Who: JD and Zoe What: Checking In. And dinner When: Friday 28th June, afternoon/evening Where: The Facility, the Marketplace and Liberty Street Rating: Low Status: Complete
A few weeks had passed since the incident in one of the labs in the Facility that JD had to attend and report on, the report had gone to his superiors and as usual he was never sure of what was actually done afterwards, it was above his pay grade but hopefully the man responsible for the damage hadn’t gotten some kind of unusual punishment. For some reason that particular day he had opened his notebook to the pages of his notes on the incident and JD being JD decided he should really drop in and see how the young lady - Ms Parish - was going.
After completing his morning shift, he showered and changed in his civvies before heading from the Base to the Facility, flashing his ID badge to the guard at the door as he entered. Walking down the halls he saw that this time some of the other rooms had people in them, the official work day wasn’t over yet so he hoped that he’d be able to catch Ms Parish before she left for the day. He hadn’t forgotten the way and it wasn’t long until he found her little office and he knocked on the door.
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Anyone who would have looked in on her would have thought she was sleeping with her eyes open or lost in thought or just ignoring her work. In reality she was reviewing a book on thermal conductivity she’d read four years earlier. One of the residents ran colder than most, and was finding even the Washington summers a bit too warm. They’d come to the island from Alaska. So, she was trying to figure a way to help.
The knock on the door was registered, but it took a few moments for her mind to respond. Sort of like a computer running too many programs. Zoe blinked and looked to the door. Her schedule pulled up mentally as she checked her tablet. She didn’t have any appointments and there were none added last minute. Getting up from her chair she moved to the door and opened it. And immediately regretted it.
The guard JD. Her mind immediately flashed back to their first meeting and how she probably came off as a robot or something and then a completely awkward mess. And why couldn’t guys wear shirts that fit? It was at least a size too small- no ones arms should. Fuck, she was looking at his arms. “Hi.” She said with a small tilt of her head. “Umm… how can I help you?”
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For once JD was actually wearing one of his looser shirts, although trying to get anything that was loose around his biceps was difficult at the best of times and half the time the shirts that were loose made him look like he was wearing some kind of dress. He also realized how much different he must look to civilians when he wasn’t dressed in a pressed uniform and carrying around some kind of firearm.
“Uh.. hey Ms Parish.” He said, offering a smile. “I just wanted to see how you were going after your… excitement a few weeks ago.” She had been in the process of trying to figure out where everything went after most of the containers of bits and pieces got knocked over and ended up all over the floor. In an odd kind of way JD was also trying to show that he wasn’t like the other guards, they would never have bothered to check up on someone. “Make sure that you haven’t had a repeat since then.”
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“Oh.” Zoe took a step back, her workspace was all put back together, the only evidence anything had happened was the divet it in wall from where the shard of metal had implanted itself. “Yea, everything’s good. They reassigned him.” She said, a little pleased she didn’t have to deal with someone so hostile. She just tried to do her job and help people- but residents like the one she’d encountered that day were constant reminders that not everyone approved of what she did.
She gestured behind her to her lab a little. “See. No harm no-” Zoe tried to not change the expression on her face as the event started to replay in her mind. “Foul.” Her smile thinned a little as she saw the shelves being forced over as she looked back just in time to be missed by the metal shard. Her hand reached up to the side of her face as she remembered the rush of air, covering by tucking some hair behind her head.
Replaying events wasn’t unusual for her. It tended to happen more than she’d care to admit. Zoe had gotten good at hiding it, masking it from others. Even if the ‘bad’ memories hit her a little harder than others.
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He glanced over her shoulder and into the office, getting a quick look that it was indeed all back to normal and it seemed like Zoe was onto another project, at least she had enough to keep her busy and wasn't that what they all wanted, for work to be stimulating and not just sit around and be bored all day. Some days his own job was in the later of the two types, especially patrolling during quiet times but it gave him time to think at least.
"That's good to hear. This isn't a war zone, one shouldn't have to worry about their safety when they're at work." He had lived with that for years when he was deployed over in Afghanistan, his work was dangerous and he knew that it was possible that each patrol, every time that he left the compound that he might not return. At least on the island it was a lot safer for him and he was trying to make the residents feel the same but with the behaviour of the other guards he sometimes wondered if it was an uphill battle. "And no other kind of… problems?" He asked, he knew that there had been an increase in the amount of assaults and property damage in the past few weeks, hopefully this wouldn't last.
