Night 66: Main Hallway, 1-West

[dualistic]

[From here.]

That hadn't taken long. So much so that it looked like he was the first person to make it this far. Harvey took a moment to scan the hall with his flashlight, including near the stairs, but he didn't see (or hear) much of anything. It was the sort of thing that set him on edge.

Since he couldn't do much else, he leaned himself against the wall by the stairs and then grabbed for his gun, holding it near his side as he waited. Normally he didn't take the weapon out unless he planned to shoot it, but when there was a possibility that some transformed patient might come barreling down the halls in the next few seconds, he wanted to take precaution.

Hopefully Scott and Sangamon would haul ass over here before all hell started to break loose. If things got too hairy, Harvey was ready to make a run for it on his own. That was the logical thing to do.

[Waiting for S.T.]

Comments

[rocksthecourt]

A voice interrupted his thoughts and Klavier was forced to pull his attention away from his internal grumblings. It was a young lady, one he didn't recognize at all. She was coming from the direction of the other patient halls, so she was probably just coming out now. Normally, he was quietly cautious of being approached by strangers in this place, but how could he find anything even remotely threatening about such a polite approach?

In an instant, it was like all of the irritation that had been plaguing him since he'd woken up simply evaporated and his face brightened to a smile for the first time all night. "Not at all. I was just pondering where to head next, actually. ...Did you need help with something, Fräulein?"

It was possible she might have been lost. The place was pretty big and could be confusing even for those who had been there a while. He hoped it was just something like that and not that someone had gotten shot somewhere and she was looking for an impromptu doctor.

[showmeyourwreath]

Smiles were always infectious and Flora offered a gracious one in return. It felt nice to, after her rough patches tonight. It quickly fell, lips parting with surprise at the mention of "Fräulein". "Ah, um, actually, my name is Flora, not Fräulein. I'm sorry for the confusion." This was a little awkward, she didn't mean for any mix-ups, but hopefully it wouldn't be an issue. She hadn't seen anyone that looked anything like her in here, but she was still very new here, and supposed it was possible. It was also possible that she was missing something.

Oh! Her flashlight suddenly pointed upwards as she was struck by a bolt of remembrance. "Unless it means something else?" There were people that used honourifics here, she learned that first-hand. It didn't sound and wasn't used the same way, but there could be all different kinds, couldn't there? Maybe she was just entirely off-base, here.

[rocksthecourt]

Though the smile had mostly been an instant reaction to a young lady's voice and an actual sense of manners, the girl's apparent confusion made it just a touch more genuine. This wasn't the first time he'd met someone in this place who didn't know what the word Fräulein meant, oddly enough. But this was the first time someone had immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was a name. And that he had made some kind of mistake.

He offered a light laugh, quiet enough to avoid bringing dangerous attention to them. "Actually, it does. It is as you would say 'Miss' or 'young lady.' You see? So there is no need to worry." He felt a little more relaxed about the encounter at this point. At least she didn't seem to be in the middle of some dire emergency. "And since you already offered your name, how's about we make things even, ja? I'm Klavier."

[showmeyourwreath]

What do you know, she was right after all. Her shoulders sagged a little bit and she lowered her flashlight. What a relief that was. "It's nice to meet you, Klavier!" ...In the dead of night, in the middle of a creepy hallway where monsters roamed. Um. "...well, under the circumstances." She gave after a moment, shrugging helplessly. Still, the setting, as she was finding more and more, was far from ideal, but he seemed really nice. Charming.

"To answer your earlier question, this might might be a little strange, but you wouldn't happen to know where I could get good water, would you? I've checked the bathrooms, and that didn't go well at all." To say the least. She wrinkled her nose in distaste. "It's perfectly fine during the day, but not so much, now. I was thinking about heading for the kitchen, maybe the lab again, but if you know anything, it would be appreciated!"

[rocksthecourt]

A random encounter with a sunny little Fräulein was enough to make even the institute's dark and dreary atmosphere seem just a tad brighter. How nice it would be if they could just stand around and play at simple small talk like they hadn't a care in the world. But unfortunately, such a wish could never be. Her inquiry sharply reminded him of that fact... and of the frustrations he had tried to push away. His smile remained in place, but its brightness faded slightly.

"Hmm. I was wondering just that myself, actually. I can assure you that the men's bathroom is no better." He turned away from her for a moment and glanced down the hall, back in the direction of the Medical Wing. "...I'm not sure if anywhere has clean water for certain, unfortunately. But I'd advise against trying the kitchen. In order to get there, you would have to go through the Sun Room. More often than not, it's best to avoid going through there without good reason."

He tilted his head slightly at her, curious. "You went to the labs earlier? Are you certain there were sinks in there?"

It might have seemed like a stupid question, but this place was farce. It wouldn't shock him one way or the other. Half the time, he expected to find some kind of master control room that would make even NASA jealous, where people monitored the patients and documented their every movement. Very little would be surprising anymore.

[showmeyourwreath]

Immediately, Flora wanted to ask what was in the Sun Room at night, but it was enough to know that it was bad, for the time being. She nodded her assent, unsurprised. "That bad, huh."

"Yes, I did. I was thinking of checking the storage room for distilled water, actually. It's a common thing to have in labs, and usually kept in its own containers to keep it free of impurities. I found just about everything else I needed there." Maybe her optimism would be misplaced, it would be just her luck for the one thing she needed to be missing now, but she'd have to check somewhere and going back to the lab again seemed like the logical option at this point.

[rocksthecourt]

Interesting. He had nothing but guesses when it came what sort of things would be considered standard inventory for a laboratory, let alone one in a hospital. So it was curious that she seemed at least somewhat knowledgeable on the subject. He couldn't help but wonder what kinds of things she had "needed" and what she "needed" them for. Did it have anything to do with the search for a cure or was this something else entirely? Either way, his interest had been adequately piqued.

"Well, that certainly sounds more appealing than anything that was coming out of the sinks if I do say so myself," he said with another light laugh. "If you don't mind, might I accompany you up there? I was hoping to find some water myself. And it would be best if neither of us wandered alone out here."

It did sound like a safer alternative to wandering around, lost. Supposedly, she had already been up to these labs tonight as well. If there had been anything dangerous there, he doubted she would have so eagerly returned. And distilled water sounded like a much better thing to use for cleaning a wound than nothing at all.

[showmeyourwreath]

"I don't mind at all. It'd be a lot better this way, I think." She had to admit, having someone with her came as a bit of a relief. It wouldn't have changed her plans, she would still have gone through her plans, but he had a point, one she readily agreed with. It was better not to travel alone. She just hoped nothing happened to either of them.

Flora pointed her flashlight and started walking.

_{[To here]}