Nightshift 62: F-A Block Hallway

[ninelivesonce]

[from here]

Taura was passing the door to the bathrooms when a thought occurred to her. Could that have been what Okita had been worried about? Did he know something had started? He hadn't looked especially well, come to think of it, but he'd never looked terribly energetic, except in the middle of a fight.

But if he'd known this was coming, why hadn't he said anything? He didn't have to use his own handwriting -- if he'd wanted to, he could have let them all know that something was coming without tipping his hand.

Or it could be something else. Politics. Loyalties. She hadn't expected him not to have any, but she wished he'd been willing to explain. Did he think she'd be disappointed? Maybe she would have, a little, but she would have listened to what he had to say. Did he -- no, he didn't think her unworthy of trust, but perhaps he hadn't been able to turn that same regard to himself? Or maybe it's just embarrassing, Taura.

[to here]

Comments

[fonichymn]

[From here.]

Tear rounded the corner and with the exit at several paces away, halted in her steps. After a quick visual scan over her surroundings, she produced her flashlight, the fontech feeling heavy in her hands. The Melodist kept the beam low and steady, enough to alert anyone passing by to her presence. With this, Renamon should have no trouble finding her.

Hopefully. If not, she would have to track the young woman down.

[diamondstorm]

[from here]

A slight movement of light caught her attention as she entered the short hall, and at once, the Digimon recognized Tear. She moved to her, inclining her head in greeting. "I'm glad you were willing to accompany me."

[fonichymn]

Renamon appeared shortly thereafter, allowing Tear to breathe easier. With another person present, she could focus on the task at hand as opposed to fretting about problems that may not exist. "Of course," she returned, keeping a cordial expression.

"Though," Tear continued without missing a beat, "about Dr. Landel's announcement. Do you think there was any merit to his threat?"

[diamondstorm]

The girl began to speak instantly, an attentiveness to detail without a delay of decorum that Renamon appreciated. She nodded her head toward the hall door, and started to speak as they moved. "It's possible," Renamon replied cautiously. "I haven't seen anything of the symptoms he touched on, but I don't interact with the whole populace by any means. In this place, it's quite possible, and what's more, it could be worse."

[to here]

[a_sin_for_him]

[from here]

The hallways were quiet this early. Lust wondered idly how many were 'sick', as she'd seen little evidence of it herself. Or was the doctor just fear mongering? Lunatics tended to do that.

Shaking her head, the homunculus continued to the men's rooms.

[here!]

[hairraising]

[From here]

Rapunzel hefted her hair, trying not to leave too much of a trail behind her. It was tough, though; the bundle got so heavy after a while. She couldn't help but leave at least some to follow along behind them, same as it had been both at home and on the road with Eugene. "Shouldn't be too hard to find the right room. I remember it being not too far away from the top of the stairs," she said as she finished re-adjusting her pan in one hand and her bundle in the crook of her arm, careful not to mishandle the dagger (wrapped in a pillowcase cloth sheath) that was stored inside her hair.

[thecamellia]

At the nightly intercom announcement, her earlier worries came crashing down around her, cementing her worst fears about what was to come. She suspected she knew who the Head Doctor was talking about: Doyle, the other man who’d helped him build the Institute. But to use the radio man’s research to make people sick and make them transform against their will! It was a horrible thought…

No, it wasn’t just a horrible thought, it was also a very dangerous situation. If what Landel was saying was true, then any foe, whether it looked like familiar or not, could possibly be a prisoner in an altered form.

Ugh, to think anyone showing symptoms could end up like that…

It was a small blessing that she and Rapunzel appeared to be fine, but they were only two people in a much larger group. That knowledge cast an even more palpable pall over their trek into the main corridor.

“It’s hard to believe they would keep assigning missions now that people are getting sick…” she commented in a quiet voice. Actually, it was only hard to believe for someone who felt compunction over such callous disregard for people’s well-being. None of the people who’d reigned over the Institute seemed to share that sense of conscience. The fact was, they couldn’t trust the hospital wouldn’t do anything, try anything, to accomplish its goals, no matter what the costs were.

Given that, she was more protective of Rapunzel than ever, surreptitiously glancing over each shadowed corner as travelled onward. It wasn’t quite anger in her heart, or frustration, or even weariness, but a mix of all three, among many other things. Eventually something had to give, but she’d be damned if it was the prisoners who had to suffer more.

