taxonomites | 001: [holo] Please stand away from the platform edge

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001: [holo] Please stand away from the platform edge

Alexis glanced at her phone as she hurried down the stairs to the subway station. “I'm going to be so late,” she fretted, dodging around an older man with an oversized briefcase as she dialed a number on the phone. She swiped her subway pass and scooted through the turnstile as the phone rang, and rang, until it clicked to voicemail. “Oh hey, Justin! I just wanted to call to let you know that I'm running a little late for our violin lesson toda--”

The rest of her message died in her throat as, between one step and the next, the familiar confines of the New York subway system became something completely different, a seamless expanse of sterile, featureless steel.

Alexis gaped, mouth still slightly open. “Hello?” she finally asked. “My name is Alexis Castle. Can anybody tell me where I am? Or how I got here?”

Her own words echoed back at her, and Alexis chewed her bottom lip as she fumbled with her phone, hitting her dad's number on speed dial without any conscious thought. She didn't wait for him to pick up; if she had, she would have realized the phone wasn't ringing, but finding herself in a strange room when she had two seconds before been in the crowded subway station made Alexis less than rational. “Dad? Are you there? I need you to come get me, I think I'm in trouble,” she said, trying her best to sound calm, though it was hard to hide the edge of hysteria, the rising panic in her voice. “I was on my way home, in the subway station, but now I'm not, I'm in a little round room and there isn't anything here--” A pause, as she notices for the first time a podium with a device resting on it. Her voice quavers as she continues, “Except a podium, and I'm getting scared, Dad. Can you come get me?”

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When Dr. Reid stuck his hands in his pockets, Alexis stood awkwardly juggling her tablet from one hand to the other, uncertain. She wasn't sure how to respond, so she nodded. "You too. Dad always said that any friend of Detective Beckett's is a friend of his." Well, except for Detective Demming, but that was the only exception.

She smiled and pointed to the tablet. "Thank you for coming to get me. You didn't have to, I could have found you with the map. I mean, I'm glad you did but you did--" Alexis caught herself and forced herself to stop talking. She did tend to babble a little when she was nervous.

"I doubt Kate would want you to walk by yourself through a strange place... and this is indeed a strange place."

He glanced around and noticed a few Extras milling about. He would have to explain them soon enough.

"If you'd like, I can take you back to the apartment where Kate and I live.... She's m-my roommate."

Spencer added the last bit quickly, almost as an afterthought.

Elisa wisely decided not to mention how they'd all turned into zombies not long before.

"It really is," she agreed. "Do you know anyone here? Do you have someone coming to pick you up?"

"Yes, it's me."

Kate couldn't believe the aliens could be so cruel as to bring a kid to the godforsaken place.

"Are you okay? You're not hurt? I'll come get you, okay?"

No, zombies would probably have just confirmed Alexis' worst fears and ensured she wasn't leaving the little room ever. But ignorance was bliss. She nodded, grateful that for once she could answer a question instead of asking one. "I do. A friend of my dad's here, Detective Beckett. I think she and her friend will come get me if I ask..." Alexis trailed off and rubbed at her eyes, where a tear was threatening to fall. "I just didn't want to leave yet."

Luckily, Elisa had already explained about the Extras. Or... at least Alexis thought she understood. It would no doubt be a completely different experience facing them for the first time. "Is it more or less strange knowing that we're here because of aliens?" Alexis asked, falling into step with Dr. Reid.

"Because if I knew this was science fiction, I wouldn't be surprised. But if I thought this was one of Dad's mysteries I would." She might have picked up a little of Castle's genre-savvy.

The question caught Alexis unexpected and she hesitated, chewing at her bottom lip as she thought through the implications. Right, not having her family meant her home wasn't here either... Her hand crept to her pocket to grip her cell phone, an unconscious gesture for comfort. "I... I don't want to be a bother, but if you don't mind? I'm sure I can find someplace to stay for myself soon." Translation: yes please.

Nodding at the screen, Alexis answered in what could only be described as a relieved babble. "I'm fine, I'm not hurt. I'm just confused." Breathe, Alexis, breathe. "And someone said they were your friend, Dr. Reid. He said he'd come get me if I wanted."

Alexis bit her lip. "I was kind of hoping if I stayed in here I would wake up back in the subway station."

"Reid. He's my...roommate. You can trust him. Is he already on his way to get you?"

Kate took a deep breath, and tried to speak as gently as possible.

"I wish that were true, Alexis. But believe me, you don't want to stay there. The room you're in is the worst place in Taxon, in my opinion."

She could save the zombies for another conversation.

Spencer walked next to her, his hands still in his pockets as they headed back towards the tram.

"I've wondered several times whether or not this is reality, and while it seems to defy logic, I've determined that this is certainly my current reality. I have a theory though that there is another reality, back on Earth, where I haven't left. I'm hoping this existence here is merely a carbon copy..."

If only for the sake of his team and his mother, who would have gone crazy looking for him by now.

"You're welcome to stay with us for as long as you wish. We have an extra room."

Okay, that was good. Elisa trusted Beckett, so she figured the kid was in good hands.

"Understandable," she admitted. "It's... a lot to take in. And I won't promise you there's a way home or anything like that. But there's good people here. And for now... maybe that's enough."

A faint frown of concentration appeared on Alexis' face as she tried to follow Dr. Reid's explanation. The idea of being a copy was unsettling, but the idea that there was also an Alexis still with her dad and grandma was a relief. Even if it made her terribly lonely to know that they would not miss her. "Really? So I might still be home with Dad and he wouldn't be freaking out because I'd gone missing?" she asked hopefully.

