait for a more private moment, lest she jeopardize the entire enterprise Now, we just need to settle up.

The ,akority of the files that the user had accessed were either in the Prey Files or Experiments. She found as she poured through the data and left herself some routes to get back in that this set up was rather plain and straight forward, almost too straightforward.

She had access to those files and a little bit more when she really worked at it though it was almost like playing a multiple player game online, there was no dealing if the program wasn't installed on a plehora of computers and that the deleted files weren't just files deleted from the Rennie account.

It was almost as if this had been set up for monsters in fact, a list of victims, experiments underway and some details on the other monsters perhaps. Though it wasn't as straight forward there were other programs that she could access through the back door so to speak assisting in getting past firewalls meant to keep the students out and other pesky security measures.

She even found a data base with all the students on the island, thumbing through it to find her own file, switch out the pic and – the file did not exist! It made no sense, it should have been there with all the new students but it was gone as if someone had lost it or did not have those details. Another option was that it could have been deleted from this account only or maybe already move to the Prey prematurely she hoped though the file could not be found there after doing a search for it. Baffling indeed.

But Aegir had already said he would give her three different passwords since one was good for only a day before it changed. Could she get different logon names to see if this was the case, if the file existd but for some reason not here or if in fact there was no record of it.

It may not matter in the long run if there was a file on her or not though it would have not really made much sense for there not to be one on her. Was this some fluke lucky brake or was there something more behind this?

She hadn't the time to explore that avenue of thought, busy making back doors into this “generic” system. It could have been that more insidious things had been detailed in those files and sub files. She was uncertain and didn't have the time right now to shift through things. Perhaps later when her room mate was at her science lab she could hope to access a few things but not right now.

She signed out, the draw to stay and do a little more work on those files had been strong. It was like getting a new toy that she wanted to play with. Access was tougher than expected and not as easy for her but she had been able to do what she had hoped. The files while extensive were only on those three things and there was little chance in accessing much else though she did find some sub directories that had been chalk full of student applications, some marked with an asterix, probably potential victims or experiments for this Rennie character but she managed to pull herself away from matters, most of what she wanted to do done she signed out with that pseudo name and had been left as to her next move. Settle up with squid face? Get other accounts to double cheek a few things and possible gain even deeper access or even start pouring over information. She also still had a few minutes left in lunch so grabbing a quick bit to eat was not out of the question …

Was that the blond she saw the other night? The one she encountered with Rena now moving down the hall?

Juniper chewed the crushed tablet, letting the strong flavor numb her tongue as she made her way down the hallway. Her luck had taken a decided downturn since she'd enrolled in Shokushu, so her instincts told her to be wary of the fact that her profile didn't seem to be a part of the general database. The best option was that she had a guardian angel, but that meant she was being swept up in someone's influence, and she was distinctly aware of the fact that one of the main directories she'd seen was "Experiment". The worst case scenario was that Rena had already found her and taken her out of the general directory preemptively because she was about to get Disappeared.

She rolled her eyes sarcastically, a bit of her natural personality showing through under the makeup given the comparatively empty halls. She supposed it was also possible that she wasn't a student, and was instead some freak's sciene faire program. Aritificial life, heh, if they were capable of making something like that they wouldn't need to trick people into this place to begin with.

Either way, once she had a good, private moment she was going to hit that Experiments directory and start digging. It wasn't that she didn't want to know more about the creatures on the island, it was that she was looking for resources, and also trying to get a better idea of exactly how depraved this place could get. She mulled over settling accounts with her benefactor . . . but the deal had been for three passwords. Independent verification of how much information was shared between accounts would be useful, and she couldn't afford to pass up the chance that he'd hit on something truly extraordinary.

Besides, there was no doubt that he'd be getting his effort's worth at the end, it behooved her to make him work for it.

She blinked a bit as she caught a glimpse of the blonde from last night. She had to admit that she was curious if she'd made it away . . . but she was also distinctly aware that she was working in concert with a telepath right now. If she hadn't woken up, if Rena had gone back to the examination room, there was no telling what she'd done. It was entirely possible that blondie was acting as a bird dog. Juniper had cared enough to move into action for her sake, she might care enough to check in with her again now, and the moment that blondie recognized her BAM!

Juniper turned her head away from the other girl for a moment, looking at the row of lockers she was passing. She picked a likely one and stopped, fiddling with the lock at random, pretending to switch out her books for the next course long enough for the blonde to walk passed her. Unfortunately, her instincts as a reporter were digging at her. She couldn't just let every speculated threat keep her off the trail of the truth, or she'd never find it. Sighing, she took a step back and reversed course, picking up the pace as she fell in line behind the blonde.

"Don't turn around, keeping walking forward." she stated simply, she'd realized that her voice wouldn't give her away since Rena had knocked the poor girl unconscious before their verbal sparring had begun, "Did you have a nice nap last night?" she managed, almost conversationally, taking a quick look around to make sure no uniforms were closing in on the two of them.

