WELCOME

SETTING ?! futuristic society, but modern nonetheless.
ROLEPLAYERS ?! debzy and hayley.
CHARACTERS ?! rachel edwards megan rella and fletcher lewis.
SUMMARY ?! futuristic society where third born children are illegal, rachel is forced to masquerade as megan rella after a fire takes out their apartment complex, giving rachel an opportunity to experience life outside by assuming the girls identity.
WORD COUNT ?! looks like a lot. haha
STATUS ?! just beginning, baby thread <3

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shadows all around you as you surface from the dark, emerging from the gentle grip of
NIGHT'S UNFOLDING ARMS. DARKNESS
darkness every where, do you feel all alone? the subtle grace of gravity, the heavy weight of stone.
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Rachel had lived on edge for her entire life, from the moment that she was born she was never allowed to have the same things as normal children. She was a third child and by the government's rules it was wrong for her to exist, she took up a valuable place in the world, used up resources that could be better used by a first or second born child, someone who had the right to be there. She had never been allowed to live in a sense of security, where there was not some fraction of her brain that was worrying about "what ifs" and all the possible and terrible things that could happen to her if she was found out. It was something that she had been forced to face since she was very small, because the penalty for being a third child was most often death. Not that she had done anything wrong, and her parents would be also punished for harboring a third child to begin with. Yet, the rules stated that she was a lesser being, that she wasn't allowed, that she would never be able to live a normal life or have the same rights as other children.

Since this was the environment that the girl had grown up in, it was not surprising that Rachel woke instantly upon hearing the first scream. Always a light sleeper, always ready for a knock at the door that no one in her family wanted to hear, Rachel had learned from a very young age to wake up immediately and be prepared for anything. So it wouldn't shock anyone that Rachel had already dressed herself, turned the mattress over (to hide the heat) and remade the bed, and was crawling into her secret compartment behind the bookshelf before she was even fully awake. It was when the door had safely closed behind her that she realized that the screams had not come from her family's apartment, and from somewhere outside in the halls. Rachel couldn't say why it was happening, but the noise had scared her, and her parents had always said it was better to be safe then sorry, and when Rachel was scared -- she hid, it was always better to be in hiding then it was to be found by the population police.

She pulled the blanket that was left in the compartment around her, allowing herself to lie down in the small space, she had fit in there much better when she was younger, now it was an awkward length for her height. Rachel didn't complain though, just adjusted herself to be somewhat comfortable before closing her eyes once more.

Rachel should have screamed, and she probably would have if she hadn't been so trained to keep her mouth shut, the door to her secret compartment had been thrown open, and it took all of her will power to not faint. Except, it wasn't the face of the population police she had feared all of her life, it was that of her father, and his face looked more scared then she had ever seen it before. Finally, finding her voice she shifted so she was sitting up, "Whats wrong?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Instinct told her to be quiet, in case someone was in the apartment that didn't belong, but if there was it wouldn't have made sense for her father to throw open the door the way he add.

The silence that her father greeted her with scared her even more. He finally spoke, and the words sent chills up and down her spine. "There's a fire in the building... They're evacuating everyone..." It took a moment for Rachel to understand her fathers concern, she wasn't supposed to be there, she wasn't supposed to exist, how could she evacuate? The silence between them was deafening, Rachel crouched into her secret compartment, and her father slowly rising to his feet so he was standing and looking at the wall above her head.

Rachel wasn't sure how long they sat there, it felt like an eternity in her mind, and it was only broken by one of her brothers entering the room. "We need to go now Dad," her brother Thomas' voice felt like it was miles away as Rachel slumped back into her hiding spot, which death would be better? Perish in the fire, or at the hands of the population police. "The fire is starting to build, half the south wing apartments collapsed, there are already people who didn't make it..." The redhead watched with a broken heart as her father left, talking in hushed voices with her brother. Instinct said to run, to get out of the burning building, but practice had taught her that leaving was suicide. One time she had wandered into the hallway of the apartment, escaping the watching eyes of her parents, she had been six or seven. No one else had seen her, but it had brought her mother to tears, and her father had given her quite the spanking. The impression was that outside was death, home was safe, except what was she supposed to do when home was dangerous as well?

"Time to go Rachel," the voice breaking the silence and somberness of her thoughts was a surprise, not so much that it was there, but because of the words being spoken. She had expected someone would come say goodbye, maybe apologize that she had to go this way, but the risks of bringing her outside were monumental. Besides, Rachel didn't belong outside, she belonged in her bedroom with her drawings and her books, as far from sight as anyone could be.

"No..." She said quietly, her own words surprising her, shouldn't she have wanted to leave? Accept, she couldn't. The chance that someone could see her, that she would be found out, captured, tortured, and god knows what else. Home was safe, she belonged here.

"Yes Rachel, come on," Her father extended his hand to hers but Rachel didn't take it. She couldn't bring herself to put her parents or brothers in a place of danger, she just shrunk back into the corner and shook her head. She closed her eyes, but in a moment her father had leaned in and pulled her from her hiding place, strong arms wrapping around her and carrying her out of her room.

"No! No! No!" She found herself screaming, desperately trying to grab onto doorframes, or anything that would keep her safely hidden fromt he spying eyes of the outside world. "Dad, you can't!" It was then that she noticed the smoke slowly starting to work its way into the apartment, they had taken too long, and now her father would be lost to the fire too because of her, and the fact that she couldn't leave the house. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, almost on the verge of tears as she tried to get away from her father, "You need to go, you need to leave," they had reached the hallway and Rachel had started crying as she finally freed herself collapsing on the floor, "I can't go!" Already in the hallway this was the most exposed she had been in years, and all she wanted was to go back and hide.

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tagged hayley
words 1220
lyrics you are the moon - the hush sound.
banner coti-tastic !? @ caution 2.0
template FASHION STATEMENT SUICIDE of CAUTION 2.0.
notes notes.

The world was a seriously fucked up place. Every day this became more and more apparent to Fletcher Lewis. The government kept getting crazier and crazier, more and more extreme with the laws they were passing and the things they were forcing everyone to do. Fletcher kept becoming more thankful that he wasn't one of the shadow children with every passing minute.

Funny thing was, he was almost as bad as the shadow children, at least as far as the law was concerned. Fletcher had an older sister, named Delaney, who was twenty-two and off happily living her life somewhere. He also had a younger brother, nine-year-old Liam: the illegal third child. Fletcher and the other members of his family could be killed just for allowing Liam to exist. To add on to Fletcher's wrongdoings in the eyes of the government, he also worked for the population police. Recently, a new law had been established, saying that any family who wanted food needed at least one member working for the government. That was fine--Fletcher had been working for the government since he graduated school, secretly trying to gain information to keep his younger brother safe.

His job was definitely dangerous, and there were some days when he was so sure his secret had been discovered that it made his heart pound. But somehow, he was doing fine, and the government seemed none the wiser.

As far as parental figures went, Fletcher's mother had died fifteen years ago, soon after giving birth to Liam. His father worked a crappy 12-hour night shift at a warehouse, so when he was home, he was usually sleeping.

