Teratogen Rehabilitation Center

Devani Micha Marie


Devani paused on her lonely walk and looked up at the night sky and thousands of stars looked back at her…and in that moment, she almost didn't feel alone. The Rehab center authoritative figures knew about her curse…she had to be alone for the ceremony…and they knew she wouldn't…couldn't…leave. Suddenly she felt the impulse of her curse tug at her very core. She pushed it away and ignored it as she continued forward. Her thorny rose tattoo started to glow and pain ripped through her. She gaped as it knocked her to her knees. She grasped her abdomen as the burning began right above her belly button. She glared up at the stars as tears filled her eyes...

“Have I not suffered enough?!” She cried out.

She brushed her fingers across the petals of the glowing rose; it swayed as if touched by a light breeze. Pain wracked her body again and she clutched her side before plucking the rose off her body in one swift move. She cried out in pain, but grasped the flower gently in her pale hands.

“"أمنية لمن هو محظوظا بما فيه الكفاية للعثور عليه ...." She murmured then let the rose go. It rose from her palms and floated away from her. She paused a moment, then struggled to her feet. It didn’t take long to get back to the Rehab center. She nodded to the were tiger guard Larry as she entered the gates.

“Good night Larry…see you tomorrow.” She smiled at him then and he patted her head before she started towards her room. She felt weary…her body weak from the loss of power. She dropped onto her bed and was out like a light.

8:00 A.M.

Morning light spilled through the curtains and right into her eyes. She stretched and stood. Looking in the mirror she flinched. She was in her true form…red eyes took in long black hair and navy blue skin. Black nails scraped her hair from her face as the rest of her 5 arms hung loosely at her sides. She smiled at reflection trying to make herself look softer…prettier. Her strait white teeth gleamed brightly against her dark complexion and her fangs didn't help her scary factor. She sighed and focused on her reflection and soon she was a tall thin girl with a fair complexion and fire red hair. She slipped into a pair of jean shorts, knee high black leather boots and a white tank top before she stepped out of her room and headed towards the conference room where hers, and the rest of the rehabs morning began. She grabbed a cup of coffee and sat in one of the many chairs in the circle and waited.

(Translation: "A wish for whoever is lucky enough to find it....")

"Bloody murderer." The white hospital walls seemed to shake as Don stood there paralysed, his feet couldn't move and a tearing pain came from his stomach. Sitting on the bed was the woman he had loved the most and had been cared by all his life. Her mouth twisted upwards, her lower lip tucking above her upper one in a grotesque glare. Her long blonde hair fell at her sides like a mess of vines. Fluids welled up inside of his throat as he couldn't look away from the woman. Suddenly she opened her mouth giving off a high pitched shriek that morphed the walls around them. Panicked Don covered his ears as a hole formed beneath him and he fell. Wind whizzed passed him and he struggled to maintain balance, flipping and spinning the dark hole seemed endless.

Thud!

In a blurry vision, he awoke. Fingers curling he heard the soft scratch of the cold wooden ground. As his vision became clear Don found himself half lying on the ground, next to his bed with a blanket covering half of his body as it wrapped around his legs as if as an attempt to save him from his fall.

Pushing himself in an upwards motion he allowed his legs coiled in blanket to fall to the ground seating himself in a cross legged position examining his surroundings.

It was a small room with a simple bed next to a drawer with a single window and a mirror.Recognizing his environment he sluggishly straightened himself. "I wonder how many times I've dreamed that dream." He combed out his straw strands of hair with his fingers with one hand and flung his blanket on to the bed with the other. It was just another simple morning in the Teratogen.

Slipping himself into a loose blouse and matching white pants he exited his room heading to the usual place that he was forced to go to. The place where all the rehab patients got together, a part of the daily routine. Don's feet shifted into the room which smelled like a hospital, irritating his nose.

He took notice of the early bird in the room. "Morning..."yawning he dropped himself into one of the chairs sliding down into it as he waited for the other patients to arrive.

As the sun's rays streaked through her window Regina groaned and rolled over throwing a winged limb over her face. She laid there a moment before she realized what had happened. "Ugh it happened again." she thought as she sat up and shook out her wings. Regina was lucky the facility made an exception for her when it came to full transformations.

If she had been back in her village and not in this room with it's boring white walls it would be completely normal for her to sleep in a large nest with the rest of her sisters, all fully transformed. Occasionally at night she would transform in her sleep as more of a comfort thing than anything, it was hard for a Harpy to be away from her flock.

Slowly her body began to morph back into her human form. Once she was fully human again she got dressed in a simple black spaghetti strap and and pair of lounge pants then stood in front of her vanity mirror and brushed out her hair deciding to leave it down for the day. Glancing over at the clock she noticed it was time for the morning meeting.

