Night 66: West Wing, South Hall 1-A

[dualistic]

[From here.]

This was a trip that had gotten old ages ago, and so Harvey tried to make it as short as possible by falling into a brisk walk. He didn't go so far as to jog, since he didn't need to tire himself out before the action even started, but it was a good idea to save time where he could.

All of that was made very easy by the fact that there weren't any other patients around. He didn't know if it was because they were busy going through a painful transformation into some deadly monster, but if that was it, then he also wanted to get to a more open area sooner rather than later.

Harvey reached the end of the hall and rounded the corner into the main hall.

[To here.]

Comments

[albuquerquesnorkel]

Riley hadn't thought that he and Ishida were meeting again tonight. Or if they were, Ishida didn't mention it in between getting his butt kicked at Mario racing games and answering the few questions Riley had left. Which was perfectly fine with Riley; he'd had enough scares last night to last him a lifetime, and seeing Ishida all gung-ho about meeting more of those monsters was the very last thing Riley needed.

What he needed was for something to make sense. Something. Anything. Stealing the Declaration of Independence might have been absolutely insane and stupid and worthy of some kind of Darwin award, but at least it made sense.

So he was on his own when the doors unlocked and his new roommate left. Riley stood in the center of his room with what must have been a fresh flashlight he found, tossing it anxiously back and forth between his hands as he debated what to do next. He could just stay put, sit on his bed and read or something. But read what? The word 'Journal?' The inside of his eyelids? Staying put wasn't going to get Riley closer to any answers, and it definitely wasn't going to help him get out of this place. It wasn't what Ben would do, either.

"Oh, dammit." Riley gripped the flashlight and left before he could scare himself again, opting to leave the bulky radio behind this time. "The things I do for liberty, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness."

Where was he going to go, though? He didn't know his way around yet. Riley basically knew where the Sun Room was, and that was about it. Since most people seemed to be headed in that direction, and since it was as good a place to start as any, Riley urged his feet forward before they could change their fickle minds.

The hallways were eerie at night. It wasn't so much the lack of light, or the silence, or the threat of a monster attack around every corner. It was all of that combined. All of that, and the idea that Riley still didn't know where he was. He didn't stop scanning each hallway as thoroughly as he could while he walked, and he didn't stop turning a full circle at each intersection before he moved on, jumping at every movement and every other person, even when they didn't slow down to give him a second thought.

It was in the middle of one of those full circles that Riley bumped into something too soft to be a wall. He leaped back and spun around, fumbling the flashlight up to shine the beam on the offender's face, stammering out an apology just in case it wasn't a salamander monster. "Sorry, sorry! I wasn't paying attention to - " It was someone wearing the same clothes he was. Riley forced himself to relax, and maybe even smile. It couldn't hurt to be nice, after all. "It's way too dark in here, even with all the flashlights, isn't it?"

[impudentsongbird]

Of all things, Gabe wasn't expecting to simply be run into. Especially when he was halfway to actually making himself feel calmer and less likely to jump at shadows or, worse, fellow innocent patients. He yelped and jumped, his torch instinctively lifting, but he managed to abort any kind of threatening gesture in favour of pressing a hand to his heart.

He still couldn't quite adjust to how it felt, to have it pounding in his ribs like that.

It was automatic to smile back, even as frazzled as the smile was. That shifted to something more rueful and companionably sympathetic a moment later. "It is at that, but it's better than having nothing. Are you okay?" He blinked a moment later, looking past the man and seeing no one. "Are you alone?"

No one ought to be alone in a place like this, with nights like this.

[albuquerquesnorkel]

Any other situation, and Riley might have tried to make something up. Because when someone said 'Are you alone?' they were usually trying to decide if you were worth mugging. Or stealing from. It happened all the time in the movies, and Riley had met enough real life bad guys to know that not everything in the movies was as made up as people wanted you to believe they were.

But this guy sounded genuinely concerned. And looked genuinely concerned. Riley found that his guard was falling without him even trying to relax anymore. "Yeah. I've, um." He rubbed the back of his neck, all too aware of how pathetic he was probably sounding. "I'm new here. Second night. No... no real idea of what I'm doing."

