And for the second time in so many minutes, Riley suddenly woke up back in that generic hospital room with no sense of any time passing, or even of having fallen asleep. Only this time, the lights were blazing, and the door - when he tried it - was locked.
Where was Ishida? What happened to that demonic-looking bird... thing? What was happening to him?
The baseball bat had been stuck into the closet by someone that wasn't him. The flashlight was back under the pillow, the radio back on the desk. Other things had probably changed, but Riley didn't have time to check on anything else before the doorknob rattled, and a smiling nurse came in.
"Ah, Mr. Lewis! Were you planning on sleeping the whole day away?" she chirped, acting for all the world like any of this was normal. "You almost missed breakfast! Come on, let's go get you some food."
Riley stood perfectly still for a second, and then slowly shook his head. "I'm not, no. I'm not... my name isn't Lewis. It's Riley. Riley Poole."
Was it just his imagination, or did the nurse's expression grow pitying? "I know it feels like that now, but we're here to help you. And that starts with some of the most delicious food you've ever tasted. Aren't you hungry?"
Riley realized his mouth was open. He quickly closed it. "Yeah," he finally responded, remembering that Ishida had said something about a mental hospital. "Um... where exactly are we?"
"Landel's Institute, remember? Stop delaying, Mr. Lewis. It's time you tried to build up relationships with other people. Let's find you someone nice to talk to for breakfast. Doesn't that sound like a good idea?"
"I don't... Look, I don't have any... what?" Riley had been swinging a baseball bat at a bird a moment ago, and now... Wait a minute. Didn't the bat hit Ishida? Oh god. The bat hit Ishida by accident. The poor kid may have been slightly out of his mind, but he didn't deserve that! "There's... there's got to be some kind of mistake here, okay? Can I talk to a doctor? I don't belong here, but there's someone who does, and I think he's hurt-"
But his protestations fell on deaf ears, and Riley eventually gave up as the nurse led him out of the room. He'd just have to try and find a doctor later and sort all of this out. He tried to ask the nurse about what happened last night in the meantime, and why no one had been patrolling the hallways, or even - as he was growing desperate - what kinds of birds lived around here and how big they could grow, but most of his questions were waved aside with a blank smile, and then a plate of food.
"Angela here has been feeling a little under the weather lately," his nurse commented as she put the plate down across from a blonde girl who looked about Ishida's age. "Maybe you can help cheer her up, how does that sound?"
The nurse bustled away before she could hear Riley's tight-lipped answer of "Great. Just perfect."
With nothing else to do and a growling stomach, Riley slowly sat down and gave Angela an uncertain smile. "Hi." He pointed at the retreating nurse. "Aren't they supposed to answer questions?"
no subject
And for the second time in so many minutes, Riley suddenly woke up back in that generic hospital room with no sense of any time passing, or even of having fallen asleep. Only this time, the lights were blazing, and the door - when he tried it - was locked.
Where was Ishida? What happened to that demonic-looking bird... thing? What was happening to him?
The baseball bat had been stuck into the closet by someone that wasn't him. The flashlight was back under the pillow, the radio back on the desk. Other things had probably changed, but Riley didn't have time to check on anything else before the doorknob rattled, and a smiling nurse came in.
"Ah, Mr. Lewis! Were you planning on sleeping the whole day away?" she chirped, acting for all the world like any of this was normal. "You almost missed breakfast! Come on, let's go get you some food."
Riley stood perfectly still for a second, and then slowly shook his head. "I'm not, no. I'm not... my name isn't Lewis. It's Riley. Riley Poole."
Was it just his imagination, or did the nurse's expression grow pitying? "I know it feels like that now, but we're here to help you. And that starts with some of the most delicious food you've ever tasted. Aren't you hungry?"
Riley realized his mouth was open. He quickly closed it. "Yeah," he finally responded, remembering that Ishida had said something about a mental hospital. "Um... where exactly are we?"
"Landel's Institute, remember? Stop delaying, Mr. Lewis. It's time you tried to build up relationships with other people. Let's find you someone nice to talk to for breakfast. Doesn't that sound like a good idea?"
"I don't... Look, I don't have any... what?" Riley had been swinging a baseball bat at a bird a moment ago, and now... Wait a minute. Didn't the bat hit Ishida? Oh god. The bat hit Ishida by accident. The poor kid may have been slightly out of his mind, but he didn't deserve that! "There's... there's got to be some kind of mistake here, okay? Can I talk to a doctor? I don't belong here, but there's someone who does, and I think he's hurt-"
But his protestations fell on deaf ears, and Riley eventually gave up as the nurse led him out of the room. He'd just have to try and find a doctor later and sort all of this out. He tried to ask the nurse about what happened last night in the meantime, and why no one had been patrolling the hallways, or even - as he was growing desperate - what kinds of birds lived around here and how big they could grow, but most of his questions were waved aside with a blank smile, and then a plate of food.
"Angela here has been feeling a little under the weather lately," his nurse commented as she put the plate down across from a blonde girl who looked about Ishida's age. "Maybe you can help cheer her up, how does that sound?"
The nurse bustled away before she could hear Riley's tight-lipped answer of "Great. Just perfect."
With nothing else to do and a growling stomach, Riley slowly sat down and gave Angela an uncertain smile. "Hi." He pointed at the retreating nurse. "Aren't they supposed to answer questions?"