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Zoe shook her head. “Not really.” At least not for her. She’d heard stuff of course. People talked, she listened- couldn’t really help it. Everything sort of absorbed into her memory. Most of it she didn’t pay attention to- unless it pertained to her. “I mean beyond the normal problems they give me to solve- but nothing out of the ordinary.” She noticed the time. “Oh wow. It’s already after five.” Quite after. “They don’t actually pay me overtime.” She chuckled, moving into the lab and to her main desk. She picked up her backpack and tablet. “Okay, badge, tablet, backpack- oh… need an o-ring for Jaune… I should have one small enough…” She was talking to herself as she moved to one of the bins of plastic rings and found one about the size of a dime. Tucking it into her pocket she looked up at JD. “I bet you’ve had lots of… other incidents and stuff you’ve dealt with?”
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He was glad to hear that there hadn’t been any other incidents in or around the laboratory and workshop areas, but JD also knew that some other damage - to both property as well as to people was the result of guards trying to assert their authority, something that really annoyed him, they were on the island to protect the residents and not to cause them pain or suffering. There was something about how content Zoe seemed to be in her laboratory here, he wished everyone had that kind of contentment. “Yeah. I don’t think any of us get overtime here.” He said with a smile, that was true for some of the guards, though it was hard getting them to actually work for their full shift, let alone longer! “Had a few incidents reported. Verbal disagreements, property damage and a few physical fights. Those are just what was reported, who knows what else has happened that hasn’t got reported.”
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“Some people are scared to report.” She said matter of factly. “I’m not saying they should be, or shouldn’t be. It’s just the truth.” Zoe tended to look at things pretty logically. While parts of her personality could be very illogical, she’d grown up in a very unique situation. Being smarter than your parents from an early age, and then developing a mind that couldn’t forget anything along with just knowing how things worked… it made for a different outlook on things. And a life where she spent a lot of it in her own head- willingly or not.
Pulling her backpack over her shoulder, she moved to the door. “There are some assholes on this island after all- ones I would totally see seeking revenge for being reported. At least that would be the risk you’d have to calculate when deciding to report- unless it happens in a public place where you have no choice.”
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JD knew that Zoe was right, so many residents would be too scared to report any kind of incident and honestly he couldn’t blame them, he knew that out of the dozens of guards that were stationed here that only a handful were to help the residents, the rest he wouldn’t even trust to look after a houseplant, let along with his life. “I know, it upsets me to see other guards treating everyone like they’re something scraped from the bottom of their shoe, we’re supposed to be here to help you guys and not cause more issues… but what do I know, I’m just a grunt to them.” That was true, most other guards just saw him as some big, dumb ex-military soldier.
He also agreed that there were people who would seek revenge if they found out someone had reported them. “Unfortunately there are assholes everywhere, they just seem to be more concentrated on the island than on the mainland. And yes, if it’s in public they kind of have to report it, a few days ago someone got hit in the head with a beer bottle while at Josie’s. That kind of behavior is definitely not tolerated.” As far as he knew the man was alright and the person who had wielded the bottle had spent a night or two in ‘lockup’. He also hoped that his talking to her wasn’t interrupting as she seemed to be wanting to leave. “And my apologies, I suppose you want to get going.”
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“Nowhere important.” Zoe admitted. “Just home… Probably should eat.” She didn’t really have a big social life. Practically nill actually. The barbeque at the end of May and Kyrie stopping by her place to drop off the blender had been about it outside of her job. Part of it was because she tended to take assignments home with her to mull over- at least in her mind. “I would think that you would have plans.” After all, guys who looked like him always seemed to have plans- right?
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“No, not really. I might drop into the cafeteria for something to eat but then it’s just back to my place and maybe a good book.” It wasn’t like JD had that much of a social life either, he didn’t drink so going to the bar after work for a few drinks was of no real interest to him and most of the time he did spend with company it was with just watching TV or a movie with Ian. Although the past few nights that he had spent with his friend he couldn’t really mention what kind of things they had done, he was still coming to terms with those things himself. “I did my gym workout this morning before my shift, can’t let myself get flabby.” He flexed his arms a bit, joking because, well he was definitely not going to get flabby any time soon.