As if that wasn't obvious, from the stumbling around and bumping into people.

[impudentsongbird]

"Oh, good," Gabe said, almost managing to hit a bright note. It came out just a little forced, but mostly it didn't work because of the relief. "So am I, mine too, and neither do I. I'm Gabe." He held out his hand for Riley to shake. "I was just on the way to raid the Arts and Crafts room. I was in there earlier today and I think some things in there could be useful. Want to come with?"

It was, equally, for his own sake and for the stranger's. He looked frazzled, far beyond Gabe felt. Was he even used to magic or technology beyond the twentieth century? Judging by the particular look of leashed panic in the man's eyes, probably.

But Gabe didn't particularly want to be alone either. Just having someone to talk to was already helping his nerves unwind, was helping to remind him to treat his fellow patients with honest earnestness instead of the suspicion Landel was trying to foster. His smile became much more genuine, even thankful, when he realised the timing, that they had run into each other just as he'd been asking for patience. Gabe didn't always believe in coincidences.

[albuquerquesnorkel]

At a loss for what else to do, Riley reached out and shook Gabe's proffered hand. Was it possible that there were normal people here too? "Riley," he introduced himself in turn, and he couldn't quite hide the relief in his own voice.

Gabe didn't give a last name, so Riley didn't either. "Arts and Crafts. Sure." He frowned. "What are you hoping to find, exactly? I peeked in there earlier today too, and all I saw was kids' stuff. Papers and paints and safety scissors that don't actually cut anything, things like that."

It was only then that Riley remembered his baseball bat, the one real weapon he'd found here so far. Which he'd left behind. Back in his room. Like an idiot.

He wondered what Ishida might think, mentally slapped himself for giving the teenager a second thought, mentally slapped himself for not mentally slapping himself for leaving the stupid baseball bat behind, and then refocused his attention on the man called Gabe. Gabe definitely did not look like a teenager. How old Gabe actually was, Riley couldn't guess. "You're not looking for monsters, are you?"

[impudentsongbird]

"Most of the things there are like that," Gabe admitted, "but I think some of it could be useful. String, for one. String would be useful for anything from marking routes to identifying objects. And even monsters will find good footing difficult on a newly painted floor."

He was actually a little proud of that idea. Thinking up ways to use objects for something other than their intended use wasn't exactly one of his talents, but he'd heard enough cursed prayers from people slipping on wet floors that he'd been able to think of it earlier in the day.

The Archangel smiled a small, tight smile which was vying for encouragement and humour. "So not monsters, no. Not unless there's such a thing as a paint-monster which we can use in our favour."

[albuquerquesnorkel]

String. Riley would never have thought of string. That was the sort of unobvious thing Ben would have thought of.

Just that small reminder of Ben's ingenuity, triggered by the man in front of him, made Riley smile. "Okay. Alright." The smile faded slightly. "There isn't such a thing as a paint-monster, is there?"

He hated that he couldn't be sure. Ben and Abigail should have been more than enough practice in that department, making Riley's head spin and making him second-guess himself time and time again, but at least with the two of them they'd never been fighting monsters. Just time. Time, and really, really long prison sentences.

Ben, he prayed silently. Wherever you are, wherever I am, just... just get here. Please.

[impudentsongbird]

"Not as far as I know," Gabe said, and managed a more encouraging smile this time. "So we should be fine, at least as far as getting paint on our clothes." Then again, there was really no telling around here. If it was possible to have a paint-monster that wasn't just a joke, the Institute would probably be able to manage it, and Gabe had only been here for two days.

He moved down the hall, slow enough to keep a sharp lookout in the corridors and so Riley would be able to keep up even if he was stalled by fear. Or at least so Gabe would be able to tell that he'd been stalled.

"So what else did you see in the Arts and Crafts room?" he asked to keep the man's worries off his mind. "And what do you think they could be used for other than what they're meant?" Which brought the subject back to the Institute, but at least it was the way in which they could overcome adversity in the Institute.