Regina slipped into a pair of house shoes then padded her way to the conference room to begin the morning ritual she had become accustomed too. "Good morning you two." she said waving to them absentmindedly as she poured herself a cup of coffee adding ample amounts of cream and sugar to it before curling up in a chair around the conference table.

"Wh-What is that?!" Matt stopped to take a breath. What was that... thing that was chasing him?! Was it a snake? It looked like the grotesque offspring of a dinosaur and a snake. Turning around, Matt saw the monster flying at high speed towards him. And it bit him. "AAH!" A pulsing, throbbing pain was spreading through his arm. The snake/lizard also scratched and bit him one more time, but in the neck. Gripping at his neck, Matt screamed for help. The basilisk looked at him once. What was going on? Was it going to kill him? It bit him very slightly, exactly like before, though this time, it was probably sending venom through his whole body, and when his friends came, the basilisk ran away. Matt felt throbbing pain all over his body, but something was different... A relaxing feeling was also spreading across his body, from the place where the monster last bit him. He felt different, when his vision slowly faded into darkness.

"...AHAHAH! HOLY $#!% !" Rearing up at top speed on the top of his bed, he took deep breaths in fear. Matt blinked a bit, and finally came to his senses. "Am... I in my bedroom?" His vision was blurry, but when it focused, he noticed he was still in Teratogen. "Fucking hell. How long have I been in this crap hole? 2 months already?" He was still in his jacket, boots and casual pants, when he walked to the lobby. "Hey." Sitting on the nearest chair, he felt like he was forgetting something. "..." He pulled out his blindfolds and wrapped them around his eyes tightly. Even with the blindfolds on, his vision was still better than it used to be.

Adena rose with the sun, stretching herself out comfortably. The girl took a few minutes to savor the room she was in. Despite the fact that Teratogen was not meant to be the most comfortable place (it was rehab after all, the governors probably didn't want to give the attendees any reason to return), it was much better than a couple of blankets on the cold ground. The first few weeks weren't that bad on the road weren't that bad. Eventually though, the hard ground began to take it's toll. Even Tetragon's lumpy excuse for a mattress felt like sleeping on a cloud for the young phoenix.

Hurriedly, realizing the time, Adena pulled herself out of bed and slipped into something presentable. It was only about five minutes until the morning meeting.

If one looked up the definition of morning person, Adena would be featured prominently on the page. However, her definition of morning was right as the sun rose. It was pretty much impossible to wake her up a moment earlier. Likewise, she was bounding with energy as long as the sun was in the sky. The moment the sky was dark, Adena lost all energy.

This wasn't something that came with the curse, just a personal quirk Adena had had since she was young. She held on to it, holding to the sleep-cycle not only because it was comfortable and familiar, but because it was one of the few things that had not changed with this... this curse.

Now up and ready, Adena made her way out into the hall and down to where the meeting was supposed to be held. Cautiously, she poked her head in. The djinn, the Nephilim and the Harpy were already there. She took a seat across from the other two. She would've gotten a cuppa as well, but it was just about impossible for the conference room brewer to get the coffee anywhere near hot enough for her.

Sebastian was in stitches, he should have gone and found a house full of messed up minors years ago, their dreams were fantastic! He didn't even need to provide any nightmare prompts, they were doing it for themselves and they were just as entertaining to watch as to create; for now at least. Sebastian hadn't been in this place long, there were a lot of questionings from people who didn't have a clue what they had got themselves into and even a few who thought he needed 'help' and that he was 'misunderstood', it was rather enjoyable proving to them otherwise. After a whole load of watching and waiting and death threats from the friends and family of the girls he had 'influenced' he was approached and diverted from one bad situation to another.

It shouldn't have been surprising that there were others out there, but it was and it wasn't great that there's a whole facility set up for them. It wasn't like Sebastian had any illusions of conquering the world, but it was unnerving to learn that there are people out there just as powerful or even greater than him that he might have to get past to get his way one day. Rather than dwelling on it, however, the 17 year old set out to find out as much as possible; 'You must know your enemy before you can defeat them, after all...' Sebastian muttered under his breath.

'Despite it's entertainment, I have really learnt much about these people,' Sebastian broke off from remembering the past and started talking out loud to himself, as was common for him to do so, 'I had hoped for good weakness or two by now, maybe I shoul-'

'Bloody Murderer'

Sebastian was cut off by the sound of dreaming close by, 'Who the heck does that belong to? I thought I checked everyone out this close to where I sleep.' He moved closer to the source of the rapidly becoming nightmare but before he could enter a shrill shriek blew him backwards. The dream was gone, whoever it had belonged to had woken up, leaving a dazed Sebastian where it once was.

