Every Planet We Reach is Dead

[Jerry Bonner]

Jerry flicked a cigg as he pressed his back against a row of lockers in the hall, the students filtering out into their transitional five minutes that got them to their next classes. Being a Junior, he didn't have an extreme amount of classes to worry about. At least not in the last periods of the day. Most of his were in the morning, which could be a real bitch but hey. What was he gonna do? Sucking at the nicotine he watched the students closely as they mulled about their daily business. They looked pretty...normal. Despite that a lot of them had been sent here against their own will, for one reason or another. But they just...pretended like everything was ok.

Things were far from OK at Crossroads. Besides that most of the kids here had stories as fucked up as he did, maybe even worse...there was something else going on. He knew it. The things he'd seen over his time here...they put him on edge. For some reason Jerry felt like he was more observant than the other kids, but he didn't know why. It was so obvious to him. His bright blue-greens flickered to the faces of a few of the kids. They seemed so...lifeless. So zombie-comic.

It didn't make any sense.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he sighed and tapped the smoke again. There was digging to do, that was for sure.

[Harper Jones]

The bell rang, like it always did, dismissing the classes and Harper moved out of his class and into the hall. He stayed within his class slightly longer than the rest, jotting down little notes within his personal notebook. Harper was always taking notes, little ones about everyone around, every action done around him, whether it effected him or not. It was so at the end of the day, he could recall events and put them all down within his journal in full detail, keep a log of everything, find the truth. This was his passion, one he could never turn down, it was why he was here, why he put up with this oddity of a school, to find its truth. Never could Harper turn down an opportunity like this, it just wasn't in his blood. With his notes ending, Harper stood up and walked out of the classroom as he put his bag over his shoulder and his notebook beneath his arm. Moving out of the class, he stopped a moment in the middle of the hall, watching everyone around in an idle examination. Sighing, he pulled his notebook out and began to take more notes as he turned and began to walk. His feet carried him idly through the hallway as his pencil jotted down everything going on around him. Even with his eyes glued to the paper, he was watching everything around him. People thought he was weird and very few knew he even had a newspaper that was for the school, since it came out once a month, if Harper was lucky to get everything he needed.

In his idle walk, he stopped instantly and perked a brow as he looked up from his notebook, his pencil stopping in place. Looking over at Jerry, he shook his head, "Smoking kills," he stated to Jeremiah. It wasn't like it was news, but Harper had this thing against smoking, not smokers, just smoking itself. Examining Jerry, Harper wondered if this man was really meant to be here. Adjusting upon his black sneakers, Harper rose his hand and pushed back his black hair that was mixed with the crimson locks he had so carefully dyed. Black large brim glasses rested neatly upon his nose as blue eyes stared out from within them. Baggy blue jeans huddled up around Harper's sneakers, covering their tongues while wrapping tight around his waist. A black t-shirt rested upon his torso quite neatly while his brown messenger bag rested upon his left hip while the strap was upon his right shoulder. "You look like a man that wants to know the truth, am I wrong?" Harper idly stated, it wasn't really a guess, just something Harper always said to start a conversation. Yeah, he wasn't the best conversationalist, that much is true.

[Jerry Bonner]

After the kid stopped to comment about smoking, Jer took a long hard look at the boy, smirking through the next drag that he intentionally exasperated. Letting the smoke stream through his nose with a little attitude, he tipped his head.

"Only way outta this place so far is a body bag...." He said with a smile that held a rather pitiful amount of friendliness. Crossing his arms he scanned over Harper quickly, noting the book he was carrying. A notebook. Inwardly chuckling his eyes shone.

"The truth...which...you know?" He said, recognizing his picture from the school newspaper. He watched the kid closely. He had a strange feeling he wasn't the only one watching this kid. In fact, he wondered now if he might be the next one to disappear. Not that he'd really seen many. But he knew of a boy who just didn't come back one day. There were a few stranger things like that plaguing Jerry's mind. And this one was so...outward about his doubts. Tapping the ashes again, he leaned back against the lockers.

"And if you do...what do you intend to do about it?" He said with another thin, curious smile. He didn't seem like the action type.