There were a lot of times Fletcher felt almost positive he hated everything about his life. All the secrets and lies and hard work just to get a little bit of food and money got tiring after a while and sometimes all he wanted to do was collapse in bed and sleep for days. When he thought about it, though, he always reached the same conclusion: At least he wasn't Liam. Liam had spent his entire life in the same small apartment. He had never been out once. Fletcher's life wasn't easy, but at least he could come and go as he pleased. He could have friends, and a girlfriend, and eventually even a family of his own if he wanted (which he didn't. Fletcher refused to bring children into a world as corrupt and fucked up as this).

Fletcher was in a van with five other members of the population police, on the way to raid a house. They had received an 'anonymous' tip that there were not one, but two shadow children living in there. 'Anonymous' meaning that the neighbors were people with questionable moral compasses who just wanted the reward money turning in a shadow child got you.

It always broke Fletcher's heart to have to arrest shadow children and their family members. He felt like the scum of the earth, seeing people's stricken faces as he helped tear their families apart. He knew he was helping send these people straight to death or jail. He always told himself it was what he needed to do to keep his family together. It never made him feel any better, though.

The worst part was their eyes. The way they looked at him as he slapped handcuffs around their wrists. If looks could kill, or torture, or maim, Fletcher would be in a hell of a lot of pain.

Sometimes, people tried to run. When they did, they were supposed to shoot. Fletcher wasn't the only one who was uncomfortable with shooting a human being. He knew he wasn't alone when he hesitated a few seconds before pulling his gun, missing on purpose and claiming he was a poor shot. The scary thing was the men who didn't hesitate, the ones who actually got a kick out of being a part of the population police.

Today's house was a bit out of the city, and being crammed in the back of a van with four other men wasn't doing anything for their moods--especially since Tom, the driver, had forced them all to give up the passenger seat for his dog Molly. Richard's elbow stuck into Fletcher's side no matter how he positioned himself; and whenever Tom drove over a bump in the road, Fletcher's knees connected painfully with Simon's across from him.

In short, today wasn't a great day.

Before they were even out of the city limits, the van's radio crackled. Tom picked it up, speaking clearly into it. Fletcher couldn't overhear the conversation word-for-word, but what he got from it sounded bad.

The thing about being population police was that you weren't only population police. You worked for the government, and therefore the government told you what to do and when to do it. When they said Jump, you didn't say You first. You jumped. When your superior ordered that the shadow family raid could wait because there was a burning building a couple streets over from your location at that moment and you could get there at least fifteen minutes before anyone else, there weren't any questions. You did it.

Tom took a sharp right, talking as he drove. "Boss says there's been a 911 to an apartment complex. Said it looks really fucking bad and that we're under orders to go check it out, but to not run into that building for nothin'. We wait for the fire department. Understood? We go to help people who run out. Give 'em rides to the hospital or something. And look out for shadow children. They're evacuating everybody."

The four other men chorused their yeses. Fletcher, who had previously wondered why on Earth they were being sent just to look around, made the connection in his head. This wasn't about helping out, not really. It was about capturing third children. Of course.

"Shit," Tom said quietly, obviously having caught a glimpse of the fire. "Bossman was right."

The other four men were stuck in the back of the van and therefore couldn't see anything, but they didn't have to wait long. Tom soon screeched the van to a stop and jumped out, running to talk to people who were watching the blaze. He
forgot to unlock the door for them, so Fletcher, at nineteen the youngest and most agile for climbing over seats, was elected by the other three to he would climb into the front and open the door for them. It wasn't as easy as it sounded. Fletcher was wearing bulky gear, and at six-foot-two he was a reasonably sized nineteen year old (though a bit skinny, from lack of enough food). He managed, but what he saw when he got into the front seat made him pause for a moment. "Shit," he
breathed, unable to say anything else. The complex was burning down to the ground. He was jolted back to attention when one of the men still locked in the back of the van yelled at him, "Lewis, you fuckin' dope! Open the door!"

"Yeah, right away," Fletcher said absently, pressing the unlock button. Richard, Simon, and Juan jumped out of the van, momentarily taken aback just like Fletcher had been.

Dimly, above the sounds of the fire, Fletcher could hear people screaming. Most of them were outside, watching the fire. He knew it was probably only imagination, but he swore he could hear people inside too, screaming.

He heard a woman yell that her husband was still inside, trying to save his mother. He looked and saw her standing by the road, sobbing into the shoulder of another woman. Fletcher looked on sadly. Juan stood beside him, apparently reading the thoughts on Fletcher's face, because he said, "Don't do what you're thinking. The fire department will be here soon. Don't be a hero."

Fletcher ignored him. He looked around. He took off running toward the burning building.

"Lewis!" Juan yelled at his back. "Fletcher! FLETCH. Come back. LEWIS, YOU MORON."

It was useless, because Fletcher ignored him. He ran into the building, blue eyes already watering because of all the smoke. He remembered hearing Tom saying that just about everyone from the first and second floors had already made it out and were accounted for. He took a right and climbed the stairs quickly. There was a young mother sitting on the stairs, clutching her baby to her chest halfway between the second and third floors. Fletcher reached out to grab her arm to take her outside to safely, when something touched him from behind.

It was Juan.

"Tom sent me after your stupid ass!" he said, coughing. "Get the woman and let's go!"

Fletcher shook his head. "You take her!" He didn't wait for Juan's response before climbing the stairs the rest of the way to the third floor. He opened the door and ducked down, coughing from all the smoke filling his lungs.

What the fuck am I doing?

Fletcher was almost defeated. On his long, long list of stupid decisions, this might be the worst one. Juan had been correct: He shouldn't have tried to be a hero. He should have left this for the people who knew what they were doing.

He was on the verge of turning back when he almost tripped over something on the ground. That something was actually a someone, Fletcher discovered when he knelt down. She was shaking. The hallway was getting hotter: he assumed that the fire was getting closer and closer by the second to where they were, and if he wanted to make sure both he and this girl made it out alive, they had to go now.

He didn't worry about asking her if she minded if he saved her life. He just sort of assumed that she would be thankful. He scooped her up in his arms and stumbled down the hallway carrying her bridal style, coughing the entire way. When at last he made it to the stairwell, Fletcher unceremoniously threw her over his shoulder so he could grip the railing with one hand. Down three flights of stairs, through two doors and they were out at last. Fletcher took deep lungfuls of air at once, forgetting that he had some poor girl slung over his shoulder. Once he remembered, he lowered her to the ground, keeping his hands on her shoulders to make sure she would be able to stand steadily. "Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.[/SIZE]

tag; debzy!
words; 1756
wearing; WHY IS THIS A SEPARATE TAG I DON'T GET IT.
credits; template by OH LOVELY, NINJAS ! @ Caution!
notes; lol i had no intention of making it this long, it just sorta happened. i got
inspired this is like a once in a million thing which probably won't happen again
for a long time. like the supermoon or whatever yesterday

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shadows all around you as you surface from the dark, emerging from the gentle grip of
NIGHT'S UNFOLDING ARMS. DARKNESS
darkness every where, do you feel all alone? the subtle grace of gravity, the heavy weight of stone.
-----------------------------------------------------------

It felt like an eternity of sitting on the floor, clinging to the fact that home was only yards away, that her sanctuary would only take a couple steps and she would reach it. She was already crying, and she was shaking, and looking up at her father who was standing in front of her. She could tell that she was hurting him, he probably couldn't understand how hard it was for her to be outside in the unknown, when this was the furthest from safety she had ever been in her entire life. Not to mention that the building was quite literally starting to burn down around them, and all that Rachel could do was think about how much she wanted to be inside her own room, to curl up in her bedroom and just go to sleep, and forget about the world, forget about everything.