_{[to here]}

[fourstonewalls]

[from here]

Maybe she should check. It couldn't hurt, could it? Don't answer that, Skye. Of course it would hurt, seeing Ema's bed empty, or worse, filled with another young woman she couldn't help any more than she'd helped Ema.

Her hand tightened on her flashlight, keeping it steady. It felt like her first night here. She didn't know where to begin again, but she couldn't go back. Only forward.

She was so tired. And possibly turning into a monster, but somehow that seemed like the least of her worries. She'd been a monster, after all, in every way that counted. Ema had forgiven her. And if Landel wasn't just trying to frighten them, well, she had a gun. There were ways to solve any problem, if you looked at them from the right angle.

[Gumshoe]

[ham_fisted]

[from here; sorry for the wait!]

He was reluctant to slow down when he got to the F Block entrance, but he still managed a brisk walking pace as he passed people. Before he started jogging again, the beam of his flashlight hit upon a familiar head of hair.

"Ms. Skye!" He lowered his flashlight and hurried over. Then, something he had sort of expected to happen, happened. The urge to apologize suddenly hit him, leaving him at a loss for words for a moment, and his face fell. Just looking at her brought on an overwhelming pang of guilt. "I..." Th-There'd be time for that later! He had to pull himself together. "D-Did you hear that announcement just now!?"

[fourstonewalls]

"It would have been very difficult not to hear it, Detective." She would have folded her arms, but the flashlight in one hand and the candlestick in the other made it a little unwieldy; instead, she tucked them both behind her back and pointed the flashlight at the floor; light haloed out around their feet.

"Tell me you have somewhere we ought to go tonight, will you?" It had the bite of an order behind it, even if it made very little sense as orders go. She didn't have a destination in mind; she didn't really want to see Ema's empty bed, and Ilia was covering the morgue, which left her at loose ends. "What do you think that announcement implies, hmm?"

That Landel wasn't at the switchboard was about as far as she'd gotten; he hadn't broadcasted where he was, unless it had something to do with the pounding in her head and the part where some of them were going to turn into monsters.

[ham_fisted]

"Well, um..." Why did his mind always have to go blank whenever she spoke to him like that? He did what he normally did and tried not to meet her eyes. "I was thinking of heading to the Med Wing for supplies. I mean, if the stuff I gave to Mr. Javert didn't get passed around, the rescue group are going to need more. The Paramedics are running low on them, too." But I wanted to check on you first. Better to leave that part out.

"That one way or another, Dr. Landel wants to shake things up!" In an attempt to keep his voice from shaking, he fidgeted with the flashlight in his hand as he spoke, turning it in his palm and tapping it against his thigh. "If people start turning on each other because of this, we're in big trouble, Ms. Skye."

[fourstonewalls]

"That...is an excellent idea, Detective. And an accurate observation." Not an especially astute one; patients turning on each other was already a major source of trouble. And, well, they were already in big trouble; while it could certainly get worse, it was already bad enough.

Or perhaps she was letting her own personal feeling cloud the issue. Or the fact that her head was pounding, and she wasn't sure how ill she could be before she could conceal it under a curtain of presumed grief. She'd already told Faraday, but he was feeling it as well; he would keep her secret. "I suggest we not wait around here for trouble to find us."

[to here]

[tryingtogetahead]

There wasn't much else for her to do once the announcement sounded for the night except to head out with her concerns. Bugs and symptoms were things that humans got when they were sick. Things that Doctors (unlike Shinra) dealt with. Celty couldn't understand what the Head Doctor's intention was by getting them all sick, but the part about harming others was definitely his style.

As if she didn't have enough to worry about.

With her mind weighing heavily, she went along her way to the main hallways. She remained at a loss for where to go and what to do - whether find clues to her memories, or to get out of there - but she wouldn't get anywhere by staying in her room all night.

[tryingtogetahead]

[gone here]

[fluctuate]

[from here]

In the real world—or rather, the world that wasn't a creepy hospital that very well could have been a part of the real world—there were lots of excuses to get around surprise absences. Ramona always was the best at them. Of course, that didn't make her the nicest person, but she got along okay. She wasn't sure what she'd do here. Maybe she could come up with some elaborate greenhouse story. She got so in touch with nature that they let her take her meals outside.