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Zoe nodded, looking to JD just in time to see him flex. Her face got red and she laughed lightly- or tried to. Casual and all that. But no. It came out a bit too forced, too manic. At least it wasn’t too loud. “I- um.” She cleared her throat. “Yea. I’m sure there’s some… regulation… or something… you-” She looked to the floor and quickly walked out of the office.
With her back to him her face contorted a bit. Maybe she could blame her parents for not socializing her outside of her family more. Or maybe her brother for not being there with her. He always made her feel comfortable. Oh, shit- that was not a train of thought she wanted to get on. Zoe paused, stopping a few feet from the door and closed her eyes as that last moment she saw her twin replayed over her mind. She missed him so much. After a moment she took in a quick breath and blinked her eyes a bit- trying to not get emotional. “Sorry.. Um… what were we-”
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There wasn’t really any kind of fitness regulation for guards, a few of them were ‘mall cop’ rejects who were wider than they were tall, but they seemed to be mainly in the offices that housed the monitors where all the CCTV footage from the island went to. JD just knew that both he and Ian preferred to keep in shape and it was more for his own sanity than to look good, although he did know he looked imposing so that kind of helped. “No, not really. I just prefer to keep myself fit, I blame the army for that.”
He stood back, letting Zoe get out of her lab and close the door behind her, he did notice that she seemed to zone out for a moment, while some people might be concerned by such behavior JD had worked with enough veterans over the years and they often had moments like that, hell even he had moments after a flashback where he’d forget where and sometimes even who he was. “Talking about dinner and a quiet night in.”
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“Yea, right.” She nodded, wincing slightly to herself. “Probably going to go by the diner. Grab something to go. Need to go to the market next week and trade for some premade stuff.” Zoe wasn’t the best of cooks. Sure, she knew how to follow a recipe. But her food was just edible. And she wasn’t always creative with some of the stuff she got in her rations. So, she tended to trade ingredients for premade food- when she didn’t get too lost in things to miss the market. “But I guess you guys don’t really have to worry about that stuff, huh?” He’d mentioned the ‘cafeteria’ which checked out. They did work for the government, it made sense that there would be a mess hall for them. Never had to worry about cooking for themselves. Just like the military. Because as much as they said the guards weren’t military- they were sure ran like them sometimes.
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While it was true that the cafeteria did provide meals for the guards and other government employees on the island JD didn’t think that the food was overly brilliant at the best of times, he’d prefer making something in the small kitchen that was situated in a corner of his room, barracks accommodation wasn’t like the rest of the apartments either but at least they all had their own private bathrooms and they didn’t what to share. “Not as good as it sounds.” He said honestly. “Imagine your school cafeteria dialed up to about eleven.” Tasteless and not all that healthy. “But they do some good meals - mainly breakfasts though I’m not sure how someone can ruin bacon, eggs and toast? Half the time I just grab a salad or whatever meat they have for the day, I think tonight is chicken.” He hoped. “If not, I’ll just have to cook my own.”
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“I actually… never went to school.” Zoe admitted, tucking some hair behind her ear. “I was homeschooled.” Her step-sister had attended normal school, she was older and had already been enrolled so their parents didn’t want to suddenly pull her out. But Zoe and her brother were both homeschooled. She would have been so bored in regular school. “So, I’m not exactly sure what you mean… but I can guess. I was always lucky, my mom was a pretty good cook. Of course there was like a year there that my brother and I only wanted grilled cheese for lunch.” She laughed a little, trying to ignore that pang in her chest as she watched her mother from the kitchen island insisting that if they’re only going to have grilled cheese, she was going to put some turkey in it so they had some protein. After that they got more and more creative with their sandwiches.
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“Ah.” JD said, nodding a bit as Zoe told him that she was homeschooled. From what he could figure out from their brief conversations it didn’t surprise him, she seemed far more intelligent than he’d ever be and to be homeschooled where advanced lessons could be taught easily was the right way to go about nurturing such a mind. “Well the schools I went to the food was almost always bland and tasteless, they seemed to spend as little money as possible on each student and it wasn’t exactly healthy either.” It wasn’t something he missed when he dropped out of school at sixteen, but the food he had on the streets wasn’t exactly five star either. “Grilled cheese isn’t too bad, better than MREs heated by a tac vehicle engine.” How he didn’t miss those days, or cooking eggs on the front of said vehicle in the middle of summer in the desert.