Rachel was literally clinging to the door frame, doing everything possible to block out the world around her, if she closed her eyes it wasn't there. Yet it was, she could taste the smoke in the air, and it was becoming thick around her, the heat was rising and she was starting to cough. Her father bent down once more to try and bring her along but she pushed him away, "Leave!" she cried, no matter how stupid it sounded. She wanted to stay with what was familiar, death was here, and death was outside, at this point it didn't quite matter where she let it happen to her.

Her father did leave, not before bending down to kiss her forehead, and saying he was going to get her out. As she watched him walk away she wasn't sure how he would be able to save her by leaving, but what was the point in saving someone who didn't really exist? Yet it was her father's job to take care of her, protect her, keep her safe, not to abandon her when all was lost. It surprised even her to hear the whimper that escaped her lips as her father disappeared from site, he was running, but to do what? "Daddy?" she said quietly, tears falling down her face, maybe this would be welcomed for her family, they wouldn't be punished for having a shadow child. Rachel was just going to disappear, consumed in a fire, and no one would find her.

Rachel didn't move, she just sat there, coughing, it was like she had become frozen in time, too scared to move, and her brain was failing to compute that she needed to run away. Natural instinct told her to get out of the burning building, but practice had taught her that outside was not a place to be. Rachel had closed her eyes, the internal battle beginning, wondering if her family would come back for her, or how much it would hurt to burn in a fire.

She was brought back from her thoughts by strong arms wrapping around her and picking her up, maybe she should have screamed, or done something at least. All she did though was go rigid in his arms, the only sign that she was alive was the occasional coughing. In her head her mind was running a million miles a minute though, who was this man? Where was he taking her? And what was going to happen to her once she was outside? At the same time though she was happy to be getting rescued, happy to not be coughing up a lung, but the terror that was gripping her was smothering all signs of happiness.

"Are you okay?"

At first Rachel didn't understand it, she was trying to not run away, though she knew her knees would give out underneath her if she tried. Slowly she nodded her head, her eyes settling on his chest straight in front of her instead of having to look up at his face. It wasn't her fault if she hated eyes, she'd been taught all her life that being seen was as good as death, and Rachel did not want to die.

Before she had a chance to answer though a familiar voice rang out above all of the chaos outside of the apartment, "Megan! Megan!" She dared to take a look, eyes falling on her brother Thomas, running towards her, she was happy to see him, but she didn't understand why he was addressing her as Megan. The puzzlement didn't show though, Rachel was too scared to show any emotion, with this stranger still standing in front of her, steadying her. "You got out!" her brother continued, "My dad said all of you were in the apartment when the fire started, that anyone there couldn't have gotten out, man you're lucky! What were you doing, going for a walk?"

Rachel wasn't the best at noticing subtleties, or following human behaviour, but she caught the look on her brothers face, her thoughts going back to all those books she'd read, stories they'd told, she didn't understand why but her brother was telling her that she was Megan, that was her way out it seemed. "Yes," she said quietly, "I was going for a walk... To uh- to, to see if there was any mail." She dared a quick glance at the man still in front of her, guessing she should still add on to her story. "Uhm, I got pushed, in the hallway. And uh, I guess I just scared..." She looked from her brother, than back to Fletcher before her eyes settled on the ground.

They didn't believe her. She was dead.

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tagged hayley
words 950
lyrics you are the moon - the hush sound.
banner coti-tastic !? @ caution 2.0
template FASHION STATEMENT SUICIDE of CAUTION 2.0.
notes yay different template.

She seemed to be speechless, which was understandable. In general, people usually reacted to traumatic, life-threatening things like enormous fires by either talking a mile a minute or shutting down. And she had shut entirely down: the only thing she was doing was staring straight ahead. But while it was understandable that she seemed to have no reactions, it also concerned him. She needed to be responsive at least a little bit, or she could have a concussion or something. He wasn't even sure that if he let her go she would be able to stand up, so though it seemed a little awkward now, he left his arms supporting her for the time being.

Fletcher was dealing with this in his own way, by focusing on her. To keep his thoughts away from how stupid he had been to run in there in the first place and how close to death he might have been, he worried about how the small redhead in front of him was doing and not about himself. He always reacted to things in this fashion. Focus on someone else, not himself.

He was about to speak to her again, because it had been a couple minutes and she was still standing there, motionless except for a vague, slow nod. He lifted his right hand from her shoulder and was about to place it under her chin so she would have to look up at him, but he was interrupted by someone running over, shouting what Fletcher's mind jumped to as a cover story.

A cover story.

It was one of the first things population police were trained to look for: people reciting details about their lives at odd times. Normally, there would be no reason for this guy, whoever he was, to show up in the middle of a raging fire and tell this girl, "Megan", what she had been doing. If Megan actually had been doing it, naturally she would already know.

Fletcher dropped both hands to his sides and stepped back a bit, studying her both to make sure she wouldn't fall over or anything and to analyze her. Maybe she wasn't in shock from the fire; she was in shock from being this exposed. She avoided eye contact--usually that meant someone was hiding something. There was a pause between her hearing her name from the guy and her saying when she had been doing--probably because she was figuring it out. All suspicious behavior.

Fletcher should arrest her right now. The reason he and the four other men in his van had been sent here was to do exactly this. Arrest anyone who struck them as even a little suspicious now; ask questions later. Oftentimes possible cover stories checked out, but sometimes they didn't. Fletcher looked around quickly, making sure nobody besides Megan and the guy talking to her were near enough to have heard or paid attention to it. He looked between the two of them, analyzing their expressions.

He could easily see himself in this same situation, trying to protect Liam.

Fletcher took one final glance around before he deemed that it was alright and they had escaped detection, and made a quick decision not to call them on Megan's potential cover story. He could always arrest them later. Besides, it wasn't the first time he let something like this slip by when he was sure he wouldn't be caught.

Fletcher focused back on the girl. "Your name is Megan?" he said. "Megan what?" He looked to the guy. "And who are you?" Hopefully, these two had their stories worked out well enough and the girl would snap out of it soon and stop acting so damn suspicious. Fletcher knew that if Juan or one of the other population police came over here and got a look at the situation, they would most likely slap a pair of handcuffs on Megan and then ask Fletcher why the hell he hadn't aleady done it himself.

