damned_institute | Day 60: Intercom, Evening

The intercom jingled at its standard time, with the Head Doctor still in his over-the-top, jovial mood. It seemed not even the evening light could keep down the love he held for his job.

"Good evening, everyone! I hope your soul is filled with music from last shift; I know mine is."

There again was a stretch of silence. When the Head Doctor continued, he sounded marginally disappointed.

"But now it's time to wind down the day with a bit of dinner. Tonight, we'll be serving turkey breasts and quality gravy, with sides of garlic mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, grilled asparagus, and a small salad. For dessert, we will be having pumpkin pie with optional whipped creme. As per usual, we will have our vegetarian alternatives and a wide selection of drinks available. Turkey lovers, be sure to take advantage of the food; it'll be an entire week before you can have this delectable meat again."

He chuckled at the statement. One might have labeled it as dark.

"Anyway, enjoy! I will wish you all a good night momentarily!"

The intercom clicked off.

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The day had gone fairly well, despite the change in routine. Soma supposed she was one of the few people who had preferred the military takeover; the return to coddling nurses and smiley-faced stickers on bulletin posts irritated her more than they probably should have. As far as she was concerned, she would have preferred pink gruel and something approaching straight talk to real food and another layer of lies.

Still, there wasn't much she could do about it now. Besides, it was more important to focus on her upcoming mission tonight. Following the radio clues might give her a chance to investigate last night's events from Marc's point of view, and that was as much as she could ask for.

As the door shut behind her, she checked her closet to make sure her possessions were all there, then closed the doors. Seating herself at her desk, she started in on her dinner. With any luck, she'd find some answers tonight.

Her first day without the military, while strange, had gone well enough. ...Or as well as it could possibly go, considering she was still effectively a prisoner. Definitely not ideal, but it was enough for now. A few friendly faces, an entire day without any of those soldiers, and most important of all, after her conversation with Renamon...

She'd finally have a way to defend herself during the night. Just having that small measure of control back made everything seem somewhat more bearable, made Leanne feel lighter even.

Even seeing an unfamiliar face when she returned to her room that night (Her roommate, right? She had to be, though she hadn't exactly had a chance to talk to her before) was a welcome change.

"Oh! Sorry!" she began, keeping a smile on her face. "I guess this is your room too, huh?"

The door opened again. Soma turned, half-expecting to see Mele there before she remembered--her friend had been released two days ago. Still, the arrival of a replacement sparked an irrational flare of anger in her gut. The accompanying nurse didn't exactly help matters.

"Oh, Maria! You were in that special sleep study last night, so you wouldn't have heard the news. This is Jessica! She's a little newer here, so I expect you to show her the ropes!"

Soma forced a smile onto her face. By now she should have gotten used to it, the bland cheerfulness of the nurses as they dismissed one patient and brought in another, as simple as that, but it never really stopped hurting. At that moment, she was pretty sure she would have killed to bring back the soldier who'd been her escort for the last few days. At least he hadn't patronized her.

Still, the smile became a little more genuine as the door shut behind the nurse and Soma turned to "Jessica," who looked about her own age and friendly enough. Mele was gone--hopefully just released; there hadn't been any mention of her death on the bulletin--but whatever had happened, it wasn't the newcomer's fault. She had to remember that.

"Sorry about that," she said. "It sounds like you're my new roommate. I'm Soma Peries, and I'm guessing Jessica isn't your real name."

Leanne shrugged, smile turning sheepish, even as she fought to keep from wincing at the name. Jessica. Oh, how she was quickly beginning to hate that name, and everything it implied.

"Yeah, that's definitely not my name." She shook her head, moving toward her own bed. Dropping down onto it, she couldn't quite help the small laugh that escaped her, far more preferable to giving in to her real feelings about that name. "I'm Leanne. It's nice to meet you, Soma."

As nice as anything could be in that place, anyway.

"I guess, uh..." She trailed off, glancing briefly down at her own bed before back to Soma. "You said 'new roommate.' I guess there was someone else here before me?"

There had to have been someone before her, right? They wouldn't just let a bed sit empty, would they? But that brought up the uncomfortable question of just what had happened to the other girl, and Leanne wasn't sure she really wanted to know the answer to that.

"There was." Again that tiny flicker of suppressed anger. She'd used to think released meant--something good, she supposed, like they'd managed to get home somehow. Maybe she'd been better off not knowing. But Leanne didn't ask, so she didn't say anything about it. "Her name was Mele. She was released two days ago, I think."

It was a little harder to keep that smile on her face at the thought of it. She let it drop, though her expression wasn't unfriendly. "So you've only arrived recently, then?"

Released... Did that mean she'd found a way out and gone home? Had those in charge (the military, she reasoned, if it had been only two days ago) actually let her go, while still keeping everyone else inside? Or...

Leanne suppressed a sigh, folding her hands on her lap. No, she couldn't allow herself to think like that, not now. Whatever had happened to her, the room's previous occupant was out of the institute, hopefully somewhere much better.

"Yeah, this is only my third day here," she finally said, keeping her tone light. "I'm still kind of trying to figure out the place..."

Day 60: Intercom, Evening

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