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“If only I could make them myself.” She shrugged slightly. With smell being the easiest thing to trigger memories, there were some foods she never dared to cook- in those rare times she did. “But the diner is nice when I don’t have anything to heat up.” Zoe didn’t mind it. Food was just something to keep her body going after all.
“I’ll have to take your word for it.” As she’d never had MRE’s either. “Sounds like you’ve had more than a few interesting careers.” Of course, he was so much older than she was. He’d had a chance to live a life. Her life had stalled and was not confined to the island. A prospect she often tried not to think about. One reason she put so much into her work. After all, thinking about how long she’d been on the island- how long she could be and how much of a real life she was missing out on… it was a bit much.
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“Diners are always good for when you don’t feel like cooking or doing the washing up.” He had enjoyed more meals there than he could remember, and it wasn’t all greasy deep fried stuff either. “The food is a lot better than the cafeteria I promise you that!” Maybe he’d go here tonight, it sounded a lot tastier if nothing else.
“Not really. I was a high school dropout who went into the Army as soon as I turned eighteen, from there I did things for the VA and now I’m here, very boring if I’m honest.” He had done a course or two in fitness and health when he started with the VA but that was as far as his post school education had gone. But JD knew he was lucky that he could get off the island, the residents here, who honestly knew when they’d get off here, if ever.
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“You’ve done more than me.” Zoe said honestly. Sure, she’d gotten her GED when she was six, but she was too young to have done much else beyond learning new things- helping her brother with her homework and the occasional online class. Then, when she was a year from being an adult… she was brought to the island. “I didn’t really even have a chance to drop out of high school- if I’d wanted to.”
“Trust me… you’re not boring.”
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Zoe did have a point there, he might say that his life was boring but compared to most other people it was far from that. He was sure that somewhere in his record was mentions of his juvenile record but none of his coworkers (save for Ian) knew the details of what had happened in the time between when he ran away from home to when he joined the Army. It wasn’t a time he was proud of but it had helped shape him into the man he had become.
While they were talking they had walked slowly down the halls towards the front door of the building, JD stopped as they got closer to the exit. “I’m going to take that as a compliment, ‘JD - the not boring guard’.” He gave a small smile. “Guess this is where we should part company, unless you don’t mind getting seen out there with an off duty guard.” He knew a lot of residents would prefer it, to be seen with a guard - on or off duty might cause questions or judgements.
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“I don’t mind.” Who would mind walking with an adonis? “But do you want to walk with a- me?” She wasn’t sure what she was. A geek? A weirdo? A shill of the government? A child?
“Besides, I think we’re heading in the same general direction for a little bit at least. Would seem more awkward not to walk together.” Zoe pointed out.
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“What? A human?” JD said with a shrug of his shoulders, he didn’t mind walking with her. It was only if people took time and looked at his face that they might recognize him as a guard, in regular clothing he just blended in with the rest of the residents - as much as a six foot four man could blend in.
“Buying something from the diner sounds much more appetizing than whatever they have at the cafeteria this evening. So, Marketplace?” Even if he didn’t eat it there and just took it back to his own place, the journey still needed to be made.
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“That’s what I was thinking.” She nodded.
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The walk was a quiet one and Zoe didn’t mind too much. As they walked she continued to review the book on thermal conductivity - in her mind. She was pretty certain she could construct a coat or a vest that would help, but she’d have to make sure the controls kept an even temperature.
Once they got to the diner, Zoe seemed almost surprised- time was a little strange when you got into your head. Young entering she took a step toward the counter out of habit. Food to-go and then home was her normal routine. But she hadn’t entered alone. And, while the conversation had been quite casual- what conversation they did have- on the walk down (musing over what movie might be coming to the theatre next month), it had been nice.
It would be rude to just order and leave right? But surely he wouldn’t want to sit and dine with her. He was- she wasn’t the type of person who that happened to. Not really.