There was a sudden wail of sirens. The firetrucks, arriving at last to put out the fire. Multiple ambulances followed them. People moved out of the way for the firetrucks to get closer to the apartment building. Fletcher looked up at the burning building. It was bad, there was no doubt about that. Tons of people had definitely lost their lives. Megan would probably have been one of them had Fletcher not tried to be an idiot hero and run in there. He watched with detached interest as a group of firefighters from the first firetruck jumped off almost as soon as the engine stopped and took off fearlessly into the flames.

He looked back to Megan. Snap out of it, he thought at her, as if she could hear his thoughts. Act normal. He was aware these thoughts could all be for nothing. Megan might actually be a legal citizen. If he arrested her right this second, she might actually check out. But then again, she might not, and Fletcher would be responsible for yet another person being killed or jailed just because they were born. Presumably, he didn't want to do that any more than she wanted to be thrown in a cell.

One of the paramedics walked over. "You all okay here? Need any help?" he asked, looking more at Megan than at Fletcher. Fletcher nodded, again not worrying about how he himself was but more about Megan. "Are you okay?" Fletcher asked her for the second time.

TAG; DEBZY <333
WORDS; 917
CREDITS; TEMPLATE BY OH LOVELY, NINJAS ! @ CAUTION!
NOTES; ehh i don't like this post much whatever

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shadows all around you as you surface from the dark, emerging from the gentle grip of
NIGHT'S UNFOLDING ARMS. DARKNESS
darkness every where, do you feel all alone? the subtle grace of gravity, the heavy weight of stone.
-----------------------------------------------------------

Lucky for Rachel Megan, she had just come out of a burning building, so it made sense that she was shaking, physically she was probably barely, but inside it felt like she was going through an earthquake. It was taking all of her will power to appear calm, cool and collected on the outside, but she really just wanted to crawl into a hole and hide. She had to force herself to continue to maintain eye contact with everyone, but the only thing she wanted was to slink away, to tell everyone and all of those eyes to stop looking at her, she was unimportant, why would they find her interesting? If only they could just find something else to focus on instead of her, then maybe she could actually calm down and manage to figure out a way out of this situation.

Realistically, no one was really paying any attention to her at all, except for her brother and the man in front of her. It was interesting how having ones eyes up and actually looking at things could prove to showcase different things, for it was at that moment that she noticed the Population Police emblem imprinted on his jacket. She almost fainted at the sight of it, but managed to keep herself righted. Perhaps, she was lucky that she was so stunned, and her legs weren't quite working, because she might have tried to run right then and there, but that wouldn't have done very well in keeping her inconspicious. Bolting across the parking lot in front of firemen, paramedics, strangers and Population Police was a good way to get her shot first. From what she had heard the Population Police were very much a shoot first, ask questions later kind of group.

She had never thought of her brother Thomas as much of a hero when they were growing up, but she was starting to express that sentiment now, here he was coming to her rescue. Maybe there was a strong bond between family. Thomas stuck out his hand to Fletcher, a tired but cheerful smile on his face, "My name is Thomas Edwards, I live in 311, or I guess we lived there..." The young man sighed as he brushed his other hand over his face, pausing for only a moment, "I've known Megan for years, her older sister dated my brother." Thomas let out a laugh, "Well, until he messed it up that is." Rachel Megan gave him a peculiar look before things started to fall into place for her, she knew who Megan was then, Matthew had dated Stephanie a few years ago. It was only for a few weeks, but still, at least Thomas had her impersonating a real person.

"Yeah, he really messed that up," Rachel Megan said with a laugh, shaking her head slightly, she remembered how clearly Matthew had been upset by that, she couldn't help but wonder if Stephanie had felt the same way. It didn't matter how Stephanie had felt though did it, if Thomas' story was correct then Stephanie was dead, as were her parents, and Megan. And here Rachel was pretending that she was Megan. She probably didn't look anything like Megan, but how was she to know, she'd never seen her. She'd seen a picture of Stephanie once, but she had no idea if the sisters looked completely different. She hoped they did, for her sake, Stephanie had been blonde haired and blue eyed, nothing like Rachel. Hopefully, nothing like Megan.

"Megan Rella," she added as she looked back at the Population Police officer, her stomach had fallen all the way into her feet, and it took everything she had to continue to look at him. She raised a hand to her face as she started coughing, too much talking, too much smoke in her lungs. She shook her head as the paramedic came over, that was all she needed was more people. "I'm fine," she said, still ocasionally coughing as she continued, "Yeah, I'm okay," she confirmed looking at Fletcher then back to Thomas, she was fine as long as she wasn't arrested. The last thing she needed was for them to try and look into medical files though, there were bound to be tons of things that were different between her and the real Megan, she didn't need them figuring anything out. All she needed was less people to be looking at her.

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tagged hayley
words 745
lyrics you are the moon - the hush sound.
banner coti-tastic !? @ caution 2.0
template FASHION STATEMENT SUICIDE of CAUTION 2.0.
notes hope this reply is okay.

The adrenaline and fear were fading from running into the burning building, and Fletcher could feel his asshole attitude creeping back. The truth was, Fletcher just was sort of an asshole; but he amplified it and used it as a barrier to keep most people at an arm's length away. He relied on sarcasm and antagonizing others to ensure that most people would ever want to become more then casual friends with him. Being Population Police also helped: common citizens tended to avoid police even if they had nothing to hide, and the macho attitude made sense for a cop.

He returned Thomas' handshake. "Fletcher," he said. "Fletcher Lewis." Although it was obvious because of the uniform he wore (which had Lewis printed across the right breast), he felt compelled to add, "Population Police."

He was about to make up an excuse to leave Thomas and Megan with the paramedic when the girl told him her last name. He stared back at her as she looked up at him. Megan Rella? Really? Funny, out of all the people he could have saved from a burning building, it was she.

Fletcher let out a breath he hadn't even realized he had been holding. He was working too much. Everyone he met seemed suspicious to him. He needed to take a break or something. It was fine, this was fine, everything was fine, because Megan was not a third child, and therefore he didn't need to worry about being found out for letting another one go. Thomas and Megan's story hadn't been a story after all, but facts from their lives. Fletcher had been wrong, so wrong to suspect him, and cases like this one were the one time he didn't mind being wrong. He preferred being wrong. And not only was he wrong about her being a shadow child, he knew this girl. He felt sort of stupid, thinking back to how certain he had been that Megan was a third child and how close he had been to arresting her just a few minutes ago.

Any lingering doubts he had about who she really was vanished. This girl looked very much like an older version of the Megan Rella from his memories. Granted, he was about eleven years old the last time he had seen Megan Rella, but why wouldn't this be her? He even remembered Stephanie Rella, the older sister. When he was little, he had the biggest kid crush on her. He pushed the thought away that the subject of his affections when he was a child was probably burning to death right now.

