Day 58: Men's Showers (Second Shift)

[freewill]

By the time that breakfast had ended, Michael didn't really know what to think.

The good part of him -- the part that went to church every Sunday and prayed that he could find justice for his clients -- wanted to feel for those two boys. They were going through Hell (and not the literal kind that they were thinking of) and he really did hold out hope that they would get their acts together. But the rest of him wanted to forget all about them and focus on himself. They weren't his responsibility anymore, now that the case had been dropped. The very idea of a killer had been a fantasy, after all. It wasn't his job to worry about them.

He certainly wasn't some guardian angel, either. He had never signed up for that and he had no idea why his mind had decided that was the case. Figuring that out was probably his key to getting healthy again, but it seemed like an uphill journey at this point.

Either way, it was good to get away from Matt and Eric. He needed some breathing room, some time to just let his mind clear out all of that crazy angel and demon stuff. Being religious was one thing; this was another, and he knew it wasn't right. He tried not to think about what his parents probably thought of him, but for all he knew they weren't even aware that he was here. In fact, Michael couldn't even remember who had admitted him. It was possible he'd just brought himself here.

A shower sounded like a real blessing, though, and he didn't hesitate to strip out of the uniform and find shelter under the hot spray of one of the shower heads. It was definitely more than just washing off; it felt like a cleansing experience, like he was scrubbing the very idea of Castiel out of his skin. He knew it wasn't that easy, that he could relapse at any point, and yet he tried anyway.

However, once he'd washed his body and shampooed his hair, he realized that he needed to give up the shower space for someone else who might need it. As much as he would have liked to spend the entire shift there, he did the right thing and went back to get dressed once he was finished, heading out into the Sun Room on a soldier's heels.

[To here.]

Comments

[rocksthecourt]

Klavier had been watching the boy's face carefully as he pulled his hand away from the wound, waiting for... something. A recoil. A flinch. Eyes widening and nose crinkling in disgust, horror, or sympathy. Something to show just how horrid he must have looked with it. But he got none of that. The guy had simply looked at it with a calm assessment, like how a parent might look at a child's scraped knee. It was surprising, to be honest. Klavier didn't even want to look at it in a mirror from the bald spot alone, let alone the wound. ...Either it really didn't look that bad or the boy's standards weren't that high. Or he was just being nice.

Well... regardless of the reason, he had to admit he was at least a little less self-conscious about it after that (though he still found it difficult to stop thinking about it being there). At least enough that maybe he'd... just try carefully washing his hair around it without worrying about hiding it the whole time. ...Maybe there was a secret hint of appreciation in his smile for it.

He turned his attention away from the kid and back to getting some shampoo into his hair as he listened to the rest of his response. Hmm. So he was relatively new. Not enough to be a complete stranger to this place but new enough. "I see. Then there is a chance you may not have heard of it."

Ahh. How to explain it? It wasn't exactly the nicest thing to talk about. "They refer to it as... 'Sleep Studies,' I believe it is? It's the term used by the staff here for when they decide to... take a few people for the night. For some kind of experimentation, it seems." He kept his face and tone as neutral as possible, trying very hard not to think about the details. Just focusing on moving soapy fingers through his hair. "...I was thrown in a room with someone who would rather I have my skull opened."

Not exactly the most gentle or sensitive explanation, were he to be frank. Klavier didn't like it. It was fine to be blunt for something serious, but there were more graceful ways to speak of such a vulgar subject. He looked back at the kid only briefly enough to give him a smirk, a display to show he was fine despite the details. "I guess you could say nothing has been what people have expected when it comes to this place."

[immortale]

Firo hadn't heard the term 'sleep studies' before, but when that man went on to explain that people were taken in for experimentation, things clicked into place. He frowned as the other finished, but the bluntness of the explanation was appreciated nonetheless. It was much better than not answering at all because the details were unpleasant.

"I've heard of that," he said. "Not by that name and not the details of the experiments, but... I know a little, at least." If it weren't such a serious topic, Firo might have laughed; it was one of the first times since he'd gotten here that actually had some idea of what was going on.

Instead, he leaned forward to douse his soapy hair with the shower's spray. Once he pulled back again, he pushed wet hair away from his eyes and added in explanation, "Last night I went with someone to try to help the people who'd been taken in for the experiments." What they'd found had been a young man covered in blood and barely able to stand; this man's injury looked much better, but that was probably only because it had already had some time to heal.

[rocksthecourt]

Oh, good. He had heard at least some bit of information regarding the experiments. So then the news wasn't something that had completely blindsided him out of nowhere. Klavier hated being the bearer of bad news (which was funny since that tended to be his role more often than not). It seemed like he took the information in stride, even if understandably bothered by it. Anyone would be.

At that claim regarding the night before, however, Klavier turned to him in absolute surprise. ...It wasn't something he advertised much, but his opinion of the people here in general was incredibly low. From what he had seen both in person and on the bulletin board, most here were selfish and deplorable. Some even savage. Even with as many people he spoke to and shared information with, the amount of people he legitimately trusted could be counted on one hand.

