InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "So... this is awkward."

srt (braver) wrote in mirage_rpg,
@ 2008-06-27 10:03:00

Entry tags:

arrival, complete, day 5, miguel alvarez, temperance brennan

Day 5
Who: Bones & Miguel
What: Arrival
When: Morning
Where: Near the Barn
Rating: PG
Status: Complete

Bones was dreaming. There really was no other explanation. The last thing she remembered was lying in bed, drifting off to sleep. She didn't remember the exact moment she fell asleep because no one ever does. But she was sure that this was a dream. How else could she explain the trail she was now standing on? It didn't look familiar, in fact it looked like no place she could ever remember seeing in her life. And Temperance Brennan had been a number of places in her life.

She looked down and saw that she was fully dressed. No longer in the tank top and boy shorts she'd gone to bed in. She now wore a pair of black slacks, high heels, and a blue silk blouse. To her amazement, she also had a matching black jacket slung over her arm and her purse slung over her other shoulder. Shifting the jacket to the opposite arm, she raised her hand and felt that her hair was also done. Curiouser and curiouser. She laughed slightly and pinched herself. "Wake up!"

Her voice seemed to echo down the trail and ricochet back at her from the nearby.. mountains? It was so surreal. She turned around and looked at the other end of the trail. There seemed to be no people around. She was alone. That in and of itself was not odd, Tempe spent a lot of time alone. She had to be dreaming. How else could she have come to reality completely clothed and hair done? She knew nothing could be done by standing there, so she began to walk.

She seemed to walk for quite some time. She hoped she would wake up soon or she would be late for work at the Jeffersonian. A thought occured to her several minutes later. What if she was walking in the wrong direction? She couldn't see any signs or anything that would give her directions. Well, best to walk the wrong way the first time than the second time. Another several minutes seemed to pass and she knew that she must have long since been late for work. She just couldn't work out why she was still dreaming. Surely her alarm would have gone off by now. She never slept through her alarm. She was really starting to worry now. What if she was in a coma?

But she was healthy. There was no reason she should be in a coma. She was getting tired of walking. But, was that a building in the distance. It was! She walked with more determination now, sure she was going in the right direction. Several minutes later she was much closer and could see that the building was like something she'd find in the country. A barn. A barn? She reached her hand up and combed it through her hair. Frustrated now. She pinched herself again. "WAKE UP!!"

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braver
2008-06-30 12:33 pm UTC (link)

Temperance Brennan was not one to faint. But she was feeling deleriously light headed at the moment. She reached her hand out to steady herself against the side of the barn, bringing her fingers once more to her forhead. She was trying to soothe away the headache that was threatening to form. And then her stomach began to roil. Bile threatened and she forced it down. Now was not a good time to lose her cool.

She took deep calming breaths and then stood upright, sure she could support herself on her own two feet now. She didn't answer his questions, he seemed to have answered them himself. She believed he was telling her the truth. He really had no reason to lie to her. Not unless it was some sort of experiement, like she desperately hoped it was. She could only bring herself to nod.

She followed him away from the barn and toward the cluster of other buildings not too far away. Maybe she should see the other aspects of this place, see if there was a way out. Miguel was only being helpful. She couldn't fault him for that. And she really doubted that he was the one who had deigned to bring her here in the first place.

He spoke about room keys and rooms, and that they were amazing. The place looked like a farm on steroids. She was sort of wondering where she was expected to stay, and what the room was going to look like. Not because she intended to stay, but if she couldn't find a way out immediately, she would like to be comfortable.

She flipped her phone open again, half hoping for some service. But that was still not the case. No bars whatsoever. Closing it, she stuffed it in her purse and continued to follow Miguel toward the buildings. "How long have you been here? Has anything strange happened to you? Does anyone run this place?" She was probing, trying to make some sense of the situation.

They reached the courtyard soon after, where the big stone tablet stood set into the side of the biggest building. She gave Miguel a quizzical look before she strode forward to read it.

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prisoner97a413
2008-06-30 07:30 pm UTC (link)

Miguel headed toward the buildings with Temperance in tow. He glanced back over his shoulder every now and then to make sure she was still with him and noticed her checking her phone. From the way she closed and stuffed it in her purse, he gathered that it wasn't working. "I've been here about four days now", the Latino answered thoughtfully. "As for strange..." He trailed off, deciding what to tell Temperance. She was going to find out just how strange this place was soon enough so he might as well be honest.

"Yeah, there's been a few strange things happening around here. First of all, there are people who kinda run this place but they're not...they're not normal people", Miguel said, struggling with how to rationally describe the golems. "They look like they're made of dirt or wood but they also look like men. They don't talk but they kinda work here. I think they also enforce the rules this place has".