The shock had forced Sebastian to open his eyes, losing concentration and therefore connection to the dreamworld. He sighed, and stood up from his cross legged position on top of his bed. He wasn't asleep while he was connected, he had in fact woken up hours ago and was already dressed and ready to get on with the day. At least... at least as ready as he felt he could be, he felt like he had been awake for years, as usual. After a quick look in the mirror and assigning his most neutral of faces, he walked out of the door to meet in the usual place like every other morning.

As he confidently strolled into the conference room, Sebastian noticed that he was the last to arrive, 'It seems I'm a little late, I'm sorry about that' he said, followed by a friendly smile. 'I haven't missed anything, have I?'

Devani Micha Marie

Devi sipped her coffee quietly as the conference room filled up. One by one the other attendees entered the spacious room.
“Morning…” A boy said as he entered and sat down. Devi nodded to him with a slight nod to show she acknowledged his greeting. She wasn’t much for words.

A few moments of silence later, another patient entered with a “Good morning you two”. Once again Devi nodded then proceeded to look out the window. It was yet another beautiful day…that she would be spending inside with all of these other broken people. She gave a sardonic smile and shook her head at that thought.

“Hey” a boy said as he entered. Devi didn’t look up this time, knowing he wouldn’t notice if she didn’t say good morning…no one seemed to notice her…which was exactly the way she liked it….though she would be lying of she said she didn’t long for some human contact at one point or another.

Another girl entered but Devi barely realize it as she fell into a day dream…an alternate reality she seemed to be able to retreat to when she needed. Her mind wondered from one thing to the next. From her past, to her present, to all the shitty things she had to deal with in the past few years.

“Alright, rehabilitates …Today is the first day of the new year…the first day for you to prove you are rehabilitated….are you ready?” The Governess’s voice broke through Devi’s thoughts. About to answer the required answer of, ‘Yes Governess’ when another boy entered.

'It seems I'm a little late, I'm sorry about that' he said, followed by a friendly smile. 'I have missed anything, have I?' he asked. The governess frowned but shook her head. Devi grinned. Guess there was always a rebel in each group…and this one was fascinating. She examined the boy for a moment before looking back to the governess.

“Okay, now, I know some of you know each other all ready but I would like to do a formal meet and greet. First we are going to go around the circle and say our names, our species and one of your Hobbies. Then after that we will pair up and spend a few minutes getting to know each other. You will have to switch partners so don’t get too comfortable….We will start with you” The governess said pointing at the late comer.

"Governess, its hardly fair to give him the honor of introducing himself first now is it?" Devi said before she could stop herself, sarcasm dripping from every word.

"Well then, as the most tenured person here...you start us off." The governess sneered.

"My name is Devani Micha Marie, I am a Djinn...and my hobby is ripping out human hearts and eating them" Devi said with a evil grin.

"Devani, you will take this seriously, or you will spend the night in solitary confinement." The Headmaster of the building barked as he entered the room.

Devani's smile dropped instantly as she sat down.

"Governess come with me" He said.

"Looks like we will be switching the schedule. Partner up and learn about each other. I'll be back in a moment" she said as she exited the room. Devani sighed and waited to be the last one standing.

As soon as the governess started talking Don could not help but give her a look of half disgust and disbelief'Gather around a circle and introduce ourselves?' he thought to himself leaning back into his chair his legs stretched out.

He believed that to be the silliest thing anyone could have said. They weren't kindergartners who gathered in a circle and cheerfully spoke about their lives. They weren't mentally retarded either. Her fake sweet voice stopped when another guy entered the conference room. Then she continued to explain the tedious introduction process picking on the late person until she switched her target to the red headed lady. She introduced herself and commented that her hobby was ripping out human hearts.

Don chuckled a bit at the hobby. Strange, unique and it piqued his interests. That's when he started to wonder how a human heart tasted. He'd only held it in his own hands but never really thought about it as a sustenance. The squishy red blob that beated within his hand, dripping, he would never forget the day that he murdered someone. He regretted nothing.

His thoughts were cut off by a grumpy deep voice that echoed the room. It was the headmaster who had called out to the governess who followed him out into the halls, like an obedient puppy.

'Well looks like we won't be doing much.' Don looked around for something amusing to take interest into. If only he had brought those lovely sour gummy worms that were well hidden in his stash of stuff in his pillow. He had thought that this little meeting would be short and snappy and that he would have been left off free to do his daily routine of eating sour candy,sleeping and looking for entertaining brawls or arguments that could happen in this place.

Looking towards the window of the conference room he wondered if it was going to be a sunny day today because if it was he could just ditch this whole gathering. The curtains were covering what was held outside. Standing up from his chair he made his way to the window spreading the curtains out to let the light shine in.

It would be a nice clear day today. There was not a single cloud in the midst of the big blue sky. 'It will be a good day to sleep.'Don thought to himself.