[Harper Jones]

Listening to Jeremiah's comment, Harper shrugged his shoulders with great amount of doubt on that subject. "Something tells me they won't let any person or body out. Have you ever seen an ambulance come in or even someone from the morgue? Besides, why do you think they have mystery meat Monday," Harper stated, more so in idle observations rather than true hard facts, "But I could be wrong." Studying Jerry, Harper wondered what was going on within his head, if the gears were really turning of if there was truly no one home. If he was observant and willing to question, he may be just the extra hand Harper's been looking for. Harper always hated the fact he wasn't a very good profiler, he was just good with clues. Course, he paid close attention to body language, but was sometimes poor at interpretation, especially in this place. Everyone was acting as if they were in some sort of masquerade ball, masking who they were with lies. Or perhaps Harper was just a very poor judge of body language. Nothing would truly surprise him, but that's why he was taking psychology, to help better himself and his observation skills. Good thing he also takes notes on everything around as well as people's actions.

Laughing, Harper shrugged his shoulders, "Depends on what truth you want to know. Some I know, the rest I have a few clues on. If you're willing to look, you may find what you want," he stated idly, "It's like what Galileo said, all truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them." He quoted, quite literally by heart. Harper looked up to those who looked for the truth around every corner, questioned reality and society's boundaries. Asked the one question few would dare to think, 'Are you telling us the truth?' More often than not, the answer was no.

[Jerry Bonner]

Jerry's gaze hardened and he reached out, grabbing the sleeve of the kid and pulling him into the empty classroom they were standing beside, where the lockers ended. Jerry leaned against the wall, his breath hushed but his face incredibly serious. The kind of expression that you wouldn't want to mess with whoever's wearing it.

"I want the whole truth. And I'm getting closer and closer to it. I don't take no for an answer when it comes to this shit....now listen..." He said, the most recent ideas taking over his speech as they formulated themselves into the next necessary step of action. It was time. "You say you want the truth...I've been in this shithole since I was 16. They've taken so much from me...and I intend to get it back. I intend to give these poor saps their freedom back...." He said, looking around quickly as he waited patiently for one of those...zombie kids to walk by the doorway. He sighed, looking at Harper.

"You're either in or your out. But you and that little notebook make you an asset." He said, his words strict and to the point. "If you should choose to say no...and I find one day that you ratted me out..." He paused, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I will track you down. And I will kill you." He said, very seriously, his eyes blazing. He stood up straight, looking casually out the doorway.

"Now... are you on your way to anyplace in-particular?"

[Harper Jones]

It took only a moment for everything to change as Harper was pulled into the next class, half expecting something completely different. Listening and staring at the man seriously, Harper could see that Jerry was not one that was doing this just for the kicks. No, he had something he wanted to keep hidden and secret. Jerry seemed rather bright, a real shame he wasn't more observant in his years here or perhaps he was just as observant or more..just never wrote it all down. It was a real shame though, Jerry did the one mistake that Harper always told his past employees never to do. But that's why Harper was working alone, no one lasted long. They made stupid mistakes and exposed themselves with such little acts. Harper was honestly surprised he had never been taken, or perhaps he was and just doesn't know it? In this place, the truth is hard to tell. "Alright, if you want me to help you, first lesson. When you want to go somewhere private, don't drag them into an empty classroom. It yells secretive. In this place, sometimes the best way to blend in and be a secret, is out in the open. After all, what would you notice more, two students talking in a river of students or two in an empty classroom?" Harper running a logical train of thought to Jerry. "If you decide the latter, do something else first, like try to kiss the person, something that states you had another reason for bringing them to a private area. In doing that, they will be less likely to look," Harper had been managing to stay out of site his entire time here and took several notes on those who had disappeared in the Principal's office. This made Harper aware of the eyes, the ears, and the bodies that walked the halls, appearing to be something they weren't. Adjusting his sleeve, he stared back at Jeremiah, "Oh, and your threat is rather pointless. If someone rats you out, it's more then likely you won't come back normal, but if I were to rat you out, what help would I have at my paper?" he smiled, "I'll scratch your back, you scratch mine. And I am actually going to my wonderful newspaper room, got this hour off for special activities for it. We can speak more on everything there. It's safe," he mused as he walked out of the empty classroom, figuring Jeremiah would follow. Jerry proved to have potiental...a good thing for both of them.