"Megan Rella, really?" he said, smiling slightly now. "And you don't remember me? We lived across the hall from each other until I moved when I was eleven?" He looked over his shoulder at the burning building. "And I guess you all moved here." A bit insensitive (especially since it seemed the rest of the Rellas were dead), but Fletcher wasn't known for being the most sensitive boy in the world: "In hind sight, probably not the best idea."

He looked vaguely concerned when launched into a coughing fit and then refused the help of the paramedic anyway, but who was he to argue with her? If she didn't want the medical attention, there were people who needed it.

The paramedic looked concerned too. "If you're positive..." he said, peering through his glasses at Megan doubtfully.

"She's fine," Fletcher answered for her. Megan coughed again. "I think."

The paramedic looked from Megan to Fletcher to Thomas and then back to Megan, shrugged, and hurried off to attend to people who would be more appreciative of his services.

"Are you sure you're okay, Megan?" Fletcher couldn't help but ask. "You breathed in a hell of a lot of smoke back there..."

TAG; debzay
WORDS; 635 sorrry
CREDITS; TEMPLATE BY OH LOVELY, NINJAS ! @ CAUTION!
NOTES; this took me awhile, lo siento!

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shadows all around you as you surface from the dark, emerging from the gentle grip of
NIGHT'S UNFOLDING ARMS. DARKNESS
darkness every where, do you feel all alone? the subtle grace of gravity, the heavy weight of stone.
-----------------------------------------------------------

Rachel Megan knew as well as her brother did that Fletcher was population police, it was something that each of them had immediately noticed upon spotting him. Even though Thomas had actually been allowed outside of the apartment and obviously had more experience being outside in the real world, Rachel Megan knew about it as well. The emblem reflecting off of his chest was a symbol that she had been taught to fear for as long as she could remember, she had also been taught that if she saw it she was try and hide and get as far away as possible. Unfortunately, that wasn't really possible for her at the moment considering the circumstances. Turning and running -- no matter how comforting it would feel to get away from all these eyes, and their questions; well it just wasn't a possible solution for her. It would do more harm then good and would certainly draw more attention to her then she needed.

Thomas spoke before she could, "How do you like it? Me or my brother might have to join up soon, we aren't sure how we're gonna be able to eat."

Rachel Megan had to resist the urge to give her brother a peculiar look, since it was the first that she had heard about it. Then again, she did remember hearing whispers about how the population police had made rules about people having to have a family member in the population police so that they could buy food. That must have been what they were referring too. It just proved how restrictive they were to the rest of the people, not allowing them to buy food unless they were supporters. Rachel Megan couldn't help but wonder if this Fletcher was in their ranks because he wanted to be, or simply because he was trying to get food for his family. She hoped it was the latter option, it would give her a little bit of hope on the subject.

She had to keep the shock from showing on her face when Fletcher addressed the fact that he knew her, she shook her head slowly, "I guess I must have forgotten..." she said slowly, trying to make it look like she was thinking about him from when they were children. Rachel Megan didn't have any memories of other people though, she had never met anyone besides her immediate family. She knew for a fact that her mother hadn't even been able to tell her Grandma about her, or her cousins, there were tons of people she was related too that she would never get too see.

"Yes, I'm fine." Rachel Megan said with a nod, not allowing herself to continue coughing. She didn't want to make a scene, she just wanted everyone to go away. She was so far from her element, and the only thing she wanted to do was curl up somewhere dark and hide. Maybe read a book and ask her mother to braid her hair. Oh her mother, would she ever be able to see her again? What if they took her somewhere, to Megan's extended family, after all Megan's family was dead. That meant that she had to pretend her family was dead. In some sort of fashion it was, her old life was gone, things would never be the same, now that she was out in public, now that she had become Megan. Would she ever be able to go back to the way things were?

Rachel Megan watched as the paramedic walked off, exhaling a sigh of relief. "No really, I am fine," she told Fletcher in what seemed like it could be a reassuring tone. Or at least what she hoped would be one. "There are plenty of people that are in worse states then me." Her head turned to look back at the still burning building, and the part that no longer existed. Megan and her family were in there, they were dead, and now she was desecrating their memory, by lying and saying that she was one of them.

Rachel Megan had to keep herself from throwing up, literally collapsing to her knees, "They're dead," she said louder then she had intended, completely overwhelmed by the notion of it. They were all dead. Now she was playing a dangerous game, just waiting to be found out. "They're dead..."

And if she wasn't careful she would be joining them soon.

-----------------------------------------------

tagged hayley
words 735
lyrics you are the moon - the hush sound.
banner coti-tastic !? @ caution 2.0
template FASHION STATEMENT SUICIDE of CAUTION 2.0.
notes sorry this took so long.

Motherfuck, did he hate that question. He never knew how to respond to it when someone asked him if he liked being Population Police. Actually, yes, I love working all the time to track down and usually kill people whose only crime was being born. I get quite a thrill out of making little pay just so my family can eat, pretending I don't have a damn third child living in the apartment with my father and I, and hanging out with psychopaths who actually believe all of this is right. I enjoy allowing this country to turn me into a murderer of innocent people. It's a fucking blast....

Like so many other scared people, Fletcher had learned to take comfort in his gun. As much as he hated what it could do, it made him feel safe and protected. Most other people didn't have a gun anymore, unless they worked for the government, and if they did they never walked around with it strapped to their hip. So, although he hated what it did, being on the "winning" side, the one in control, the terrible side of the United States government, gave Fletcher a mostly false sense of security. As he always did when someone asked him a question about being in the Population Police, he rested his right hand on his gun. It gave him an odd sense of comfort. One of Fletcher's worst fears was that he would be found out, and someone would come up to him asking questions. By putting his hand on his gun... Well, it helped him feel prepared for if any questions he didn't want to hear were asked and he had to do something he didn't want to do.

With his hand on his gun, Fletcher answered the hated question with the calm, slightly arrogant smoothness that he always did, scrutinizing Thomas with a stare straight out of the book designed to make him uncomfortable. "The Population Police is great," he said. "We're here to keep the citizens in order so that there will be enough food to go around for the people who actually deserve it." Fletcher was well aware that that sounded stupid and like the cliche things macho cops usually said to make themselves feel important. That was the point. After the first time someone had asked him about his involvement in the Police and he had been caught off-guard, Fletcher had practiced in the mirror until he could recite that without laughing at how much of an asshole that made him sound like -- not that he would admit that to anyone.

Fletcher was a bit surprised to hear that Megan apparently remembered absolutely nothing about him. His ego was also a bit wounded. How couldn't she recall him?

"You don't?" he said. "Really? We used to like, spend every day together. Me, you, Stephanie, and Delaney." The last name referred to his older sister. "You used to tell me I had big ears and buck teeth and would never get a girlfriend when I got older. Then when I was nine I asked Jenna Baker to be my girlfriend at recess one day just to prove you wrong." He smiled at the memory. He and Jenna's relationship had been an epic romance: The following day Jenna had broken up with him because he didn't save her a seat next to him at lunch and then refused wouldn't give her half of his PB&J to make it up to her. When he told Megan about his new romance, she had pretended she didn't hear him; when he revealed their breakup to her, she had smiled smugly. He couldn't believe she had no recollection of that, or any of it, whatsoever. "I'm pretty hurt," he said in a teasing voice, "that you don't remember me and I remember you."