There were implications in Dr. Reid's statement about Detective Beckett that niggled at the back of Alexis' mind, but for the moment she was simply too overwhelmed to put her mind to figuring out what they were. "I'd like that," she said hesitantly. Normally that sort of relief would have ended with a hug, but the way Dr. Reid held himself, that would probably not work. Instead, Alexis shifted the weight of her backpack, and a thought came to her. "Dr. Reid? Is there a school here?"

Detective Beckett's question got a shake of the head from Alexis. "No, not yet. I said I'd call when I was ready to go," she answered, trying to keep her voice from quavering. She rubbed a hand over her eyes to keep the tears that were threatening from falling just yet. She definitely needed a good cry, and that was going to happen before she left the room. Just, without people watching on the tablet.

"I'm glad it'll get better from here. And that I know someone from back home."

Kate could tell that Alexis was about to lose the battle with her tears, and much like Kate, she could tell that Alexis hated crying in front of anyone.

"There's a lot to fill you in on, but let's get you out of there first. Why don't you take a minute and gather your thoughts, then call me or Spencer to come get you, okay?"

"I hope so." She knows there isn't really any other option but that doesn't make things much better. Alexis pulls her hand from her eyes, and takes a deep breath that turns into a little sniffle. "Thank you, Elisa. I hope I'll meet you in person soon." And that's all Alexis managed before the tears start coming.

She gives the tablet a watery smile, hoping Elisa would understand, and reaches up to turn it off.

Well, anyone besides her dad. Dads got special crying privileges. Alexis nodded and reached up to turn off the tablet. "Okay. I'll see you soon, Detective Beckett."

Spencer nodded.

"It's a theory of mine, though unproven. I've been keeping track of the arrivals and departures to and from this place, compiling statistics, hoping to find some sort of connection between all of us, though nothing has surfaced yet. However, I have talked to people who knew each other before they came here, but came at different times. Those who came later report not noticing the absence of the other person, so it stands to reason that there is a version of us, back home, who never left. Or, it could have something to do with the space-time continuum. My research is still in progress."

They came to a stop next to the station where the tram picked up, and Spencer watched it round the corner. Somehow the tram always came exactly when one wanted it to.

"Ah.. no... we have no school, currently. I just opened a library not too long ago because Taxon was lacking in that as well..."

Trying to keep up with what Dr. Reid was saying about tracking statistics was made even harder when the tram arrived as they did. "That would make sense," she said slowly, watching the tram pull up. "Because Detective Beckett's been here a while, but she was working a case with Dad just a few days ago."

At the revelation of no school, however, Alexis' eyes went wide. Maybe it was simply a coping mechanism, trying to keep whatever shred of normalcy she could, or maybe Alexis really was that dedicated, but she seemed even more surprised/worried by that than the whole alien city thing. "But how am I supposed to study for the AP tests?"

After they had boarded the tram and sat down, Spencer turned towards her, examining the distress in her eyes.

"The library has a variety of resources...."

Truthfully, depending on how long she was here, there was a great likelihood that this Alexis would never take those AP exams. Spencer wanted to her to maintain of sense of normalcy though. That was good for victims, especially children.

It would sink in, eventually, that she may never ~~be able to~~ have to take any Advance Placement tests, but that was a realization for another day. For the moment, Alexis simply began planning to raid the library. She'd done independent study before, this would be the same.

That having been settled, at least in her mind, Alexis took a moment to look around the tram, catching glimpses of the city beyond. "Is this what the entire city is like?"

Spencer nodded.

"It's quite heterogeneous. For example, you may have buildings with a gothic style standing directly next to those with a classical Roman style. And then there are some structures that came here with specific people."

That jogged his memory.

"Oh. Yes. You should have come with something.... something that is probably precious to you. If you found nothing in the Sanctuary, then perhaps it is a larger item..."

"Something precious?" Alexis frowned in thought as she shifted her backpack into her lap and opened it. There was nothing important inside, just the miscellaneous binders full of homework and class notes. "Like, something important? I have my cell phone," she mused, digging it out of her pocket and poking at it. "But it won't even dial out, it just has--"

She had hit the button that displayed her photos, and Alexis stopped and stared at the first photo that came up: her dad, trying on his old Halloween costume (http://i54.tinypic.com/inr5v8.jpg). She blinked rapidly, and a quaver entered her voice. "--It just has all the photos I took on it."

And maybe it'd saved all her texts too. To Dad and Ashley and everyone.

Spencer glanced curiously over her shoulder at the picture on her screen.

"Mine won't even turn on...."

Dr. Reid's answer surprised her and Alexis hesitated a moment before she offered him the phone. She didn't really want to let it go, now that she knew what she'd brought with her, but maybe it could tell him something it wasn't telling her.

"I guess this is what you're talking about then?" she asked. "The thing that I brought with me?"

Spencer squinted at the phone as he flipped through a series of pictures, as well as texts from someone named Ashley. He wasn't trying to invade her privacy, just seeing what the aliens had allowed her. He paused on the picture she had had on her screen a moment before.

"That's your father."

It wasn't a question. Spencer had seen him in the photo that the aliens had given Kate for Christmas, the one she was too depressed to look at.

When Dr. Reid paged through the texts from Ashley, a blush rose in Alexis' cheeks and she had to swallow down the impulse to grab the phone back. He didn't seem interested in them, but the impulse to be embarrassed still arose. She did, however, look at him with mild confusion at the statement.

"That's Dad," she confirmed, an unspoken 'did you not know what he looked like' in her voice. A second or two later, an answer occurred to Alexis. "I guess you wouldn't have pictures of people back home here, would you?"

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001: [holo] Please stand away from the platform edge

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