The announcement welcoming them into the more dangerous side of the Institute this time was decidedly more worrying than the night before. Skulduggery had stood up as soon as Landel's voice sounded over the intercom and started preparing to leave - pulling the thick coat on, kicking off his slippers - but from the moment the doctor said the word 'five,' he froze.
Military. It was obvious this time. And this time, Skulduggery was much more wary of the advice they gave. Despite being former military himself - or former soldier, at least - he knew enough not to blindly trust them. Soldiers were forced to do terrible things. And no soldier he knew of would resort to this cryptic clue-leaving if their intention was really to help the people trapped here. Unfortunately, Landel had said that five people would 'turn.' Into monsters, presumably, judging by his gloating. That would be more than enough motivation for some people. Deciding to err on the side of caution, Skulduggery reached under the pillow for the flashlight, and almost immediately withdrew his hand again in disgust.
Apparently, hallucinations and disgusting bits of flesh in food wasn't going to be enough. The dead woman was going to be grabbing his hand from under pillows, as well. Marvelous. Skulduggery carefully lifted the pillow to confirm what he already knew; that nothing was there apart from the flashlight. It didn't stop him from rubbing his hand to try and get the sensation of rotting flesh off of his skin.
With that last turn of events, Skulduggery hesitated only a moment before taking Gabe's rosary and slipping it into his pocket. Like he'd told Gabe, you didn't know what might come in handy in a place like this. Still, it was hard to ignore the modicum of self-hatred the act resulted in, as Skulduggery nodded to the Scarecrow and stepped out into the hall.
no subject
The announcement welcoming them into the more dangerous side of the Institute this time was decidedly more worrying than the night before. Skulduggery had stood up as soon as Landel's voice sounded over the intercom and started preparing to leave - pulling the thick coat on, kicking off his slippers - but from the moment the doctor said the word 'five,' he froze.
Military. It was obvious this time. And this time, Skulduggery was much more wary of the advice they gave. Despite being former military himself - or former soldier, at least - he knew enough not to blindly trust them. Soldiers were forced to do terrible things. And no soldier he knew of would resort to this cryptic clue-leaving if their intention was really to help the people trapped here. Unfortunately, Landel had said that five people would 'turn.' Into monsters, presumably, judging by his gloating. That would be more than enough motivation for some people. Deciding to err on the side of caution, Skulduggery reached under the pillow for the flashlight, and almost immediately withdrew his hand again in disgust.
Apparently, hallucinations and disgusting bits of flesh in food wasn't going to be enough. The dead woman was going to be grabbing his hand from under pillows, as well. Marvelous. Skulduggery carefully lifted the pillow to confirm what he already knew; that nothing was there apart from the flashlight. It didn't stop him from rubbing his hand to try and get the sensation of rotting flesh off of his skin.
With that last turn of events, Skulduggery hesitated only a moment before taking Gabe's rosary and slipping it into his pocket. Like he'd told Gabe, you didn't know what might come in handy in a place like this. Still, it was hard to ignore the modicum of self-hatred the act resulted in, as Skulduggery nodded to the Scarecrow and stepped out into the hall.
[To here.]