At those words, the pair reached the courtyard the stone tablet within by the biggest building. Miguel met Temperance's look with a shrug before she started reading. After a few minutes when he thought she was finished, Miguel went on about the other strange things about Mirage. "There's a good few people here so far and most them are from various places...and times", he added a little hastily. "I know, I know. It's hard to believe but I've seen it with my own eyes. One woman here named Ayla is a cavewoman while I met another who claimed to be from a different planet."

Miguel glanced at the building thoughtfully, as if almost expected to see any of the people he met so far come out through the main doors. "I think the strangest thing about this place had to be the day they forced us to do activities. Like resort activities like fishing and junk. It was fun but it was very strange". Looking back at Temperance, Miguel opened his mouth once more. "You wanna check out the main building?"

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braver
2008-06-30 09:26 pm UTC (link)

Her heels sank into the soft earth they traversed on the way to the courtyard and she was having a little difficulty keeping up with him, but she jogged on her toes a little to catch up. She came alongside him as he began to answer her earlier questions. "Four days, huh? Anyone else been here longer than that?"

She had crossed her arms over her middle, a stance she often took, even if she was walking. Hopping slightly to keep pace with him. She gave him the you have got to be kidding look, but he seemed to be completely serious. She raised a brow, but said nothing until he finished explaining the golems to her. "That's physically impossible. Are they robotic? There has to be some explanation. Men are not just made out of wood or dirt. Trust me, I'm an anthropologist."

She stepped up the the plaque set into the wall and read it over. Four times. First of all, it didn't make any sense.

"Welcome to Mirage.
This is your new home.
Your every need will be fulfilled.
You will have a place to live.
You will have food and clothing.
You will have entertainment.
You will have company.
You will not be able to leave.
You will not kill. Ever.
If you have questions, ask my assistants.
Love,
The Planet"

What kind of experiment was this? It was like one of those reality tv shows she never watched. But wasn't one of them based on seven strangers living together to see how they could co-exist. This had to be something similar. And until she could examine these rock men she was going to assume they were part of the elaborate experiment taking place.

"Did you ever think for a second that these people might be sick, or delusional? I mean, time travel isn't possible. And neither is a sentient planet." She gestured toward the stone tablet and the last line that said Love, the Planet. She had interrupted him, a bad habit of hers, especially if she felt she were interjecting with fact. "I'm sorry, did you say a cavewoman?" Now, that might be worth investigating. The anthropologist part of her was fascinated with that.

She shook her head, no, it wasn't possible. They had lived thousands and thousands of years ago. There couldn't possibly be one alive today. "They forced you to go fishing?" Another brow raised. She couldn't imagine such a thing. Unless, and she would tirelessly come back to this theory, it were an observation of an experiment. It had to be some psychological crap, and she wondered if Sweets was involved. Bastard.

She sighed and gestured him to move on. "Sure, why not?" She followed after him once more, only to catch up and walk beside him toward the main building's entrance.

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prisoner97a413
2008-07-05 05:08 am UTC (link)

"As far as I know a couple of people have been here for five days but I haven't met anyone beyond that", Miguel answered her earlier question. His lip quirked when Temperance told him the golems were physically impossible and suggested they could be robots. "Maybe but I haven't seen many robots so I wouldn't know". The golems looked to be made of dirt to him but then again, Miguel hadn't tried to get up close and personal with one of them either. 'I wonder what would happen if someone tried to stab them', Miguel pondered but he wasn't about to try. Why ruin a good thing by getting into trouble?

When Temperance answered Miguel's question about the main building, the Latino turned and lead her to the largest rustic building. The inside had a bit of a ranch/western theme but was not as rustic as the outside. Miguel's brown eyes landed on the main desk as he noticed a red, blinking light. "That's were I got my key for my room. The red light means there's a new key available and I'm guessing it's yours".

He lead her over to the desk and grabbed the key for the woman before handing it to her. "Does it say what the room number is?" Miguel inquired.

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braver
2008-07-07 10:20 am UTC (link)

Tempe nodded. She was thinking, and that often made her quiet. She was drawing on her intelligence to get her out of this situation, but as of that moment, she had no idea what she was going to do. She furrowed her brows and came out of her thoughts. "Where did you come from?"

They entered the foyer of the main building and Tempe stopped and turned, glancing at the blinking light in the key box. She walked over to it when he said it was probably hers. She took it from him as he handed it to her and turned the shiny platinum thing over in her hand. She leaned against the desk for a moment and looked at Miguel. "Um, C270. Do you know where that is?"

She was having a little bit of difficulty absorbing everything and trying to think of how she'd arrived and how she was going to get out. There were too many thoughts at once and she couldn't hold onto one for long before another one pushed its way to the front. She sighed softly and rubbed her forhead again.

