<strong>The Compound (50 ft. below the Arizona desert)</strong><br/><br/><em>Clack-clack-clack.</em>Dr. Julie Kayama’s heels made the echoing sound as she walked down the long corridor. The Compound had been her home for the last four years—though from another point of view, it was her prison. She left this place only rarely and briefly, and always under heavy guard. Ostensibly this was due to how “valuable” she was, but it was just as true that no one really trusted her.<br/><br/>The sprawling underground labyrinth had been built before the War by an insane and germ-phobic billionaire. Almost every room was done in white tiles, giving the place a sterile, unfriendly feel. Since this facility had been seized by the military, modern technology had been added—a fusion reactor, hydroponics garden, advanced waste reclamation, and so forth. The Compound was nearly self-sufficient, though there was a sporadic influx of equipment related to its primary purpose—weapons research and testing.<br/><br/>Julie walked past the door to Firing Range #2—she heard it had once been a bowling alley—and on to the open doorway of the cafeteria. She did not know what the cavernous room had been used for, but now it contained a large number of tables, chairs, and an adjoining kitchen.<br/><br/>The young scientist greeted colleagues she passed in the cafeteria with forced cheerfulness—they always returned the greetings with apparent politeness, but they never stopped to talk with her if they did not have to. Not that she blamed them—being friendly with a pariah was a good way to become one. Sometimes personnel new to the facility might be friendly, even go so far as to flirt with her—white lab coat and boring civilian clothes aside, she knew a lot of people considered her pretty. But they always distanced themselves as soon as she admitted what she was.<br/><br/>After obtaining a tray of food, Julie sat at an empty table, as she always tried to. It was easy to become dispirited about being one of the Cursed, but overall her life was going about as well as she could have hoped. Most of her brethren were horrible, violent people—criminals, soldiers for the enemy, callous mercenaries. Julie was thankful to be on the side of humanity, and making a vital contribution to its continued survival. The offensive and defensive technologies developed by her team were saving lives on the battlefield.<br/><br/><em>All in all, not bad for a half-demon freak.</em>she reflected wryly. Anyway, the pity party was over with for today. Her thoughts turned to the day-to-day grind of meetings, theories, measurements, paperwork...<br/><br/>(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/7/78/SayuriSakamoto.JPG)<br/>