NIGHT 65: MAIN HALLWAY, 1-CENTER

[his_legacy]

[From here]

It was eerie, how empty the halls were. They seemed somehow larger at night, the darkness swallowing his magic torch's beam within little distance. Link was very attentive, knowing full well that something could pop up at any moment.

He refused to slow down, though.

[To here]

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[ryuuzaki]

It was good that Lana also had a ring, one set to a more convenient location than Doyleton or the ballroom in the basement; it was more insurance, although it had the side effect of taking some decisions out of L's hands in a way that counterbalanced any added sense of security.

He pushed away from the wall, trying not to lag behind. As they moved, he cast glances over each of his shoulders every so often, ignoring the discomfort from his injury. It was more important to look for the shifts in the darkness that might indicate that something was lurking in the shadows. His left hand, in its sling, held his flashlight; the right hand rested on his hip, where his pistol was holstered, ready to draw.

So far, nothing, ahead or behind.

He couldn't afford to devote his full attention to his companions, but noting the way each of them was moving was automatic, almost instantaneous: part of the way he experienced the world.

Nina had been prepared to take the lead. Was that a good sign? It might show initiative, or it might expose carelessness... although she doesn't seem reckless on the whole, he thought, frowning. Enthusiasm? Maybe concern?

She'd sounded worried when she greeted him, and now, in the long, dark corridor, he found himself tentatively grateful for her help. It was impossible for a realist to feel safe at Landel's. But at the moment, the presence of a healthy, uninjured person made L feel that he and Lana were significantly less vulnerable than they would have been on their own.

Lana had pulled into the lead almost effortlessly, putting on a good front.

She couldn't possibly feel as well as that. If he hadn't already known, L suspected that there might have been small signs to enable a trained professional to make an educated guess at her true state: a tremor in her hand, glassy eyes, a damp hairline... the presence of the gloves, maybe, if the professional in question was astute enough to identify the gloves as having potential implications. But apart from having that training, L had been looking for symptoms of the sickness in almost everyone he had encountered; he was alert to it, and in the day, he'd had the benefit of good lighting. At night, now that she was actively trying to hide it the signs of Lana's illness were subtle enough that L seriously doubted that a layman would have been able to accurately diagnose her true state. He wondered how long she'd be able to keep it up.

Just then, she cautioned them to be careful of the Sun Room. Mother hen, he thought; on a better day, he might have been amused. But Nina could probably use the warning.

It wasn't exactly that this area was dangerous in itself, although what Lana had said about it was accurate. It was that it bordered on two areas that were notorious for how often people who tried to pass through them were attacked.

"Yes. It's usually very difficult to get through the Sun Room at night, Nina. I've been attacked by a Special Counseling patient almost every time I've tried to cross it." That was to their left. He had also been attacked in the front room of the Institute itself, the one to their right as they passed the Sun Room; meanwhile, the stairwells ahead and behind made him uneasy by their very nature, there were two more halls coming on the left, and it would be worse when they made it to the Medical Wing. "There are a lot of doors and side corridors where we're going. Don't let your guard down."

[mirrorimage]

When Lana took the lead, Nina somewhat reluctantly fell behind. She didn't like the idea of a sick person being out in front, but she wasn't a practical choice for that either when she was so new and knew so little. So she fell back, bringing up the rear. Ryuuzaki was injured, so it might be best to keep him sandwiched between the two of them anyway, and this way Nina could protect them if they were ambushed from behind.

Her grip on the bat she was holding tightened unconsciously when Lana warned her about the Sun Room. She frowned, listening to both of them talk about it, and then she nodded. "Okay," she said. "Thanks. I'll be careful." Nina was good at that, anyway.

[To here.]

[mirrorimage]

[From here.]

Nina took a deep breath as she went into the main hallway. She would have far preferred a gun over a bat, but at the same time, she was grateful to anything at all. Finally she cast a glance behind her to make sure that Ryuuzaki and Lana had followed her.

It wasn't too far to the entry room now. She knew that much about the layout of the institute, at least.

[fourstonewalls]

Keeping up with the others was getting more difficult. Lana gulped air as they strode through the hallways, and tried to be discreet about it. If she was lucky, she looked contemplative. She'd gotten quite good at managing that, but Ryuuzaki was better than most at discerning volumes from a slight catch in the voice. A few minds like his in her department -- either of her departments -- and Los Angeles would be a very different place. Well, and she'd have gone to jail for evidence forgery two years ago, but as long as the truth had come out, that would have been a blessing.

She caught up as Nina looked back, and then started trying to catch up on what they'd been talking about. Walking was usually conducive to thinking, at least for her, but not when the world seemed to lurch with each step.

[to here]