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There might not have been a lot of conversation between the two of them as they walked from the Facility to the Marketplace, but It was nice to have company that wasn’t another guard and really Zoe reminded him a bit of his younger sisters, while she appeared to have the innocence of youth was on her side, JD knew it wasn’t the truth - none of the residents were here voluntarily, they had gotten pulled from their lives and planted here on the island without and were trying to make the best of this ‘new’ life.
When they arrived at the diner JD held open the door for Zoe, never let it be said that he didn’t have manners. As for sitting and down and dining with company he hadn’t really thought about it, he had only really thought about getting food, not where he was going to go eat it. Looking at what was offered in the salads section he decided that a chicken caesar salad sounded delicious right about now. At least he knew the chicken was fresh, food delivery to the island had only occurred a few days ago.
“Anything takin’ your fancy?” The southern accent coming out a bit as he spoke.
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Zoe took a seat at the counter, looking at JD as he took up the menu. She glanced at it quickly, nothing had changed since the last time. “I’ll probably get…” The grilled cheese would be nostalgia for her, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to risk that. Even if it would be very tasty. “The club sandwich… or maybe the patty melt.” She mused, not actually looking at the menu. “I think I want something warm, so the melt.”
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He gave a curt little nod as he sat down on the seat next to Zoe, if she didn’t want his company than she’d say something but for the moment the company was still welcomed. “I’m going with the chicken caesar salad, something light after a long day.” Although with the dressing it wasn’t exactly the lightest of meals but it sounded more appetizing than something simple at his place. “If you’d rather not have my company, you can tell me goodbye, I won’t be offended.” She had given him more time and consideration than most other people would have.
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Zoe giggled slightly and shook her head. “No. It’s okay. I don’t mind the company actually. Just not used to having it.” She tucked some hair behind her ear. “Growing up I really just had my brother and step sister. I was always the ‘strange homeschooled’ girl growing up. My brother was too- but he was always a lot better with people than I was.” She admitted, happy that the waitress came by before he could reply.
“I’ll have a water and patty melt, with a side salad.” She ordered, opting for a healthier choice than fries. After JD ordered she fiddled with the napkin a little, pulling out a pen and doodling.
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“That makes two of us, you’re probably one of the first civilians who’s willing to be seen in the Marketplace with me, on or off duty.” While JD did know quite a few residents and had the regulars who used his unconventional ‘postal service’ not many of them wanted it to be known that they knew one another, but such was life on the island. He listened as she talked about her family growing up and it made him miss his own siblings and his nieces and nephews, he’d hopefully hear from them soon, his birthday was coming up and Penny and Anna always sent him a card, it was that slice of home he looked forward to.
“Can I please get a chicken caesar salad and a bottle of water.” He put in his order with the waitress too, smiling as she nodded and went about preparing their order. Turning his attention back to Zoe he glanced down at what she was doing, hoping that it wasn’t prying. “Getting ideas?” He enquired.
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She shrugged slightly. “I can’t ever seem to leave work at work.” And for as awesome as her mind was, it didn’t come with photoshop. She could figure rough blueprints in her head, but still needed to draw them out. “Sorry.” Zoe said, looking at him as she put the pen down. She knew she could multitask, hold a conversation and work- the only exception was when she triggered actual memories, then it could be harder. But most people thought it was rude. Hell, she did it even before she got ‘powers’. “So, are you from Washington or…” She asked, curious to ‘fill out’ more information in her mental profile of him (of anyone).
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JD just shrugged as Zoe apologized, “My Gramma used to say it was better to get ideas out on paper than to let them get lost in your mind. She had more notebooks scattered around the house than I could count but she knew where they all were.” While he was never sure exactly what it was she wrote in them due to some fancy kind of shorthand, it was one of the fond memories he had. He shook his head slightly when asked if he was from Washington, “Louisiana.” He corrected. “About an hour north east of Baton Rouge, nothing but farmland for miles around and as you can guess it wasn’t the most exciting place to grow up.” Maybe his time away from the south had made his accent diminish a bit, but he still heard it popping through now and then.
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Zoe never assumed. Living in San Francisco she’d heard all sorts of accents, some because they were from other places, some because their family was. “Yea, well.” She laughed a little. “I don’t have to worry about forgetting anything.” A blessing and a curse. “I tend to only write stuff down if I have to share it with others.” Which really did help keep things secret.
