redcladidealist (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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damned_institute2012-07-28 09:43 am
redcladidealist) wrote in damned_institute2012-07-28 09:43 am
Day 65: 3rd Shift: Courtyard
[From here.]
It was chilly out in the courtyard, making Lloyd glad for the odd but relatively warm clothing he'd found himself in when he woke up. He could have stay inside the building, he knows. His nurse had told him he had a choice of several rooms he could eat his lunch in, if he wanted. The cold felt good, though, and the tree he was sitting against felt solid and comfortable. He still felt lost, but trying to get straight answers from the nurse was frustrating. The man had retreated to let him eat in peace, promising to come back when Lloyd was finished and he'd had a chance to "clear his head." The teen was just fine with that.
Lunch itself was actually pretty good. He'd gotten a chicken sandwich, and his spirits lifted a little when he saw that there was a brownie with it. It had taken him a minute to figure out the box with juice inside, having never encountered anything like that before, but after that it was easy to just settle down and enjoy his food.
Well, for the most part. Worry for his Dad still ate at him, and he had no idea where any of his friends were. He still felt a little off, too, like some intangible part of him was missing or weakened, but he chalked that up to leftover side effects of whatever it was Yuan had done to him. He was confident that would disappear soon enough, once he finished recovering. He already felt well enough that as soon as he was done eating, he was determined to leave. If his doctor had his things, he'd ask for them first, and maybe he could talk to some of the other people here, see if they knew anything that could help, but one way or another, he needed to find his friends and make sure his Dad was all right.
[To here.]
It was chilly out in the courtyard, making Lloyd glad for the odd but relatively warm clothing he'd found himself in when he woke up. He could have stay inside the building, he knows. His nurse had told him he had a choice of several rooms he could eat his lunch in, if he wanted. The cold felt good, though, and the tree he was sitting against felt solid and comfortable. He still felt lost, but trying to get straight answers from the nurse was frustrating. The man had retreated to let him eat in peace, promising to come back when Lloyd was finished and he'd had a chance to "clear his head." The teen was just fine with that.
Lunch itself was actually pretty good. He'd gotten a chicken sandwich, and his spirits lifted a little when he saw that there was a brownie with it. It had taken him a minute to figure out the box with juice inside, having never encountered anything like that before, but after that it was easy to just settle down and enjoy his food.
Well, for the most part. Worry for his Dad still ate at him, and he had no idea where any of his friends were. He still felt a little off, too, like some intangible part of him was missing or weakened, but he chalked that up to leftover side effects of whatever it was Yuan had done to him. He was confident that would disappear soon enough, once he finished recovering. He already felt well enough that as soon as he was done eating, he was determined to leave. If his doctor had his things, he'd ask for them first, and maybe he could talk to some of the other people here, see if they knew anything that could help, but one way or another, he needed to find his friends and make sure his Dad was all right.
[To here.]
no subject
The Hylian jumped slightly at Sechs' reaction to what he thought had been a simple question. From what he heard, plenty of people were sick. Then when Sechs continued... Oh. He swallowed, eyes darkening slightly.
"I'm sorry... And I am not going to kill anyone because of the illness..." he said calmly. "I know that there are people who don't deserve that fate... The boy who showed me the ropes last night was sick, and so far he's one of the friendliest kids I've ever met." That really wasn't an exaggeration. Despite how miserable Sora had seemed, he had been eager to help Link.
It made sense, though, that patients were turning on other patients. Landel had this place in a quiet chaos, now that there were threats of sick patients turning into monsters. For Farore's sake, Link himself had been turned into a beast on several occasions! It was obvious that this wasn't the same sort of thing, but...
"There is no reason for anyone to be killing anyone else over this. Especially not oneself." Perhaps Link would avoid the basement tonight and spend his time simply patrolling the hallways. Killing innocent victims wasn't the way this problem was going to be solved. Not by a long shot. He wasn't going to let that happen.
no subject
The distress and frustration Sechs was experiencing was still evident in his expression and tone, as he let out a sigh that fluttered through his messy bangs. "That's... That's good to know..." he grumbled, his eyes ever so slightly softening at Link. "Some people here will probably take a different approach though..." Sechs could easily think of some examples, like his first roommate Will and Recluse, they would have been no more than happy to take him out of his misery...