She wanted to believe that she was going to get out of this place somehow. That it was some sort of fluke, a mistake. And she hoped against all hope that Booth was going to find her and get her out of here. "So where's this room?" She thought that if she could have some time alone to think that maybe she would be able to figure out a way to get home.

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prisoner97a413
2008-07-08 05:19 am UTC (link)

"I'm from New York", Miguel replied a little vaguely since he was still getting use to lying about where he was really from. Sure, he had grown up in New York but the last few years Oz had been his home. When Temperance asked him about the location of her room, Miguel answered more confidently with a quick smile. "I know where it's too", the Latino assured her. "I'm in Unit C myself, room 127". Since he felt bad that Temperance had just been unwilling plucked up and brought to the planet, Miguel made another offer to help her out.

"If you want, I can show you to your room". It also didn't hurt that Temperance was another pretty chica. Where was the planet getting all these pretty girls? "It's outside again so I don't know, did you want to look around here first and get use to the spot?" Miguel added since he wasn't certain of what Temperance would want.

While he waited for her answer, Miguel silently went over what she had already told him about herself. Partly out of interest and partly to figure out something to talk about since it was clear Temperance was outside the normal sphere of most people he talked to. Miguel could only name a very small handful of people he knew who went to university and most of them worked at Oz, like Sister Pete or McManus.

"So you're a forensic anthropologist at the Jeffersonian. I don't really know what that means but do you do stuff with forensic evidence?" Miguel asked, genuinly curious. Being in prionser meant he had heard a lot about other prisoners trials and knew how forensic evidence was used to convict or clear people.

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braver
2008-07-08 10:15 am UTC (link)

"New York. I've been there a few times." She didn't press the issue, because if she was honest, she wasn't all that interested. She was too distracted by everything that had happened to her after she woke up that morning. "That would be nice of you, thank you."

She lifted her head when he said it was outside again. "It's alright. Let's just go. I'd rather not get used to it. I don't plan to be here much longer." She spoke confidently, but even as she said it, she doubted it. She had no idea where she was in relation to anything. Her phone didn't work and Miguel said there were no phones around the resort.

As they walked out of the building, she answered his question about her work. "Yes, sometimes I process forensic evidence. I work with the FBI to determine how and when people have died when all that's left is bones. I have a team that processes other aspects. Angela can usually put a face to the victims just by looking at the skull. Hodgins deals mainly with particulates, residual matter like dirt and insects. Cam is the director, but she's also a doctor and former cop. She lends a hand sometimes. Booth is my partner. He's with the FBI and the one who brings in our cases." She didn't mention Zack, his recent betrayal of them all had cut her more deeply than she thought possible. He was her protege, and he had been the apprentice to one of their most vile serial killers.

She fell silent as she thought about him. It had only been days, and she still felt more torn than she had when she thought Seeley was dead. "The Jeffersonian is where we do our research. There are several labs and a museum." She gave him a tenative smile as they arrived at the C Building. She looked up, finding that it looked just as rustic as the other buildings.

The complex was rather large, but not too large that it couldn't be walked in good time. She looked around at the barn and stables, the lake in the distance that fed into a river and wide open fields and mountains. She shook her head, still bewildered as to how she'd arrived here with no memory of it.

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prisoner97a413
2008-07-08 05:24 pm UTC (link)

The walk outside was enjoyable enough on the beautiful day as Miguel listened to Temperance explain her job. He decided then and there was never going to mention Oz to this woman since she had a bunch of connections to cops but aside from that, it sounded like she had an interesting job. Far more interesting than job Miguel had ever held down. "Wow, that sounds like a cool job", he said as the reached Unit C before realizing he sounded like a dork. "I mean, you've a really unique job that is light years away from what most nor--I mean, average people do", he finished, correcting himself quickly.

While Temperance was looking around, Miguel moved toward the main door of Unit C and held it open for her. "Since you're in 270, you're going to be on the second floor and you have a balcony...not that it's much compensation for being hauled from you friends, family and job", Miguel added sardonically, "But hey, it's a nice feature", he joked.

Once they were inside the Unit, Miguel lead her down one hallway toward a staircase and along the way they passed his room which Miguel pointed out. "If you ever need anything by the way, I'm just down here in room 127. Anything at all because I know this shit about coming here and all that can really screw with someone's mind. So if you want to talk or even if you just wanna say 'Hey' I....I'm rambling, aren't I?" The Latino finished in a soft, somewhat embarrassed tone.

"Okay, I'll shut up now and show you your room", he promised, chuckling. "Just up these stairs".

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braver
2008-07-09 11:59 am UTC (link)

Her blue eyes shifted to him, watching him out of the corner of them. His remark about her job being cool and then the further comments about it not being normal put her on the defensive. "I enjoy my job. I help people, and that's more than I can say about some other people's jobs. I'm also a best-selling author." She had almost forgotten about that. She often did. It was almost a hobby rather than another kind of job.