[Jerry Bonner]

Jerry snorted and followed beside Harper, trotting up to his side and casting a sidelong glance at the kid while he stuck another smoke in his mouth and lit it, his teeth clamped onto the filter like it was an extension of his body.

"I made sure the zombies weren't looking. And besides that, the rest of these students could use incidents like that. They have to start questioning..." He explained, his voice quiet but audible. Looking directly at Harper now, his brows furrowed together. "In fact...I'm surprised you haven't been pulled into the Office. A newspaper about the truth? Seems a little blatantly obvious about your intentions" He said, pausing with a slow shrug.

"The...zombies...as I like to call 'em" He said, just as they turned the corner and entered the newspaper room. "They seem t'have...like...different levels of interactivity...they're not all obvious. But there's small signs..." He stated idly, shifting in his place as he looked around the room.

[Harper Jones]

Staring at Jerry, Harper simply rolled his eyes, "Believe it or not, the zombies ain't the only ones you need to worry about. People tend to talk, than others question, and before you know it, you're one of those zombies. Seen it happen more times than I'd like to admit," he muttered barley audible enough for Jerry to hear, "and they don't need to start questioning. That scenario would not play well for some ain't mature enough to understand what's truly going on. Hell, I doubt anyone is, but some can handle it better than others." In that thought, Harper recalled a single student that was here a couple years ago and on that thought, he turned to look at Jerry, "Remember Jimmy? Or rather the crazy fuck that ran naked through the halls screaming about how the aliens were going to suck out his brains?" he wondered if Jerry was around for that, course Harper had printed it in his newspaper too, sadly that print had gone...missing so it never made the stands. "Either way, he started questioning things too, course, I don't think he was all there in the head to begin with, but whatever he found, it pushed him over the edge. I have his notebook locked away, since he use to be a reporter for me...but his mind is way to fucked for me to even translate all of it." It was true, Jimmy wasn't really all there, perhaps far more out there than any normal crazy person here. Personally, Harper thought Jim would be better suited for an insane asylum, but he was here instead and since the incident, he's been unseen, the vice saying Jimmy was sent off to get professional help, but Harper didn't believe that.

Shaking those thoughts from his head, he focused back on the subject at hand. "As for my newspaper, I have an agreement with the Vice and his boss. I only print rumors about students or small faculties, like the cafeteria food. Things that don't question the staff personally, pretty much. Than there is also the fact that they review my prints before I ship them out. Let's just say, that is another reason my newspaper ain't out at least once a week, hell, I'm lucky if I can get them out once a month." Yeah, it was hard printing things, but Harper got what he wanted and the Vice thought he had Harper beneath his thumb. In Harper's condition, he knew having your friends close and your enemies closer was the best plan, reason he had this agreement with the Vice. "Actually, the signs are bigger than you think," Harper stated about the zombies, "when around others, they may zone out while looking at a specific person, their eyes and head moving to stay on that person. Others will actually walk over to you and just stand there listening, like a fly on the wall. The ones that never talk though, are normally the ones you need to worry about, but anyone can be one of these zombies. Whether they are at the top of the class or bottom, trick is knowing who is what." Moving over to his desk, Harper reached inside one of his drawers and pulled out a notebook and set it upon the desk as he took a seat, "That's yours. You can feel free to use it however you want, just know when you write in it, don't do normal writing. Keep it coded so only you know what it means. Keeps our secrets safe," he stated with a smile as he set his notebook down beside the other, the pages open so Jerry could see everything written upon it. Though if he were to read it, it would just sound like gibberish.

[Jerry Bonner]

Jer nodded seriously and looked over Harper's handwriting. It was strange to be sure, but he understood that Harper could understand it. Letting his palms rest on the cold of the desk he matched eye contact with the boy, picking up the blank notebook.

"I tend to just remember things easily. My memories have always been clearer than most I guess, but writing it down wouldn't hurt. More like a science experiment I guess. Gotta analyze it all." He said with a quirked smile, one corner of his lips pulling upward. Sticking the book into his jacket pocket, he looked around the room.

"Yeah. I figured it was probably something like that. Still. There's a lot of answers we need...answers I'm going to get. I guess you already assume this could get pretty ugly..." He commented, his face turning honest. The boy didn't know what sort of things he was planning to do. He hoped at least Harper would know which people they would have to get through. They would have to investigate this....Principle.