She had been paranoid in that she did not know what Rena did if anything as she saw the blond haired girl. She had not gotten a great look at her either as she pretended to fiddle with a locker and allowed her to pass her by.

She was older it looked by a few years though it was likely that she could have been younger than she appeared and the apparent age had been due to being stressed like Lincoln was during the Civil War … certainly she may have been stressed with what she saw here on the island.

But Juni moved in behind the girl, the long blond hair flowing down to her ass was certainly an easy enough feature that she was able to hone in on. The girl had been alone and while Juni approached and spoke their was a noticeable shiver that came over the other girl.

She nearly turned around, it was not as if Juni had a gun on her, though she halted before doing so, perhaps mistaking her as a monster that had picked up upon her again.

“Please ...” she sounded frightened, the references to the nap narrowing down the list of subjects though the girl did not seem to recognize the voice and could only think it might have been the student from the other night or maybe even one of Rena's flunkies, yes, the chances were pretty good that was the case.

“What do you want? I swear I'll tell no one, just leave me alone.”

"Ssssssh. . ." she said in an effort to be comforting, "I don't want to hurt you." and that much was true. She'd let the satchel with he books slide down until she was holding it by her fingertips, if the girl had tried to turn and look it would've been a quick step to her blind side as she caught the loose arm and pressed her into the lockers with a wrist lock. She didn't want to go down that route, but, she wasn't in the kind of condition to take risks. Idly, she realized that if that was how she felt, she probably should've just let the girl go by, but it was a little late for that now.

"I'm just checking up on you. I left you in a bit of a bind, but it seemed like I got that thing to waste half the night, so I was hoping you managed to slip away." she said, checking the nearest hallway intersection for guards, "Sorry for the cloak and dagger routine, but I'm in the middle of something . . . delicate."

“Who are you?” Then it seemed to click. “The girl from the other night? Your new here right?” She blurted out as people ignorant to their conversation and to caught up in their own with friends and what not continued by without noticing them.

As Juni took a look around preparing for the worst if the other girl turned around she saw one security guard at the end of the hall. He seemed to be in no hurry as he nonchalantly headed in her direction but it was not a direct course. He stopped her and there and then proceeded on, even saying hello to an older student, little doubt what he was thinking there or perhaps they had been doing something for the attention was well received. It could have been an innocent hello and the two did not know one another at all but that seemed doubtful given the blush that stole over the girls features.

The guard was younger barely much older and had the high school quarter back look about him to say the least.

“I – I got away after. I woke up and you and Rena had been gone so I counted my blessings that she wasn't around and took off though she's doing these physicals and she's going to find me again.”

There was a measure of defeat in the sophmores voice as she spoke as if she did not know how she was going to avoid the impending doom to come, if it were going to come that is. It suddenly made sense why the physicals weren't just for the freshmen but rather the sophmores as well. She had not seen the blond during orientation so it was likely that she might have been a sophmore though given that she looked older than that she could have very well been a junior or even senor as well.

"Thank god." Juniper said, letting out a breath that she hadn't been entirely aware she was holding. She shifted her grip on the bag, pressing it back into her palm as she nodded imperceptibly, "Yeah, I'm new here, fresh off the turnip truck, so to speak. I managed to give the bitch the slip too, but I was worried she'd circle back and take her frustrations out on you. So, I'm glad you got out of there."

Juniper tried not to watch the security guard too intently, she didn't want to give off a suspicious vibe. He was handsome enough, she guessed, she had enough sinister goings on to take up her attention without concerning herself with a mutual youthful indiscretion. Though it reinforced her negative feelings towards the island's security in general.

"Yeah, I think I'll be skipping that. I didn't run my ass off just so I could hand myself over two days later." she said, reaching out to pat her shoulder, "Look, Freshman do their physicals a day earlier. If you give me your room number and I manage to give her the slip again, I'll pass the location of my hiding place under the door tomorrow night. You're not alone in this, okay? Keep the faith."

The feeling of being exposed was creeping up on her slowly, but surely. She waited just long enough to get the room number, and then without any kind of farewell she stopped following the other girl. For all intents and purposes, she'd vanished as suddenly as she'd appeared. She supposed it was unfair of her to expect all the blonde to do all the trusting, Juniper hadn't shared anything of herself yet, not even a name. That said, if she didn't suspect Juni of being a plant by Rena, she was getting something for nothing, so she didn't exactly feel guilty either.

Casually, she reached up to adjust her hair clip, conveniently covering her face with her hand as she moved by the uniformed Casanova. The day was half over, and it occurred to her that she needed to keep her strength up. Juniper started heading towards the cafeteria, even if she barely had time for anything more than a bread roll and a canned tea, it was better than trying to do all this espionage on an empty stomach.