“We used to do Mardi Gras in San Francisco. Always made me want to visit Louisiana.” She mused, remembering the costumes and stuff.
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“To be honest I’ve never actually gone to Mardi Gras in New Orleans.” JD admitted, growing up it wasn’t something that his father in particular agreed with, after he left home there wasn’t exactly the money to travel down from Baton Rouge for the big event and joining the army kind of stopped that kind of thing too. Maybe one day he’d go back down south, see his family and actually experience the Mardi Gras. “San Francisco sounds exciting though, I only ever got to see a part of it once, on the flight up here we transited through SFO and were able to get out and see a bit but not much can be seen in an hour.”
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“Yea, I miss it.” She missed her family. Zoe could remember the city. “Honestly, traveling in general could have been cool. I just wasn’t quite old enough before I came here.” She lifted her pen and scratched at the image a bit more. Trying to keep her mind from flashing back to stuff. Talking about the past always triggered the past.
“But this is home now, so we’ve got to make the most of it, for now.” She wasn’t one of those who sought to ‘fight the power’. But logic and history said that things would change eventually. It may not happen soon- but eventually.
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Missing family seemed to be the norm here, which was one of the reasons he had started the 'underground mail service', letting people keep in contact with their loved ones, even if it was just via letters, any contact was better than none.
"I can't say that I've traveled much either, went to a few states when I was training, went to Afghanistan a few times and there was some little hospital in Europe after my final tour but I wouldn't call any of that 'travelling', you shouldn't be getting shot at if it's a vacation." He could joke a bit about it now, even though the memories still caused him nightmares there wasn't much he could do now, and life on Destruction Island wasn't too bad. "What was it Pumbaa said? 'Home is where the rump rests'?" He was such a Disney tragic.
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Zoe furrowed her brow and tilted her head. “Who?” She asked, just ask the waitress stepped up with their plates. “Thanks.” She said to the woman. Her melt smelled good, but she started with the salad- if only to let the sandwich cool a little. Also, salad didn’t keep as well as a leftover.
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JD said his thanks to the waitress as she handed them their meals. He also thought for a moment, with what Zoe had told him so far it seemed like the young woman had led a pretty sheltered life, she probably had never seen a Disney movie. “He’s from The Lion King, it’s pretty much an animated version of Shakespeare’s play Hamlet but with lions. Pumbaa’s a character in it.” There had to be some way he could sneak her the copy of the movie that he had in his collection to watch.
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“Oh. That’s a movie? Yea.” She shook her head a little. “I don’t really watch movies. They tend to… take up space. I mean, when I was younger I did… but not for many years. The only movies or TV I’ve seen tend to be documentaries. And even then, not the ones that inflate the truth. But I do know Hamlet.” Zoe had read it after her powers developed, and could quote the entire thing. “I prefer the comedies though, if I’m being honest.” She giggled.
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He listened as he took a bite or two of his salad, it was understandable to him that someone with such a high IQ wouldn’t waste their time or their brain power with things like movies, JD just liked the odd animated Disney movie when he had a tough day (or night) and needed something lighthearted that took him back to the more innocent times in his life. “I had to study Macbeth in high school and that is definitely not one of the comedies.” Another bite, this time of the chicken. “What kind of documentaries do you like?”
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“No, Macbeth is not. But it is a pretty good look at how power and greed can drive one mad.” She shrugged slightly.
“I enjoy historical stuff, like most of the Ken Burns things. Also watched a lot of true crime documentaries.” Zoe admitted. “It’s interesting to figure out how some people can think. Unfortunately, not all the stuff on the History Channel or Discovery was accurate. So, I always did a bit of research on them so I didn’t have to keep something completely false. Like that mermaid ‘documentary’ Discovery did.” She shook her head, not that she believed it was real to begin with- but it was a good example. “I also liked Mythbusters… and stuff like that. Seeing how other people made things was nice. My mom made me watch cooking shows with her- didn’t improve my cooking though.”
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Zoe was definitely right when it came to Macbeth showing how toxic power and greed could be, though JD wasn’t really one for classic English plays, not enough action in them for his liking.
