Colin's posts

"...hm." Hal mumbled.

"We'll work something out." he told her.

"For now, have a pleasant night." he finished.

With that, the two of them parted ways, and she unlocked the door, opening it. When she stepped inside, she found it was fully furnished, but the two things that probably would have stood out the most to her were the large comfortable-looking bed... and the door that was open, and she could see porcelain and tile inside, meaning that was more than likely the bathroom.

Which mean there would be a shower and/or bath in there.

Overall, the dorm offered a modest place to live, but to her, it may as well have been a Hilton hotel room at that point.

"Good." Hal replied, as they reached the elevator and stepped in.

"That's all I ask." he told her, the doors closing and the lift taking them down several floors.

The rest of the walk was in relative silence, until they reached a door with the number on it that corresponded to the one on her keycard.

"I'll schedule you an appointment with the medics for tomorrow." he told her.

"What time are you usually up and awake by?" he asked her.

"...on a night where you would get something akin to decent sleep." he then clarified.

"Hmmm." Hal mumbled.

"Well, me." he said. "Angela, our head medic." he continued. "Any of our resident demons and spirits..." he went on. "And the cafeteria staff." he then told her.

"NEVER mess with the people that handle your food." he suggested.

"Beyond that... you'll learn as you go." he shrugged.

"Oh, and stay away from the R&D lab if you have no business there." he then added.

"You don't want to walk into one of their experimentations gone... suddenly awry."

Hal nodded in response.

"Very well." he said, getting out from behind the desk.

"This way." he told her, leaving the office and expecting her to follow.

She did, indeed, and the two of them started to walk down the hallway.

"The dorms are down a few floors." he said.

"We'll take the elevator." he told her.

"In the meantime, any food allergies or anything we should know about?" he asked.

"....we'll work on bringing that attitude back up to snuff." Hal said, accepting the papers. "Hopefully we can get you to a better place than 'nowhere else to go but up'.." he commented further, looking them over.

"And everything seems to be in order here." he muttered.

"Excellent." he said further, putting them away and producing a keycard from the desk, as well as an identification badge.

"Temporary for now, until we can get you some proper ID." he told her, handing them over.

"Now, you have a choice." he said.

"See your dorm first, get checked out by our medical team first, or get something to eat first."

"We can discuss the specifics later." Hal responded.

"In general, all that we ask is that you try to find your place in society... the world... and try and move forward with your life." he continued. "Make something of yourself, essentially, or try and get to a stable point in your life, at least." he went on.

He then sifted through some papers, and handed them to her.

"Read these." he said.

"Once you sign them, you'll be a resident here, living in our dorms." he told her.

"Access to gym, food, medical assistance, whatever you need." he continued.

"Just read those over and sign in the indicated places."

Hal shook his head.

"Firstly, we'd know." he said. "Our information network runs... VERY deep..." he assured her. "Secondly, I can tell a lot about someone by looking at them." he went on. "And the one that gave me that poster, I could tell... they're not very nice, and they have a very skewed view on what is right and what is wrong." he continued. "And looking at you, I can see that you are, indeed, a good person." he then said.

"And why would I want to help?" he asked.

"It's who I am." he said.

"It's what we do." he told her further.

"We are The Unit. And we are a safe haven for all that seek sanctuary, wish for a second chance, or just need a helping hand in life."

"Good." the man replied.

He then took the paper, crumpled it up in his hands, and dropped it in the wastebasket that was nearby.

"Means I can get rid of that thing." he commented.

"When I heard why you were being hunted, I told them that we would be on the lookout for you." he then told her. "But I didn't say WHY." he continued. "They think we're looking for you so we can turn you back to them." he then said. "...but we actually want to keep you FROM them." he revealed.

"..." he was silent once more, before sighing.

"I'm Hal." he told her.

"Hal Sharp." he introduced himself, extending a hand.

"Take a seat." the man responded.

When she did, she saw that, behind the desk, there was a man of darker skin tone, with what appeared to be a shaved bald head, and dark sunglasses on. Why he was wearing them, she had no idea.

"I'm well aware it's dark and we're inside." he commented. "These are... prescription, we'll say." he told her.

Then, before she could say anything, he started digging through a folder, and he produced a sheet of paper that looked... tattered and stained, and darkened from age. He handed it to her, and her heart dropped when she saw it was, essentially, a wanted poster of her.

"First things first." he said.

"Is that you?" he asked.

"And no, your answer won't change anything. I just want you to be honest with me." he then clarified.

"....yeah, I can tell." Zeke replied.

"A shame that they rejected you for your gift." he commented.

[b}"But I can assure you, that will NOT happen here."[/b] he promised her.

He also noticed there was something... off... about her aura. His angelic genes were also telling him that, though she was certainly alive, kicking, and relatively healthy... she was on a clock, of sorts?

'Naw, I'm just tired.' he dismissed it, as they entered the receptionist's area... without the receptionist, as she had gone home for the night... and saw that the door to the boss's office was open.

"Come on in!" they heard him call.

"All right, in y'go." Zeke told Izea.

"...." Zeke was silent for a moment, before laughing sheepishly.

"Less 'authority', more 'confidence'." he admitted.

"And a bounty?" he asked her, as the receptionist's office came into view.

"Why?" he asked further. "Why would you have a bounty on you?" he inquired even further.

He wondered if she was a criminal, now. Was she someone that was dangerous? If so, what was she capable of?

Was this all a misunderstanding?

He didn't want to judge her too quickly, despite what half his genes were telling him.

Zeke just chuckled.

"Ah-haha. Indeed." he said. "It's painfully fitting for me, too." he told her.

"And yeah, your name was brought up by Jake." he confirmed. "Nice to meet you, Izea." he continued, as they took a few turns down some of the hallways in the building.

As they walked, she noticed that he was tall. Quite tall. Not just compared to her. And it was clear that he was a man that took care of his body... and seemed to radiate a gentle aura... but one of frightening conviction and judgement.

His voice did NOT sound judgmental at all, though. It was an odd contrast.

"If you need a safe haven, you've found the right place." he commented. "I guarantee you'll be welcomed here."

Jake laughed a little, as the man looked away, his face turning slightly read.

"Hey, no worries." he told Izea.

"Th-thanks." the man stammered, brushing his blonde hair away from his face.

"Anyway, let's go." he told her.

The two of them then walked into the building, with Jake waving at her, before the door closed and they started to make their way down the hallway, silently at first, before the man broke the silence.

"So, anyway..." he mumbled.

"Name's Ezekiel." he introduced himself.

"Most just call me 'Zeke' though."

Jake nodded with a smirk.

"Fair enough." he told her.

After about a minute, the door inside opened, and a VERY tall male approached.

"Oh, didn't know it'd be YOU." Jake commented.

"Angela's doing some late night work, so I'm there to help." the man replied.

"Ahh, fair enough." Jake responded.

"Anyway, can you take Izea here to Sharp?" he then asked.

"Sure thing." the man replied.

"You good to go?" he asked her.