Megan said she was fine, and Fletcher believed her. She had stopped coughing, and he could see some of the color returning to her face. He had to get back to work -- Population Police were not supposed to loiter and chat with civilians, as it gave the criminals a chance to escape -- so he prepared himself again to make an excuse to go. Then he blinked and suddenly Megan was on the ground. "The fuck?" he muttered, before he listened to what she was saying. Of course. She was upset. Her entire family was in there dying. Family he used to know well.

He dropped down beside her, intending to comfort her, but at a loss as to what to say. "It's okay, Megan," he said. "They'll be fine." He was lying, but he didn't know what else to tell her. "They'll be safe. I--" He cut himself off. He had been about to say I promise, but he couldn't really promise that, could he? "It will all be okay." He awkwardly patted her shoulder.

TAG; my bro debzy
WORDS; 810
WEARING; an itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini
CREDITS; TEMPLATE BY OH LOVELY, NINJAS ! @ CAUTION!
NOTES; <3

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shadows all around you as you surface from the dark, emerging from the gentle grip of
NIGHT'S UNFOLDING ARMS. DARKNESS
darkness every where, do you feel all alone? the subtle grace of gravity, the heavy weight of stone.
-----------------------------------------------------------

'We're here to keep the citizens in order so that there will be enough food to go around for the people who actually deserve it.'

Rachel felt a little weak at the knees as she heard his statement, she couldn't help but feel guilty, after all she was one of these people. It scared her that there was an entire group of people just like Fletcher who believed those words that he said. People thought that she didn't have the right to exist, that she was illegal, and for some reason her being alive would cost someone else their food. It was scary to think that there was someone out there who could be dead, because she had lived. Except, her family had always had enough food to eat, her mother had constantly been keeping left over for them. Not in the last few years, especially since the Population Police took control of the food supply, was that her fault? Was that true?

There was a simple explanation as to why Megan could not remember who Fletcher was, she wasn't Megan. There was no way that she would have any childhood memories including Fletcher, because they weren't her memories. The real Megan was burning alive, probably dead in the bulding somewhere, and here she was outside masquerading as her. Talk about disrespecting the dead. She had to take a deep breath to get the worry out of her system, maybe the real Megan didn't remember Fletcher anyways, perhaps she had had so much happen to her since then that it wasn't much of a highlight.

"You really did that?" She said with a small giggle when he said he had asked a girl to be his girlfriend to prove her wrong. The only people she had ever teased had been her brothers, and she had never been very good at it. Rachel had never been a master of insults and wit, she had never had much reason too.

She probably what have apologized for him feeling hurt if she didn't have so much bouncing around in her head right now. People were dead, the fire had just been put out, and Fletcher was joking around about how hurt he was that she didn't remember him. It didn't make sense. Then again this was a world that killed third children apparently for the food sources, maybe they were secretly happy the fire had killed a dozen or two people. That meant there was more food for other people then, didn't it? It confused her, this tramatic event was probably going to be looked upon with a positive twist, and no one was going to care that these people were now gone.

Him patting her shoulder may have been awkward, but it was more comforting then the words that he was speaking, which were obvious lies. If she hadn't been so overwhelmed by the amount of emotion she probably would have called him on his words, but she didn't. She could sense Thomas crouching down as well, trying to provide some comfort and some shelter for her, but she knew as well as he did that very soon he would have to leave her, and the odds that she would be able to see her family again was slim to none. That scared her, now she was forced into a world that she had no idea how to live in, and she was going to be alone.

"Whats going to happen to her now?" She heard Thomas ask Fletcher, her face was pressed into her knees now, and she had to try not to sob as she crouched there. "Since her family is gone..." Thomas was very tentative on the subject of it, lightly rubbing her back as they sat there.

She didn't want to do this. Not at all.

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tagged hayley
words 650
lyrics you are the moon - the hush sound.
banner coti-tastic !? @ caution 2.0
template FASHION STATEMENT SUICIDE of CAUTION 2.0.
notes so im not sure if i should be referring to her as rachel or megan when i write my posts... thoughts?

"Yeah, I did," he responded. "I still can't believe you don't remember any of it." Fletcher's ego was still hurting. Was he honestly that forgettable? "I suppose it was a long time ago, though."

He was distracted from Megan and Thomas as Juan came hurrying up. "Lewis! What the hell are you doing here? Leave the civilians, we got work to do!" He sounded impatient and sort-of excited.

"What?" Fletcher asked, leaning back on his feet to look up at Juan while still staying crouched in front of Megan. "Why are you looking like that?"

"Richard thinks he caught two from an apartment on the fifth floor, and Simon's got one. I had one but -- but I tripped going down the stairs, and the little bitch ran off before I could catch her again," Juan explained quickly, looking both thrilled and slightly uncomfortable.

Fletcher knew exactly what Juan was referring to. He didn't believe for a second that Juan had tripped and the girl had accidentally escaped. It was the sort of excuse he himself would use. "That's fantastic," he said sarcastically. "I'm busy here."

"This your girl?" Juan asked, making a rude and inappropriate gesture (especially considering where they were and what was going on).

"Fuck off. I don't even know her," Fletcher lied to Juan -- or thought he did. "I'm here making sure she isn't, y'know, one." He made sure the last word was very obviously emphasized to show that he found the code Juan was trying to use was stupid. A kindergartner could figure out what they were talking about.

"Stop being such a smartass and just do your job, Fletch," Juan huffed. He stalked off.

"Thank God," Fletcher muttered. He rocked back forward on his feet again to . "Idiots like him are the worst part about this job."

He looked at Thomas, thinking over the question. I'm Population Police, not the Relocating Girls After Their Apartment Burns Down Police, he felt like saying, but chose not to. Like Juan's gesture, it was an inappropriate time to take out his angers at the world on innocent people.

He thought about saying she could live with him. The Lewis and Fletcher families had been close enough in the past that that might even had made sense. But now? It would sound strange, borderline creepy even, especially since Megan apparently had no recollection of him. And there was the one big issue: Liam. It would be incredibly ignorant for Fletcher to bring another person into his home who wasn't family. Not only were they hiding a third child, but Fletcher was part of the organization that was supposed to be pulling the third children out of hiding. If Megan told the government that, the government would have a field day murdering Fletcher and his family.

"It depends," Fletcher answered, guessing more than anything. "If she's eighteen -- I think you would be eighteen now, Megan, there's one thing I can't remember-- then whatever money her family has saved is what she's got, probably. The government won't be able to help her if she's a legal adult. But if she's younger? And she doesn't have any other family to stay with? I really don't know," he admitted. "It's not my department. But I guess they'd find her a place to stay until she was old enough." He shrugged. "Since she's an old friend, I'll help her out how I can," he added, almost as an afterthought. There wouldn't be a lot he could do. His family had barely any money as it was, and he couldn't offer her a place to stay, not even for a couple of days. "Her best bet is if she has other family she can stay with."