"The thing is... This virus is gonna turn some of us into... something different." Sechs glumly turned his head away from Link, focusing his shadowed eyes towards the Courtyard walls, one of the many obstacles he faced everyday ever since he first woke up in the institute nearly four weeks ago. "We could lose control of ourselves and..."
Shit. That persistent anxiety he had been suffering since the virus struck was starting to flare up again. It felt like some horrible creature within his chest was scrambling to tear him apart from the inside. He couldn't stand it! Too fatigued to do much about it, Sechs could only close his eyes and tightly grip into his stomach against the rush of adrenaline rushing throughout his whole body. "Someone I know told me about getting killed first before that can happen... I don't know what I'm going to do myself..."
Suddenly, the Replica gave out a gruff snort of anger, like a horse pawing to be freed from its pen. "I'm not giving up! But... I can't stand the idea of being used to kill innocent people in an unfair battle..." He tucked his head back into his chest, his voice but a strained murmur. "I've already been used as a tool by others before..."
no subject
"I've been told about the supposed... additional ill effects of the virus." Link frowned, his attention completely on Sechs, who was clearly miserable, both physically and mentally. The Hylian was quiet a moment, letting his words sink in.
"And I don't see a point in giving up all hope and resorting to killing people." Link looked around for nurses before leaning in closer to Sechs. "I made it to the X-Ray room last night. There was... a clue there, of sorts. We have yet to hit every dead end, so there is no sense in considering death yet." Link's tone was calm and serious. He wasn't going to stand idly when people were thinking about ending their lives without exhausting every option.
Even if it meant going to every person in the whole institute and trying to talk them out of it. Even if it meant patrolling the corridors at night and fighting off every potential murderer with his knife.
They were in this mess together. Turning against one another was distracting people from their final goal.
no subject
Sechs fell silent as well, lifting his head up slightly at the sound of Link moving over the grass to lean in closer to him. If the Replica had been a dog, his ear would have perked up with attentiveness at Link's words. Instead, his head tilted with curiosity, his amber eyes opening up with a small glow of renewed hope at the other youth.
"So you got there huh? I missed a whole day and night so I couldn't check the place out myself..." he replied, leaning his head back against the tree while still eying Link. "...What did you find there?"
no subject
His small, determined smile returned, though, when he saw the spark in Sechs' eyes. That was what he was going for! A little hope. For people to give it a chance.
"It wasn't pleasant..." Link admitted, "But it was a drawing on the wall, supposedly of a stomach. There was a bug inside it. And... someone had left a sharpened knife on the table." He sat in silence, not bothering to explain further. He would let Sechs come to his own conclusion. To Link, the answer was obvious, though disturbing. But perhaps Sechs would have a different idea or approach. It didn't seem likely, though.
But it was a start. And starts led to answers. One clue lead to another in a chain reaction that would get them out of this mess. That was how it had always worked, for Link.
no subject
"Is that clue telling us that we have to... disembowel ourselves to be cured?" he asked, bringing his head down to glower at the grass. The more his brain clanked over the clue, the more irritated he felt towards the so-called "help" from the outside. He softly growled under his breath, feeling the urge to start snapping again. "Anyone with an organic body can't survive that without a crap load of medical help right away! Who do those people outside think we are?!"
The Replica tried to shuffle back to his feet, but another tight cramp around his middle forced him to remain prone against the tree. Another gruff grunt after and a second idea was shortly processed through his head after. "Or... is that clue just telling us how we got this virus in the first place?" he slowly mused out loud, "By eating something with that bug in it?"
But what good did that do? Sechs didn't want to know how he got the virus -- he needed to know how to get rid of it!
no subject
Link knew his thoughts played right into the monster's hands. But what was there to be done about it? Suddenly, it dawned on him.
"There's a girl! She can... heal people. It's unlike any magic I've seen before, but maybe it would work! If not on the bug itself, but after we've... gotten it out..." As long as it wasn't too much trouble for her... Link didn't know her personally, so he didn't feel right asking. He would have to speak with Sora as soon as possible. The younger boy had seemed to know her.
no subject
Once again, if Sechs had been a beast than just human, both of his ears would have perked up high with attention to Link's sudden realization. "Really?!" he couldn't help but blurt out as some glow of hope warily returned to his eyes. His friend Kibitoshin could heal without any technological help, so he had no doubt that others could do the same. "Do... Do you know her name or anything? We could find her and ask!"
no subject
But really, they needed to come together on this, didn't they? One person couldn't beat such a well-kept machine alone.
"But this is also for others' safety's sake as well..."