She stepped inside the building and looked around. A long corridor flanked by a multitude of doors met her gaze. They seemed far too close together to provide any type of space behind them. "A balcony. Okay." She was still trying to figure out the dynamics of the rooms. They had to be the size of broom closets. How could people live in them?

Her eyes went to him again, and she found herself slightly amused. He was talking a lot, probably to fill the silence that normally surrounded her. "Thanks, I'll remember that." She gave him a tight, forced smile as they headed up the stairs.

"I don't mind if you talk." She topped the stairs and moved down the room numbers with her eyes before her body followed. She looked back to him. "Thanks for doing this, I'm sure it isn't your job." She wondered what his job was, though. Did the people here work. What purpose was being served by their observation. She was still quite convinced that's what it was. Some sort of observation experiment.

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prisoner97a413
2008-07-09 12:39 pm UTC (link)

"I think it's technically the golem's job", Miguel said as they moved up the stairs. "But they weren't around and you don't get much information out of those guys. Makes me wonder why they even have mouths if they ain't gonna say anything". They had reached the second floor where another corridor full of doors stretched out in front of them.

As Miguel walked down the corridor, his eyes scanned the doors. There were a lot of them and so far he had yet to see 270 but he did see 210. "Your room is further down the hallway. I think there's a few other people on this floor too", Miguel told her. "I've heard people going up the stairs and talking".

Down the hallway further the pair reached 270. Miguel was curious to see what Temperance's room might look like. Judging by her serious composure and attitude, he half suspected something very organized and simple but he could be wrong. "Do you want to try your key and see if it works?" he suggested.

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braver
2008-07-09 05:10 pm UTC (link)

"Right, the golems again." Miguel, for the most part, appeared fairly normal to Tempe. But, she was starting to worry about the state of his mental health. He couldn't seriously believe that a mythical creature created from inanimate matter actually existed. But, she could see from his face that he thought he was telling the truth. He believed it. Even if it was impossible.

"Not all the rooms are occupied? Are other arrivals expected?" She glanced at the numbers on the doors as she passed them. It was a long time, but they finally got to her door. She wasn't sure what she had assumed, but she thought that all the rooms would have people living in them. Small or not.

She looked at the key in her hand, shifted her purse on her shoulder and stuck it in the lock. She pushed it open, wary, and the door swung wide. She frowned again as the room momentarily looked like a second-rate hotel room. But in a matter of moments, it had changed completely to reflect something akin to her own apartment in D.C.

It wasn't exactly the same, because part of a lab was off to the side. She definitely didn't have a lab in her apartment back in D.C. It appeared as if the two had merged, and where her office was in the lab at the Jeffersonian, was her bedroom and living room from the apartment. And where her kitchen used to be, was the partial lab.

She couldn't believe what she was seeing. In her astonishment, she stepped inside. She looked around her, jaw slack and wondered how this could be possible. She wanted to pinch herself again to be sure, but it hadn't worked the first few times. The walls were littered with artifacts she'd found during digs, but other than those decorations, her room appeared to be quite sterile and organized. Just as he had imagined, probably.

She ran her hand over one of the bookcases, it had been filled with a lot of her books and even the ones she'd written. The lab smelled the same, but it didn't quite look the same. Everything was slightly different, but it was alike enough to make her feel a sharp pang of homesickness.

She blanched slightly and sat down in a leather armchar. Glancing back at Miguel she gave him a shaky smile. "This can't be happening. I'm going mad." She rubbed her forehead and sighed softly. "Do you want to come in?" She didn't often have people over at her apartment back in D.C. and just now she couldn't think why.

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prisoner97a413
2008-07-11 11:01 am UTC (link)

“I dunno”, Miguel replied. “More people seem to show up every day so probably”. When Temperance opened the room, Miguel peeked in to see a standard hotel room but like his room had days before, this one quickly changed. It became a hybrid of an apartment and a laboratory. Miguel let out an impressed whistle. “Nice”. Temperance said something about going mad and Miguel nodded slightly. “It feels that way at first but you get use to it after a while. Well, kinda use to it. This place seems to have a ton of surprises”.

The Latino smiled gratefully as Temperance offered to let him into her room. Normally he might have said yes but he had feeling she needed time to adjust to her new surroundings. Besides he kinda felt a little awkward hanging out with some who was practically like a cop in his mind. She might not arrest people for a living but she helped those that did and Miguel didn’t want to think what could happen if he slipped up. Still, he liked Temperance and wouldn’t mind getting to know her better.

“Gracias but I’m afraid I can’t. Maybe we could meet some other time for lunch or something though?” He suggested. “Anyway, like I said if you ever want to talk or get a hold of me, I’m just downstairs.” With that Miguel left Temperance to let her get use to her new room.

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