“I used to love the Discovery channel - Dirty Jobs had some interesting jobs and Man vs Wild had some good survival tips. But I did stop watching History Channel after I went to the Middle East for the first time, war docos really do lose their appeal when you’ve seen it first hand.” One of the many things that he used to enjoy when he was younger but now triggered his PTSD. Another bite of his dinner. “Mythbusters is always entertaining, if only to see things get blown up. I still like when they blew that cement truck up.”
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Zoe laughed. “Yes, that one was cool.” She nodded. “Made me want to go to school for engineering so I could do stuff like them- before I knew I had gifts.” She pushed her empty salad plate away. “I actually applied for CalTech. Didn’t get a reply before… well.” She glanced around and shrugged. “Mom and Dad didn’t want me actually going to college until I was 18. But I’d already gotten most of my…” Zoe paused. She was rambling a bit, and it wasn’t actually interesting either, or relevant. Since she was stuck on the island.
What did it matter that she was a year away from getting her Bachelors online, hoping to transfer to a great engineering school? She was on an island doing what she probably would have been doing with the degree anyhow- or something like it. What did a piece of paper matter? It wasn’t like the experience of college, actually attending classes with other people who might be closer to her intellect than public high school, the chance to make actual friends and acquaintances to work on projects with… it wasn’t like she needed any of-
Zoe blinked and shook her head a little. “Sorry- rambling. We were talking about Mythbusters.” She said, forcing a smile as she pushed her sandwich away. Suddenly she wasn’t feeling hungry anymore.
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He actually found it interesting, talking to someone who’s intelligence was obvious far superior to his own. JD wasn’t exactly a ‘dumb soldier’ despite the fact some people treated him as such but it did feel nice to be talking to someone who wasn’t trying to ‘dumb things down’ and spoke like the usually did.
“Ramble away, I don’t mind. I only got my GED and had to sit a qualifications test before they’d let me join up, definitely not as interesting as CalTech.” Sometimes he did wonder what would have happened if he had actually finished school, would he have gone to college and if so what would he have studied? But the Army turned out to be his life and despite everything he had gone through he wouldn’t change a thing.
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She blushed slightly and tucked some hair behind her ear. “I had been looking forward to living away from home for the first time. This wasn’t exactly how I’d hoped to do it.” Zoe sighed.
Her crystal blue eyes looked at him, a bit of sadness present in their normal curious gaze. “I am sorry. I’ve never really talked about this with anyone. I guess I never knew how much it got to me.” Not that she’d said any of it aloud to him- so she was basically apologizing for her inner dialogue. “I just… really miss my family.” She sighed, taking in a breath. “And on that downer of a note, I should probably get the rest of my meal to go and let you actually enjoy the rest of your day before I bring it down anymore.” Zoe forced a smile and waved a hand to get the waitresses attention.
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While everyone on the island had gotten dragged away from their family in one way or another most of them were adults who knew how to deal with it, not teenagers who had never even left home before. It made him wonder what it would be like if it was his now teenaged niece who had gotten put on the island so far from home, at least she would have JD, while Zoe had no one. “It’s okay.” He offered a small smile. “You’re allowed to miss your family, even now in my mid thirties there’s still times where I miss my Ma.” At least he was able to contact them, maybe he could offer the same to Zoe, it seemed like she needed it.
When the waitress came over JD asked for his to go as well. “I had nothing planned, at least let me walk you home. There’s something I’d like to ask you.” Well, it was a good enough excuse in case anyone happened to be listening in.
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“Okay.” Zoe nodded, slightly confused. Not because of the offer to walk her home- she’d come to realize that was the type of guy JD seemed to be. But wanting to ask her something. They’d been talking this whole time… but he’d been not asking something?
She grabbed up the box with her sandwich and headed out of the diner. Of course the gentleman held the door for her- something her feminist mother always laughed at ‘If the guy wants to do more work? Let him.’ she always said. They walked in silence for a little bit and Zoe glanced at him a couple times. He was waiting for something. After leaving the market, they entered the path toward the residences. Sometimes she wondered if she should get a bike. It would save her time, and she wouldn’t completely be missing out on her exercise. “So… you wanted to ask me something?”
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Sometimes talking was better done away from other ears, what he wanted to ‘ask’ her was something that was pretty secret and only a few people knew about and that was the way he preferred to keep it.
They left the built up area of the Marketplace and towards the residents when Zoe spoke up, turning to her he glanced around quickly. “If you had the opportunity to contact your family, send them letters, would you take it?”
