DAY 64: CHAPEL

[skeletonenigma]

This time, when the darkness faded and the next thing Skulduggery became aware of was that same bed underneath him, he didn't take the time to absorb the jarring feeling and sort out what might be going on. He leaped off the bed immediately, almost stumbling in the process - damn balance - and took a moment to realize that his eyes were burning and he could barely see a thing.

The room was blinding. The light itself wasn't an issue; it was the fact that Skulduggery's eyes had to slowly adjust to it, a sensation he hadn't experienced in ages and had never expected to experience again. He had a hand pressed to his forehead and was blinking rapidly when a woman knocked on the door and came in.

She was... cheerful. Everything was cheerful, from the bright light and noises outside to the intercom announcement that interrupted the woman's sudden spiel. It was such a startling change from just a few minutes ago that Skulduggery found himself lost for words while the... nurse... nodded brightly at him. She'd said something about a mental hospital, something about a man called Erik, and something else about 'not real' and 'getting better.' With Skulduggery's mental prowess - even operating at less than its usual efficiency - it was easy to work out what she meant.

He studied her openly once the light wasn't so blinding. "You're either a very convincing liar, utterly insane, or a psychopath. Let me find out which one." His head tilted. "Would you believe me if I said there was a woman last night who had been mortally wounded, but who was still walking around?" He cut her off before she could answer. "No, obviously not. And I don't think you're a psychopath who murders people for fun. A convincing liar, then. That doesn't clear anything up in the slightest, but I suppose it's something."

"Mr. MacAuley, you were sleeping all of last night. Are you sure you didn't just have a nightmare?"

Skulduggery wanted to point out that as a skeleton, he didn't sleep, and he certainly didn't have nightmares. The blurriness at the edges of his vision, however, reminded him with a jolt of his mysterious transformation to human. Suddenly, annoyingly, the nurse was making much more sense.

Was it... real, then? Everything with Yomi and the chapel - had that all just been a vivid hallucination? Had his entire life just been a vivid hallucination, like the woman was insisting?

In a slight daze, Skulduggery asked to see the chapel. He was standing there alone now, examining the fountain carefully for any sign of its demonic visage from before. But now it was just a fountain, the water was just water, and despite Skulduggery's best efforts, the water didn't respond to his Elemental magic. It remained stubbornly in its basin without so much as a ripple, silently mocking him.

Skulduggery sat down heavily on one of the pews, mystified. He wasn't insane. He joked sometimes that he was, and it might partly be true, but he wasn't insane on a level like this. He didn't just make up his whole life as he pleased.

[Free! But be prepared for a barrage of questions.]

Comments

[gald_digger]

From Barnaby’s polite mannerisms and the way he spoke, Anise could feel it: this was definitely a guy with a good upbringing. And a good upbringing usually meant a wealthy one.

“A map?” she echoed, tapping a finger against her chin. “Oh yeah, the ones on the bulletin have been pretty lacking in details… but I can help with that!” She was beaming again, glad that she already had an opportunity to be useful… and to hopefully make a good impression on this guy.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have the maps on her just then, having swapped them out of Tokunaga’s sack for some emergency first aid supplies. But she could still offer to help! “I’ve got some good maps back in my room. If you want, I can make some copies and give them to you later!” It would be a little out of her way, but there was a chance it'd pay off for her in the long run.

[baniichan]

It only made sense for a five-week veteran to have a better map than the one Barnaby managed to scrounge up on the bulletin board. He'd been hoping that Anise would offer to share anything she had. Of course, Barnaby also realized he'd be indebted to her to some degree, but he wasn't foolish enough to try to put together a map of the entire building on his own. That could take days, maybe even weeks when he considered the shortened nights, potential dangers, and weakened powers. Such energy would be better spent on trying to find a way out of here, and there was nothing wrong with making use of the information others had compiled before him.

Still, he knew it wasn't polite to immediately jump on the offer, so Barnaby decided to keep up social niceties for a little longer.

"Are you sure?" he asked with faintly raised eyebrows. "I realize a lot of people have their own plans, and I'd hate to impose." Of course, he'd imposed the moment he'd told her about his little dilemma, but Barnaby had no intention of wasting an opportunity to learn something new about the institute.

[gald_digger]

"Of course!" Anise assured the man with an eager nod. "We have to help each other out if we want to get through all the scary stuff that happens here. I'm sure you'd do the same for me, right?" Well, no, she wasn't sure, which was why she dropped a line like that - to see how he'd react. Putting someone on the spot once in a while was a good way to bring out their true colors.