He spoke to Megan instead of Thomas. "Do you have any other family, Megan?"

TAG; DEBZY!
WORDS; 639
CREDITS; TEMPLATE BY OH LOVELY, NINJAS ! @ CAUTION!
NOTES; idk i think she would refer to herself as rachel, at least at first? but after awhile she might fall into the habit of being megan? you just just call her megan for simplicity's sake

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shadows all around you as you surface from the dark, emerging from the gentle grip of
NIGHT'S UNFOLDING ARMS. DARKNESS
darkness every where, do you feel all alone? the subtle grace of gravity, the heavy weight of stone.
-----------------------------------------------------------

Everything was a long time ago to Rachel, everything that she knew, she had been, all the things that she was comfortable with -- that was all gone now. And there was no way she was ever going to be able to go back to it. Anything that Rachel had been used too was a life time away, this was a new world and Rachel had to do her best to face it courageously, because there was no other way for her to get around it. Before she had wanted too, before she was ready, the choice had been made for her. Rachel was out, she was exposed, and it all came down on her shoulders now for her to not screw it up. And it was out of love for her family that she was drawing the strength to at least try and hold herself together.

Rachel almost melted at the seams when the second officer showed up, and was quite glad that she was already curled up in a ball, and that Thomas was still close at hand. She didn't think she would have been able to pretend and hold onto her composure if she had too face two of them. She knew what they were talking about, it was hard not too with her paranoia sensors on high, but at the same time she didn't want to know. Rachel was quite content to believe that they were talking about actual escaped convicts, or people who needed help, or renegade animals for goodness sakes. She just didn't want to believe or be aware that they were talking about people like her.

They were though. After all, these were the population police, what else would they be discussing?

She relaxed slightly after the second man turned and walked away, well aware of the comforting hand her brother still had on her back. Rachel didn't want him to leave her, she was trying her best to not be scared, but she knew it was going to be much worse if he left her alone. At least she had to consider the fact that everyone would be gone, no watching eyes, she'd be able to breathe for a few minutes without worrying about someone looking over at her.

Slowly she adjusted, still sitting on the ground, her chin was resting on her knees, at least she was looking up at Fletcher now as he spoke. It didn't make any sense for her to be mumbling responses into her knees. "Yes, I'm eighteen," well Rachel was, but was Megan? She bit the inside of her lip, hoping to God that it was right, but it didn't seem that Fletcher knew her age. Unless that had been the trap? What if it was a trap and Rachel had just stumbled into it, of she was dead, why was she doing this? Things were guaranteed to go horribly wrong.

Yet no alarms went off, and Fletcher continued talking, maybe she actually was safe? She shook her head, it didn't matter whether Megan had any actual family alive or not, there was no way she would be able to be around Megan's kin and not have them find out. Maybe she could trick Fletcher into believing the web of lies, but she was sure anyone who had seen Megan in the last few years would know that it was all a sham.

"There's no one left," she said quietly as she shook her head. Truthfully there wasn't anyone, right? In a minute Thomas would be gone and then she would be left on her own. Surely, a few days after that she would be dead, Megan had no idea how to take care of herself, how to survive out in the real world. And she wasn't very sure that she wanted to try. "Do you think you can really help me out?" She added cautiously, she didn't believe that he really would, he was population police after all. But at the same time she couldn't be very picky, she didn't have that many options. Besides, maybe she was better off being close to the people who were out there looking too get rid of her.

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tagged hayley
words 700
lyrics you are the moon - the hush sound.
banner coti-tastic !? @ caution 2.0
template FASHION STATEMENT SUICIDE of CAUTION 2.0.
notes sorry this took me so long.

Fletcher was getting too involved. He knew that. What had his father always told him? Put the family first, and nobody else second. Family ties were the sole things the government hadn't been able to destroy. It was impossible to trust in friends these days, even the ones you had grown up with. But family? Family was always there for you. They wouldn't call the cops on you because you were harboring an illegal child -- although that was mostly because if you were, then they were as well, so they couldn't turn you in.

But Megan? She wasn't family. She never had been even when they were children. In fact, the reason Fletcher's family had moved away from their old apartment in the first place was because Fletcher's mother had discovered she was pregnant again, and with the two families being so close, with the children running back and forth between the two apartments, it wouldn't have been safe to stay there. The Rellas would undoubtably have thought it odd if suddenly the Lewises had shut them out, and confiding Liam's existence to them was too dangerous. So the family moved, saying that the new apartment building they were moving to was cheaper and closer to where both parents worked. And after a while, the Rellas had stopped calling to see how they were and Liam was born.

His father would never understand his compulsion to help Megan out. Liam wouldn't. Delaney had grown up and fucking more-or-less abandoned them all, so he couldn't ask her advice either, although she would probably advise him to move to the other side of the country with Megan and phone back to check on Dad and Liam on holidays. Fletcher couldn't even understand it himself. Since Liam's birth, he had stuck to the put family first policy, to the extent of never having any very close friends or even a serious girlfriend. Furthermore, instead of chickening out like his sister had and leaving, Fletcher had stuck around and gotten a damn government job to get food and try to keep Liam safe by getting inside information. His family was struggling as it was with their secrets and lack of money, but here he was offering to help out a girl he hadn't seen in years who didn't even remember him.

Time to put the walls up. Maybe he could scare her off.

Megan finally looked up at him again when she responded. Yes, it did make sense that she was eighteen, now that he thought about it. He was almost twenty, and Megan had never been more than two years behind him in age. "Good," he commented, though he didn't sound like he thought it was very good. "Do you have a job or anything?"

When she told him she had no one left, Fletcher knew he was screwed. "That's rather unfortunate." He looked at Thomas thoughtfully, wondering what he was still doing there. You would think the guy would have moved by now to see if his actual family was safe... But maybe him sticking around was a good sign. Maybe he would be able to take Megan in. After all, his brother had dated Megan's sister. Maybe a bond had grown there... "Why are you still here?" he asked Thomas abruptly.

He looked slightly uncomfortable. "I really won't be able to do much... But I'll help you out if I can, Megan. Help you find a place to stay if you want.... or something."

Things here were dying down. Most of the ambulances had speedily driven off, taking their occupants to the hospital. Firefighters continued pouring out of the building, but most returned empty handed instead of with people they had been able to save, shaking their heads. The fire had apparently been put out.

Juan came back again.

"What?" Fletcher asked, annoyed. "What the fuck else do you have to tell me?"

"We caught a shit load of them."

"Cool."

"The van is all filled, Fletch. There's not room for you."

That was both good and bad. This way, he could stay with Megan for now. But did he really want to? "Okay," he said. "I'll find my own way back."

"Yeah?" Juan said, shooting another one of his looks at Megan. "I bet you will." Fletcher gave him the finger and he walked off and jumped into the passenger side of the van. Then the van drove off, and Fletcher tried to not think of all the unfortunate occupants stuffed in the back.