No, that wouldn't cut it. Rollerblading ninja or not, she wasn't that outdoorsy.

Okay, next.

She found a dashing blond man who swept her off her feet and they were going to get married. Ramona definitely had a candidate, though he seemed a bit uptight. Then again, that could get Scott all up in a frenzy in a different way. So, that wouldn't cut it; she didn't need some fight to break out and the league of evil exes version two-point-oh to start because of Scott's own insecurities. (Though cute in his own way, Scott didn't have Farrah Fawcett's hair on his side.)

Neither of those really worked so Ramona shrugged, changed the position of the bat, and headed into the next hall.

[to here]

[survives]

[from here]

Except for the time she'd met Tsubaki, this hall was always the same story. A few people here and there, some entering and some leaving, but nothing in particular that caught Leanne's eye. Just another hallway to get through.

Checking her guns one last time, she pointed her flashlight ahead of her. Time to keep moving.

[to here]

[rainboompow]

[From here]

Nutty Japan and Reasonable Red had been after the third floor, and so that was where Rainbow focused her attention tonight. This was the only thing she had in the way of a tip and she was going to follow it for all it was worth.

If she had had her wings, finding the third floor would have been a cinch for Rainbow. Sadly, humans hadn't figured out wings (and that was terrible). She did have her legs, though, and she was getting better at using them all the time. She could even run a little at this point — and so she did.

[To here]

[stylebythemile]

[from here]

Sonia began hurrying across the hall without checking what was there first. She immediately recognized the mistake, so she slowed down and swept her flashlight over the area. She had to stay focused.

[stylebythemile]

[to here]

[ichangedforgood]

[From here]

Robin walked through the hallway with a rare sincere expression on her face: worry mixed with confusion. All of the same people she'd seen throughout the day - these same people who were tailed every step they took by a member of the Landel's staff - they were simply... walking around. They were talking. They were acting as if there were far more important things to garner their attention than the lack of security at the moment. To Robin, this meant they were all equally oblivious of the danger they were in, or equally aware that this was a commonplace occurrence.

Either way didn't calm Robin's acute concentration on her surroundings; it was a forced habit after so long in her situation. She took note of her roommate's companion in particular, then just kept moving along.

[ichangedforgood]

[To here]

[requitedfate]

[to here]

This hall was never very busy. The ladies of the institute were just as proactive as the men in getting their nightly activities taken care of and they usually made haste through this area. Only one pair of patients were left as Shiina passed through.

She didn't stop, unwilling to let them get a good view of her. Her muscles, particularly the ones in her legs, were aching again. But she couldn't stop. She had to keep moving, even with her eyes stinging from more tears.

[to here]

[avengingfists]

[from here]

Now that Ilia was moving, she realized this would be the first time in several nights that she had left the hallway alone. Rose had been at her side every night since the time they were pulled together for the mission to kill Giuseppe. Ilia had no idea at the time that such proximity would be a mistake; that it would be that very meeting that led Ilia to believe Rose could remain safe as long as she was always within Ilia's eyesight.

Feeling cold and lonely, Ilia swept ever onward towards her destination.

[to here]

[idolism]

_{[from here]}

He made it into the nearly-deserted female block just as the intercom cut in once more, but I.R.I.S.’ binary ramblings were of lesser importance in that moment. There it was again! A faint thread of white gas standing stark against the shadows. He should’ve known he hadn’t been imagining it the first time when it’d happened before…

Damn them, what was that gas for? Did it have something to do with the infection?

Aidou had been moving silently up until now, a inborn skill thanks to what he was, but he abandoned that tactic and made a quick beeline for the hallway housing cells twenty-one to thirty. He’d come this far, damn it. He wasn’t turning tail and abandoning his idea because of Landel and his scare tactics! But truth be told, he was only guessing that this was the hallway where Aigis was assigned--an educated guess, since she had walked out of it the first night he had met her, but a guess all the same.

Still, it was the best lead he had to go on, and it would’ve been a pain in the ass to walk away with nothing after making the trip.

_{[to here]}

[ultimagi]

Though perhaps that moment of hesitation lasted longer than she thought; for the doors just opening, the girl would have expected more people to be making their way through the hall. Instead, it was practically deserted, and no person's features caught her attention.

There was no point in waiting around.

[ultimagi]

[⇐ // ⇒]