"There isn't that much to do during the day, anyway," she went on to add with a shrug. "We just go wherever the nurses lead us and try not to get in trouble. It's nice to have little projects to work on sometimes." That much was the truth. The monotony of the day shift usually either led to severe boredom, or to nonstop worrying. A few distractions could keep her anxiety in check until she could finally deal with the problems at hand. If she didn't indulge in those once in a while, Anise feared she would end up with wrinkles in her early adulthood. And that would be horrible.

[baniichan]

Thankfully, a man of his profession was used to being put on the spot, and he remained poised when Anise threw that question at him. "Of course," he echoed her words with ease. "This isn't a competition, after all. There's no reason to withhold information from each other."

Besides, he suspected if Kotetsu caught wind that someone like Anise needed help, his paternal instincts would go into overdrive, and he'd drag Barnaby along for the ride anyway. Not only that, but she did have a point that there was little else to do with their day. Networking with other patients for more information and taking care not to draw too much unwanted attention to himself were Barnaby's largest priorities while the nurses were watching them.

"True," he agreed. Then, he offered another polite smile, as if she'd convinced him to accept the offer. "In that case, I'd appreciate a copy."

[gald_digger]

He didn't look bothered at all, and he didn't even hesitate a little. All in all, Barnaby seemed to be pretty skilled in the arts of social graces. Maybe he was a politician, a big-shot merchant, or some kind of public speaker...

"Sure thing! I'll get it done in a jiffy," Anise promised him with one of her cutest smiles. If she put a little time in here and there, she was sure she could get it done by the end of the day. He'd be really grateful for that, wouldn't he? And he'd owe her a favor, to make things even sweeter.

But now that they had an agreement and she'd successfully broken the ice, it was time to get into what Anise was really interested in. "So, Barnaby, what do you do? Back home, I mean." Knowing someone's job was normally a good way to guess at where their income stood.

[baniichan]

She was certainly being agreeable, which hopefully meant she could get the maps to him sooner than later. Lifting his shoulders, he offered a more pronounced, although just as deliberate, smile. He'd made a similar gesture many times in front of the cameras, so his movements came across as smooth and natural. "Thank you for the offer."

When Anise asked about his job, Barnaby didn't hesitate in answering. "Before arriving here, I worked as a Hero," he explained. Even though it would likely sound outlandish to people who were unfamiliar with how society worked, he felt like he had more to lose by lying about who he was. "We protect the city from criminals, and our efforts are broadcast on live television for everyone to watch."

He studied Anise for a moment, gauging her reaction. "I don't suppose you've heard of Stern Bild before, have you?"

[gald_digger]

"A hero!?" Anise had been secretly making tons of guesses at Barnaby's occupation, but that sure hadn't crossed her mind. Was that even a real job? She wasn't sure if this was a hit or a miss when it came to pinning him for a rich guy.

And he mentioned 'television,' which Anise felt like she'd heard somewhere before... but she understood the 'broadcast' part, at least. She knew a lot of real-life heroes, but many of their most amazing deeds went largely unknown. It looked like Barnaby's society made sure that such people got all the recognition they deserved! That didn't seem like a bad deal - except that in Anise's case, that much publicity would end up exposing her not-so-good deeds as well...

Anise shook her head when asked about something called 'Stern Bild,' but she couldn't stop herself from answering with more of her own questions. "So you just save people, and that's your job? If everyone can see it, does that mean you're famous?"

[baniichan]

Anise had only confirmed what Barnaby suspected all along, so he didn't bother to ask anymore questions about his home city. Instead, he turned his attention to the girl's questions.

"Saving people is the most important part, yes, although there are other aspects to it as well," Barnaby replied. But now wasn't the time to talk about paper work, damage fines, record deals, or photo shoots, so he refrained from going into details. "As for whether I'm famous...well, I suppose everyone back home knows my name. My rank was number one, and I received the King of Heroes title."

There wasn't any supposing about it, but he maintained a simple, modest tone as he spoke. For one thing, it was true he never would have gotten as far as he had alone. For another, it was much more effective to let the facts speak for themselves.

[gald_digger]

Everyone knew his name? The King of Heroes!? Jackpot.

“Wow, you’re number one!? And you get a cool title like that!? That’s amazing! I never thought I’d get to meet a big celebrity like this!” Anise practically squealed, squirming in her seat with excitement. But then she remembered she was in a chapel, and she quickly quieted down, looking around to see if she’d disturbed anyone. “Oops.”

Before she could press the man for more details, however, the intercom sounded, announcing the shift change. For a split second, she flashed a scowl at the speakers, then looked back to Barnaby with a sweet smile.

“I guess we have to go now… but I promise I’ll bring you those maps soon! Ooh, and maybe when I do, you can give me your autograph!” She giggled as she stood from the pew.