As soon as the rest of the Population Police were gone, Fletcher turned back to Megan. "Okay. Looks like I'm free for right now." He tried to say this brightly. "Can I help get you anywhere, or...?" He was at a loss as to what to do. What are you supposed to do for a person who has just lost everything, inculding their family, to a fire?

TAG; DEBZY!
WORDS; 822
CREDITS; TEMPLATE BY OH LOVELY, NINJAS ! @ CAUTION!
NOTES; i have no life, ergo i reply fast

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shadows all around you as you surface from the dark, emerging from the gentle grip of
NIGHT'S UNFOLDING ARMS. DARKNESS
darkness every where, do you feel all alone? the subtle grace of gravity, the heavy weight of stone.
-----------------------------------------------------------

Rachel understood the idea of family first and nothing else, it had been her reality. All that she had had was her family, that and her books and her art, but there was no reality from books or art, there was no physical touch, or interaction, no matter how much safety and comfort she had found in the pages of the books, the brush strokes of the work, it wasn't real. Or at least real as in laughing and playing games with her brothers. Her family was all that she had ever known, that and the walls of the apartment, and now everything was gone. Rachel was alone. Family first, but hwo did that change when she no longer had family to put first? One for all, and all for -- just her.

"No, I don't." She said with a shake of her head, at least it was a true statement, Rachel didn't have a job. She hoped the real Megan didn't have one either, but she knew from how she heard her family talk that jobs were scarce, unless you worked for the population police. Now wouldn't that be ironic, Rachel masquerading as Megan and working for the population police. That wouldn't say much for their system if that happened. Not that she expected it would, Rachel wasn't expecting to last that long. "We were trying to find me one," she said slowly, trying to appear as if she was recollecting events that had just passed, "There aren't many people hiring right now," she continued absentmindedly. It was bizarre trying to mirror thoughts the way someone else would present them, someone that she didn't even know. It was hard for her.

'Why are you still here?'

She was startled at his question, until she realized that it wasn't being directed at her, it was at Thomas. And Rachel knew before he even started replying, that the comforting hand that was her brothers on her back was going to be gone soon. Then she was really going to be alone. Facing the world as Megan. Compeletely vulnerable. She wasn't going to make it, she had no hope.

"Hey man, just making sure she's okay," Thomas said, slowly helping Rachel to her feet. "My family is okay, she just lost hers." Thomas turned his head to look back, and it was then that Rachel noticed the rest of her family, leaning against what she supposed was her father's car, waiting. She wondered where they were going, she silently prayed she could go with them, but she knew that was impossible. Thomas raised his hand to wave at his family and Rachel had to do her best not to cry. She was going to miss them.

"Anything you could do would be appreciated," Rachel said quietly, a somber tone taking to her voice. Did she really want his help? He was a population police officer, if that wasn't tempting fate she didn't know what was.

She wished she could shrink as the other officer came back, he seemed to really enjoy coming in and upturning families, destroying their lives. Rachel was glad that he hadn't found her, at least not yet. If she took Fletcher's help would this man be around? She'd be too scared, she couldn't do this, she just wanted to hide.

"You going to be alright Megan?" she turned to look at Thomas slowly nodding her head, "Keep your chin up, you'll be fine," he offered her a smile, giving her a reassuring nod. "I'm sure I'll see you around," And with that he was gone, walking back to the car where their family was waiting, his family, they weren't hers anymore. She was surprised she managed to keep from bursting into tears, she was hugging herself as she turned to look back at Fletcher. She hadn't said goodbye, and she didn't want too, Fletcher's friend was gone, and she didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention to her family.

"I don't know where to go," she said quietly, shaking her head. She had no idea what she could do. Would the real Megan know, if she had lost her family, was standing here, would she have known where to go, what to do next? Rachel brushed at the tears from her eyes, forcing herself to stand facing Fletcher instead of watch the car pull out of the parking lot. She knew that they were gone now, and there was no guarantee she would ever be able to see them again. "What am I supposed to do?" She asked, sniffling softly as she looked up at him. Rachel didn't want to trust him, ask for his help, but she was at a loss of who else she could turn too.

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tagged hayley
words 790
lyrics you are the moon - the hush sound.
banner coti-tastic !? @ caution 2.0
template FASHION STATEMENT SUICIDE of CAUTION 2.0.
notes yay for replies.

"That's true," Fletcher agreed absently. "A bunch of the people my dad works with were laid off a few days ago." Thankfully, his father's job had been safe, and though the job was shitty, at least he still had one. Jobs were getting harder and harder to find these days. Unemployment kept rising and the only jobs with any definite security left were high-ranking government positions and population police. His mind flipped through places he could possibly get his new protégé a job yet, but he couldn't think of any place besides a crappy job cleaning the population police offices or something. He wouldn't bring that up until they could find nothing else. "Okay. We'll need to find you a job now then. Your family... Did they have any money saved up at all you can get to?" Whatever money she had would be helpful. If her family was like Fletcher's and lived paycheck to paycheck, things would just be that much more complicated. "Regardless, though. Job: first on your list."

Fletcher looked at Thomas. "Right," he said evenly. Thomas left soon after that. Fletcher waved him off sarcastically.

When Megan turned around, she looked terrified to be alone. The look on her face was so fucking sad that he wanted to hug her or something, anything to make her look less lost. This was an odd feeling for Fletcher; usually, he kept physical contact to a minimum as much as he could. He looked down to the rest of Megan and saw how dirty she was from being in the fire. He probably looked just as filthy himself.

He didn't see any other options for right away. He would just invite Megan over for a little while. He took out his phone and inconspicuously typed a text message to the second number listed under his father's name. Liam's phone. The cheap, untraceable, pay as you go mobile that Liam always had on him in case of the rare times Fletcher was going to bring someone home and Liam needed to hide. bringing someone home. get in dad's room, he sent. Liam stayed in their father's room with the door shut whenever people were over. During the day, their father spent all day sleeping in preparation for working all night, so it made sense for the door to stay closed and for Fletcher to say the room was off limits.

"Look," he said, "we don't have a lot of options right now, but you do need to get cleaned up. Me too. Why don't you... come back to my place with me. You can shower, and my sister left behind a lot of her old clothes when she moved out -- well, abandoned us, but it's all the same, really -- and you look like you're her size. Then, we can... figure out what to do next." Fletcher sighed heavily. Where had this suddenly responsibility for a girl he hadn't seen, let alone thought of, in years come from?

He heard a sniffle and freaked out internally. Crying girls made Fletcher more uncomfortable than almost any other thing in the world. He never knew what to do when a girl cried. "Hey, listen. It will all be fine. My apartment is only about a ten, fifteen minute walk from here. We'll figure out what to do. I'll help you."

TAG; debzy
WORDS; 559
CREDITS; TEMPLATE BY OH LOVELY, NINJAS ! @ CAUTION!
NOTES; short, shitty reply. i'm sorry ):