So to hear that this newcomer had teamed up with someone else and that both had gone to help the people taken for experiments... It was astounding. And wonderful. It almost restored a little faith in what passed for humanity in this building. Almost. At the very least, it showed what kind of person this boy was.

"Did you manage to help any of them?" he asked, the friendly tone suddenly gone. He had no idea who had been taken nor how many. Nor did it matter. All that mattered was that they had gotten out of it alright. Klavier was sure that at least some of the disappearances that occurred in this place... were probably experiments that didn't end so well.

[immortale]

Had they managed to help? That was exactly what Firo wanted to know himself, so that last night wouldn't have ended up being a waste. He titled his head upward, watching the water flow out of the showerhead for a long moment, before glancing at the other man again.

"We only found one," he answered. "Peter didn't really have time to treat him; the kid wanted to get somewhere safer right away, and it was morning before we knew it."

He sighed, taking a bit more soap to wash his body now that his hair was clean. "He left a note on the board this morning, though. It seems he can at least walk today, which is more than I can say for his state last night."

At the very least, maybe just being there had helped. There hadn't been much Firo could do for him other than provide protection, but if Peter had had just a little more time, to have finished examining him and seeing to whatever had left all that blood....

[rocksthecourt]

Only one. ... No. He shouldn't say that. It was a miracle to even find one person. Who knew how many were never found at all. It was a disturbing thought. A selfish part of him wanted to point out that that made him a lucky minority, but he honestly didn't want to think like that. The day he used other people's deaths to detail his own good fortunes would be the day he was no longer himself.

But he could imagine what kind of state that person had been in. And what kind of sight that must have been to come upon. It was enough to make one's blood boil when they thought about it. Monsters. All of them. To butcher and hurt people for their own benefit like this. Like they were all tools. And they believed they would never be caught and punished for it. No, he would see to it every last one of them was brought to justice. If it was the last thing he did. He swore to it. Right now, though, he should be looking at what little positive there was to look at. And that was the fortunate rescue of at least one.

Taking in the kid's small sigh, Klavier pulled his eyes away from the other and smiled. Rather than it being there for courtesy's sake, it was actually genuine. "...He may not have been able to even do that much today had it not been for you and your companion. It probably doesn't feel like you did enough, but trust me. You did plenty."

This place needed more people like this kid. People who were willing to do the right thing and help others. Without expecting something in return at that. Such a novel concept here. If no one else, Klavier at least appreciated it more than he would ever say.

"By the way. I don't believe I ever introduced myself. Klavier Gavin."

[immortale]

"Firo. Firo Prochainezo," he said, giving his own name in return. He contemplated sticking his hand out for a handshake, but given their location, it seemed more than a little awkward. He settled for a nod instead.

He wasn't so sure they'd done enough and he definitely wasn't sure they'd done anything that would have helped the young man walk when he otherwise might not have, but he was willing to take Klavier's word for it—he'd been through an experiment (even if the details were probably different; the young man from last night hadn't looked like he'd had a head wound), so maybe in that kind of situation, just being there was enough. Being seen at a moment of weakness like that had to be embarrassing, but there would also be the relief of knowing someone had come for you.....

Firo made a vague gesture towards the bandage on Klavier's head. "Did anyone help you when you got that?" he asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

[rocksthecourt]

Klavier nodded back, noting the name carefully. Herr Prochainezo, was it? He would remember it. He tended to get lucky here and there, but in general, decent people were very hard to find here. It would be best to keep in mind those he felt he could at least somewhat trust and those he couldn't.

The question, again, caught him a bit off guard. He supposed it was only natural, given the flow of the conversation. But he honestly didn't want to talk about it. ...Kind of brilliant, that. Torment people enough and they won't want to share details, leaving the general population ignorant. It was kind of annoying. Either way, he was avoiding the bait of releasing more details regarding it. Especially when he wasn't being directly asked.

"No." It was said bluntly; simply stating a fact. And that was how he would continue speaking about this sort of subject, especially when in reference to himself. The last thing he ever wanted was to be pitied. "I don't think it's terribly common for that to happen, to be honest. You would have to know where they are held and hope you can manage to get to them. ...Or else hope to be there when they make it out, as in your case." Kind of depressing if you thought too much on it. Klavier smiled. "Which is why last night was so fortunate."

He finished rinsing his hair, figuring that was enough risk of infection for now. They were probably going to embarrass him and change his bandages anyway. Then, a thought occurred to him. "Where... is it that you found this person, exactly? Around what area?"

[immortale]

That no one had been able to help Klavier was unfortunate, probably. Firo supposed it depended mostly on the other man's on thoughts on the matter, but since he was calling it fortunate for he and Peter to have found someone at all... Maybe someone had tried and failed, or no one had even realized he'd been taken. There were a lot of people here, but with being separated at night (or into pairs at best), it was probably easy to never find out that a friend had been taken until it was too late.

Either way, he wasn't going to pry further, this time. Klavier had already answered that no one had helped him, and whether or not someone had tried wasn't as important in the end.

"We found him upstairs," he answered instead, tilting his head up as he recalled the way Peter had led him. "There was a hallway to the left of the stairs. The second door in it was locked and led to another hall with doors on either side. He came out of one of those rooms."