The Dormitories

[DeputyDirectorWhite]

"...we have the Dormitories. I know they don't look like much now," Deputy Director White gestures at plastic tents lined with rows of institutional metal-frame beds with footlockers next to each, "but with some good old Yankee ingenuity and a bit of effort, I'm sure we can spiffy them up. I've already requisitioned a coffee machine for each tent, and hopefully the pumpkins will arrive in time for Jack o'Lantern carving and pumpkin pie. Now over here..."

[Sally]

Sally drags himself into the bunks, eyes the metal frame beds and footlockers, and calls out to Gus and Mason and all the other former jarheads, "Well, as I live and breathe, Parris Island reborn." Predawn wake up calls, bed inspection, boot inspection, kit inspection- all the happy, happy, happy routines of PT and getting screamed at by a Drill Instructor.

His voice is half a sigh, and as he plops down, he mutters, "I ain't makin the golldarn bed, and if anybody even brings a friggin' M-R-E within' spittin' distance a me, they're fixin' to get pistol-whipped."

With a final grunt, Sally says "Cooloh khara," just about the only bit of Arabic he could remember from the 'Stan- 'It's all bullshit.'

Welcome (back) to the suck.

[cathy]

Zoey walks slowly with her 5 cases and bags into the tented area with Sally. She looks around with a withered look and sees the hallway of metal beds. Zoey heaves a heavy sigh and slumps in, dumping half her bags on the bunk next to Sallys' and the rest on the bunk on the other side of her.

"I hope you don't mind...but right now between you and ASH is the most comfortable placement for me. That way I can do your check-ups without moving as much."

Zoey gives Sally a small smile as she looks around the empty room. "This is going to get crowded I bet."

Her face turns serious. "Sally, I would ...recommend that you do not give any blood samples nor would I recommend that you accept any injections that I do not administer. Right now, I understand your physical condition better than any other physician here. Also, I can double check if what they say is in the needle...actually is what is in the needle. The last "governmental" figure we encountered was Cosgrow... and that trust turned out splendid."

Zoey rolls her eyes and looks around. "Where am I supposed to hang up my jacket? I don't see any closets." After walking down the row for a bit she shrugs and opens her tool box. "Deputy Director White said we could make it more comfortable with effort. Might as well get started."

Zoey pulls an empty bunk across the floor in front of her bed. Pulling her utility knife from the tool box she cuts off all the seams from the defenseless mattress, not bothering to take it gently. She piles the cheap white padding on the side and cuts one of the large rectangular pieces in half. Zoey took each half in turn, folding that in half on itself, and sewed the edges on itself leaving just enough room to put a good amount of stuffing in each newly formed pillow. Zoey flinged them on her bed.

Dusting her hands together she looked at the newly bare bed frame. Her eyes squinted as she began to visualize what to do. Soon she began to mumble and point at the frame. After a few minutes Zoeys' eyes twinkled and she just begins to smile...not a happy 'thank you for holding the door' smile but a deep scheming smile.

Zoey gently rolls the bunk on its' side and walks over to her tool box and pulls out a heavy, handheld rotary grinder. Taking the grinding wheel off she replaces it with a saw wheel. Moving the loose fabric and stuffing to a safe distance Zoey puts on a pair of protective goggles and turns to Sally.

"If you have ear protection...now would be a good time." Zoey powers up the saw and the loud whirring of the blade is replaced by the high pitched metal on metal scraping. With little effort and a whole lot of racket she cuts two of the bed legs off on one side. Powering her saw down she pulls the bed on its' side to stand tall between her and Ash's bed. The two remaining legs and the small metal footboard stabilize the structure quite nicely. Slipping her white coat off she hangs it gently on a hanger. The metal headboard pointed toward the room is now her coat rack. Placing her other raw materials into the trunk at the foot of her bed she steps back and analyzes her work.

"Phooey on those who say engineering is only used on bridges. What do you think Sally?"

[Kristina]

Walking by, Chastity stops to talk with Dr. Zinc and Sally. She takes off her glasses and pinches the bridge of her nose.

"Unfortunately, I don't believe we will have a choice on whether we give samples or not. This is a quarantine and they will need to find out if we have anything contagious. They will likely only be testing for specific pathogens, radiation poisoning, and the like, anything they don't already know about may not be on their radar. The fact that I have found some of the symptoms of exposure to the things on the island to cause hallucinations," She looks both in the eye in turn as she says this and then replaces her glasses, "will, hopefully, keep things from getting out of hand."

[cathy]

Zoey smiles to Dr. Chastity,

"I am fully confident that Advanced MedTech has the capability of identifying pathogens or any other phenomenon within a blood sample. I prefer they conduct my tests since they already have my medicinal information and history."

Zoey Zinc pauses as she stops herself from saying something. She closes her eyes for a brief inner conversation and re-opens them.

"Advanced MedTech is happy to cooperate with law enforcement, however it is important to me to follow all proper protocol and regulations. I have never been subjected to any type of federal quarantine before and I will contact my Corporate office very soon with my report, asking for instructions on how to act in this situation." Zoey shrugs, "It only takes a few hours to drive here from my facility, so I hope to have an answer in a day or so."

[Henry Gondorf]

Upon hearing the words "The Dormitories" Henry roused himself enough to shamble off the bus in the direction of the plastic tents. He saw people migrating into the tents closer to the main drag. Henry worked his way over to one of the tents yet to be occupied. He slipped through the flap to find a cot towards back of the tent. Without any ceremony, Henry flopped down onto the cot. He took a few moments to adjust his bag across his chest as he wrapped his shredded coat around him. He rested his hands inside his coat across his chest to keep his core warm. He rubbed his head against the single pillow to drop his sulky cap over his eyes to resume his nap from the bus.

[Nick Sleet]

Nick opens up the flap of what looked like an unoccupied tent and sees Henry at a far bunk. Walking quietly so as not to disturb the fellow investigator, he grabs a cot midway down the tent and opens up his suitcase. After checking for hidden cameras, he begins to make his arsenal vanish into various hidden pockets in the case. Giving the footlocker's lock a scornful glance, he loads some of his clothes into it anyhow and then stands up, looking resignedly at the new home.

[endemic]

**stepping into the occupied tent, Gunnar walks quietly to the bunk next to Ash's. Stowing his gear in silence he tries to look alert and clear. However; to any trained eye he looks tired and weary**

[David]

Ash walks into the tent and carries his two big suitcases to the bed beside Zoey. He moves her bags to her bed and places his suitcases on the floor. Laying on the bed, Ash takes out a book.

"Tell me when you are leaving the tent."

[Owle Isohos]

Kelsey pokes her head into Gunnar's tent, waving to get his attention. "Hey. If you wanted to talk to the Deputy Director, he's all yours. Sorry, didn't mean to delay you - just was trying to find out what we could expect being stuck here."