Night 66: West Wing, North Hall 1-A

[dualistic]

[From here.]

Harvey stepped out of the block and then took the usual right down the hall, pondering over the coming challenge as he went. While he, Sangamon, and Scott had successfully passed that trial last night, it hadn't led to anything. Had they made a misstep somewhere? Or was there more that they had to do? They were going to have to try and get answers out of that damn skeleton again.

Speaking of which, the toll would be going to Sangamon tonight. Harvey wondered what he'd end up choosing. He figured it was between touch and voice, but it wasn't really his problem.

On one hand, Harvey was getting sick of going down into that dank cavern every night. On the other, it was good to always know what he was doing when the doors unlocked. He just hoped that all of this effort actually led somewhere.

[To here.]

Comments

[nobleman]

Guy lent a careful ear to Anise's words, and the second that it all clicked together, he felt stupid for not figuring it out before. Of course -- butterflies, some with wings and some without. The cycle of life made complete sense, not to mention the relation to transforming. But in the case of these sick patients, they transformed not into a pretty winged insect, but something horrific.

Still, the bottom line was that Claude was in a good spot, and that caused Guy to send a relieved smile in his direction. "Well, at least we know that much." It didn't change the fact that they were floundering when it came to finding a cure, but it did take a small weight off of Guy's shoulders.

Anise was still a mystery, though, because they hadn't gotten around to scanning her. "Maybe you guys should have headed to the X-Ray room tonight..." It was possible for them all to still split up, but Guy didn't know if Anise would want to do that. It was up to her in the end.

[earthling]

He met Guy's gaze, the knot of anxiety in his stomach loosening somewhat at Anise's words. At the end of the day, they couldn't be one-hundred percent sure about their ideas, but that butterfly theory made as much sense as anything else Claude had heard.

At the very least, he could try to trust that the wingless thing in his stomach had bought him a couple of extra nights. It wasn't much, but he'd take what he could get.

That still left Anise, and Guy pretty much took the words out of his mouth. "I'd be willing to go with you," Claude offered with a reassuring smile in case she wanted to get herself checked.

[dispersive]

The tension in Luke's shoulder fell slightly as Anise explained the situation. They couldn't get complacent of course, but at least they had a timeline and one that could be measured by scanners. Turning his eyes on Claude, the young man was happy to hear he wasn't too far gone. But where did that leave Anise? What did her butterfly or whatever look like?

He was about to outright ask when Guy beat him to the chase, albeit a lot more subtly. It was probably for the best that he had jumped in first. "It's up to you," he added in case she felt pressured to leave their group. It couldn't hurt, but it would also be a waste if Guy and he got to the river and found a cure, but no one to try it on. Either way, Luke stopped walking any further. There was no point in dragging her up the institute if she would have to double back to the X-Ray Room.

[gald_digger]

Going to the X-Ray room? It was true that Anise wanted to know how much time she had left. She wanted to know really badly! But did she really have time for that? She had to choose fast.

She shook her head. "No, it's okay. It wouldn't change anything." The best it could do was give her some peace of mind if the result was good, but at worst, it could waste valuable time, or send her into a panic if the result was bad. It was better to focus on getting cured as soon as possible. Maybe they'd even find something tonight, and then it really wouldn't matter what stage she was at.

"Besides," she added, looking to Claude, "if the river has something that can be used for a cure, we should be there."

With that decided, it was time to head outside.

[to here]