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“Who wouldn’t?” She asked with a laugh. “That’s up there with asking if we’d like the internet, or our choice of music on the radio.” Zoe shook her head. “One of the many things they said we’d have here… and we don’t.” Part of her felt like they should have known better, but she remembered the government guy who talked with her parents. She was sure they hadn’t really had a choice about sending her to the Island- even if he insisted they did. She didn’t want to get her parents in trouble, so she’d agreed.
She took in a breath and didn’t stop talking as she could hear her parents insist they’d come visit and they’d talk on the phone every night. “Even if I could, I honestly don’t even know what I’d say to them.” She blinked back some tears as she could almost feel her mother holding her hand as she lay there in the hospital bed. Finding out she was a mutant, that her increased brain capacity and mechanical know how was even more abnormal- not that they all didn’t expect it. Learning that was true the same day she was being told she had to leave her family, she may have been a genius but she was still just a seventeen year old girl. She’d been terrified. Zoe almost dropped her food. “I’m sorry. It’s worse than normal… I haven’t been sleeping a lot- working too much… when I don’t get enough sleep it’s worse than normal.”
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Well JD couldn’t get her the internet or change the music on the radio but he could at least get a letter or two out there for her. “Well… if you think of something you’d like to say to them write it down, there might be ways.” He gave her a knowing little wink, well he hoped that it looked like a knowing wink to her and she wouldn’t take it the wrong way, social cues were another thing he wasn’t all that good at.
He listened, another thing it turned that he was good at. He might not be able to offer any kind of advice but sometimes all people wanted was someone to listen. “Sometimes it’s hard to sleep if your brain doesn’t want to calm down, you’re physically tired but it isn’t and won’t let you sleep until it has had it’s say.” Maybe that was just JD’s experiences.
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“My computer doesn’t really have an off switch.” She attempted a joke.
Considering what he said, she nodded slowly. “I’ll keep that in mind. I mean at the very least letting them know I’m still alive…” Zoe sighed as they approached the apartment complex holding many of the residents homes. “There should be more guards like you.”
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“If you do want to write to them come and see me, they can write back but I’ll tell you who they should address it to. It’s all a bit…” He tapped the side of his nose to signal a secret but then remembered that Zoe might not know about that so he moved his finger to his lips and gave her a wink.
JD continued walking with her, slowing as they approached the complex. “I know, we’re a rarity. There’s only a few of us on the island who treat everyone like the humans that we all are.” Zoe would know how the other guards treated just about everyone.
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She shook her head. “I don’t think I could... “ Zoe pursed her lips a little. “I wouldn’t want a reply.” She didn’t have the luxury of ‘forgetting’ things. If they replied with bad news or something sad or even how well everyone was doing while she was stuck on the island. She wouldn’t be able to forget it. It would stick with her, making her feel bad or guilty or jealous.
Zoe smiled softly. “I tried to make an argument that being smart and knowing things weren’t superpowers. But thanks to the test…” She shrugged. “But I know that some are cruel only because they’re scared or jealous. Which really… sucks… that they feel that way- not that I’m smart and they’re not of course.” She smirked a little to show she was kidding, a little bit.
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Getting bad news was always hard, thankfully he hadn’t got much in the past few years - hearing about his father’s declining health JD didn’t consider bad news seeing their bad history, there was no love lost between father and son. “Well… still… you can send them something anyway, the offer is always there.”
“Oh I know they’re jealous! I believe that abilities, superpowers, or whatever you want to call them are the next evolution of humanity, maybe in a few hundred years us ‘normal’ people will be the minority.” He said, despite his strict Christian upbringing he was a firm believer in evolution and natural selection, these mutations happened for a reason and he knew that most of the guards were jealous that they were still just boring old humans.
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“Not all mutations happen for a reason.” Zoe said with a shrug. “But one can hope.” It was true. Nature was littered with mutations that were useless or even hazardous to their owners. She stopped at the door and looked up to JD. It had taken a little bit, but he’d managed to make her feel a bit comfortable talking to him. Granted, he was still way too attractive and she had no right to be talking to him, but still. He was a good one.
“I guess I’ll be in touch.” She said, pulling her key out of her pocket.