Night 61: M21-M30

[thesadist]

Daemon was a few minutes later slipping out of his room, having waited around to do something once he was alone. Slipping the folded page torn from his journal into one of his pockets, he retrieved the makeshift weapons from the night before and set out, heading up the long hall to meet Renji at the other end.

[Going to here.]

Comments

[ryuuzaki]

It was a relief that both of them had come prepared. "Yes. It seems we're all ready. Mr. Lunge has the ring."

L paused, then added, frowning, "It's possible that we'll all have to be touching for it to work. It would be unfortunate if you and I were left behind, Edgar." His hands were full, so he extended his elbows until they were touching both of the other men, then nodded at Lunge. "I think you can break the stone now."

He sounded nonchalant, to himself, but he felt his pulse quickening. What will we find tonight?

His curiosity tended to override his anxiety in most cases where satisfying it wasn't inexcusably stupid, anyway, but in this case it was necessary to press ahead, and he knew they were on the edge of a discovery that could go either way. Given the inability of those who had experienced it to talk about it, it seemed almost certain to have some unpleasant aspects.

He hoped they wouldn't be forced to spend the night shivering in the freezer... if that happened, though, it wouldn't be the worst possible scenario. They could die any night, but an activity like this, intentionally pursuing a course that they had been told was dangerous even when considered with the Institute's other hazards, made death seem closer and more palpable than ever. He tried not to think about how he'd felt in the Arts and Crafts room, or when he'd heard about what had happened to Jones and to Javert. Dwelling on those things right now would only distract him, and he needed all his faculties to survive this, and to help keep his companions alive, too.

[herr_inspektor]

Edgar appeared on his heels, and after a brief glance to the man Lunge prepared himself to leave. Chatty though Edgar was, he doubted he would want to wait around and talk when they could be in the refrigerator.

"Of course." The chain of contact ran from himself to L and then from L to Edgar, but as a precaution he reached out with the hand his knife was in and pressed the back of his wrist to Edgar's shoulder, keeping the folding knife turned away from the man. It wasn't a comfortable position to be in by any stretch, but they would only be standing for a couple of seconds while the ring worked its magic.

Lunge raised the ring on his finger to the wall. In the back of his mind, his database flagged several warnings: these rings came from Landel, they can't be trusted, what sort of side-effect are you signing up for? There had been no reports to that effect, of course, but...

Breathing shallowly, he braced himself and smashed the gem against the wall. All three men vanished.

[herr_inspektor]

[to here]